Risk and Reward

“Perhaps you are just warming up to the idea that this “new” media is where things are going. The fear of jumping in is really pretty normal. After all, it is hard to believe in something after you have watched all the things you always knew about business and economy suddenly change. So what will make all of this feel better and help it all make sense? The answer is this: If your competition does it sooner and better than you, the cost of lost opportunity will be greater than any other potential risk.”

So writes Mark Aaron Murnahan in his piece The Social Media Marketing Dilemma a simple but undeniably accurate view of many organisations’ position with regards Social Media.

There is a tipping point, when the risk of engaging with Social Media will outweigh the perceived risk it represents and surely we are rapidly approaching that point.

The Jump Shot

The ship's wrecked but Dervs certainly isn't!, originally uploaded by 7daysinSydney.

Dervs and Cuzzy: two students, two strangers, two lucky of the luckiest people you’re ever going to meet, who’ve just spent 7 Days in Sydney having the time of their lives.

With a few real Sydneysiders to show them around, Dervs and Cuzzy, from Ireland and Britain respectively, have been sharing their experiences from the best city in the world with their followers, friends and fans.

While not everyone gets an all expenses paid trip to Sydney, Dervs and Cuzzy allows everyone to live vicariously through their experiences:

www.facebook.com/seesydney

www.youtube.com/seesydney

7daysinsydney.wordpress.com

www.twitter.com/7daysinsydney

The best offence is a good defence

So you know what you want to achieve with Social Media. You’ve drafted your strategy document and you’re ready to press the go button. So what next, how do you actually engage with an audience using Social Media? It sounds great and you’re sure it’s exactly what your organisation needs, but how do you actually get it done?

If you want to engage your audience in a conversation and start relationships through the use of Social Media, you have to do the hard yards first and build a credible, defensible reputation in the space on which to build more targeted message based campaigns.

In simple terms, building the credibility of your organisation, or your products or services is easiest done by getting your hands dirty. You don’t have to start and or write your own blog (although you could), but you should comment on others where your comments add value or demonstrate expertise.

If you see a value in micro blogging, don’t ignore replies you receive and actively search out questions that you can answer. Search through existing content, on for example, You Tube or Flickr and add commentary or thoughts that substantiate your proposition.

Join social networks in Facebook, My Space or Bebo as appropriate and create an active profile by engaging with your fellow members or fans. And most of all, represent your organisation, product or service honestly, openly and realistically to enhance your reputation.