Social networking is an exciting prospect. But it's also exhausting. Who has time to keep up with all the possibilities? The list of social network providers on pages 36 and 37 of The Social Media Bible is both amazing and overwhelming.
I'm a hit and miss user of social media. I check in on Facebook at least once a day during the week, sometimes more if my work schedule allows it. On the weekend, I may take a peek at FB but I'm just as likely to not look at all.
I opened a Twitter account but it just didn't make much sense to me so I post only rarely. I also joined LinkedIn, but, again, I don't have time to keep up with it. I love to read and try to follow certain blogs and websites but it's extremely difficult to find the time to keep up with everything.
I can see the value of social media, but, at the same time, one of the challenges in trying to build a community for a business or organization is how to break through the noise and clutter that's out there.
It's also a challenge to turn the "lurkers" described in Chapter 2 into "insiders" and "leaders". One way to encourage someone who is makes a tentative first post is to be right there with a response. As with all customer service, being responsive and welcoming is important whether you're face-to-face with the customer or just replying to a blog post or on-line comment.
I agree! It's exhausting. I think we're insiders right now, not leaders, but we're more than lurkers on most things.
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