A social media chuckle
Are you frustrated because your organization is observing massive emerging and transformational trends and waiting until things progress so far down the road that there’s nothing left to separate you from the rest of the pack? These same folks are the brilliant minds who currently think the “button-fly” is now primed to revolutionize the clothing industry.
There are many different characters and organizations in this massive theatrical play we call the social web. Below is a fun, tongue-in-cheek look at some of these audience types.
Here’s a few main categories of how organizations break down where social media is concerned:
Totally oblivious – these living in the stone age, status-quo critters are asleep at the wheel and heading for the ditch. You mention “facebook” and they stare back at you as if you’ve just said something in original Klingon.
Frady cats – believers that the risk of leveraging social media is so high, it’ll be catastrophic and all perceived barriers are impossible to overcome. They’d rather just stick to the “prudent” traditional course of action. The order of the day is to remain void of any innovation or change in process until such time as all the competitive advantage is sucked dry out of the opportunity. All of which makes their unimaginative brain trust jump for joy, exclaiming that being last to the party means zero risk.
The cynic – they’ve heard it all before and they’ve seen it all before. There’s nothing, not a single thing new here to learn. Social media is old hat, you’re just selling to customers afterall. They believe the newspaper delivered every day is actually the perfect portable content delivery device.
Today’s expert – this group has taken in a presentation, workshop or attended a conference. They’ve loaded Ubertwitter on their blackberry and launched a blog. They now profess to explain the virtues of social media to anyone who’ll listen. They know just enough to be dangerous and produce little of value beyond pleasantries and idle digital chit chat. Real world experience delivering social media within their organization or anywhere else equals zero. That said, if someone was to say otherwise they wouldn’t stop them and that’s because they know enough buzz words that the “totally oblivious” see them as the social media second-coming.
Innovators – these guys push limits, they are looking for one thing – separation from the competitive pack and see the social web as one key way to achieve their goals. They recognize that true innovation is a collaborative effort and love the mass-collaboration possibilities within the real-time web. They’re not afraid to take action, commit budget and resouces. Making mistakes will happen and they celebrate failure as a chance to learn. These dynamic people move fast and expect everyone except their competitors to keep up. However, they’re smart enough to realize that competitors will eventually follow too which just fuels their fire even more.
Cautious learners – this group sees some potential within social media and are open to learning more about it. Unsure as to specifically how they may engage they intend to take their time to observe, study, listen and learn. This suits them just fine as things move slow in their culture. They are in no hurry regardless of the potential upside and frankly should they engage in social media it would be like an experience driver behind the wheel of a Model T racing a F1 Ferrari.
Quiet observer – organizations here are keeping themselves informed within the social web and participating only to the point of having a presence. They produce little if any content and hardly if ever respond publicly. There is no clear plan or strategy to emerge from this state and despite accumulating vast amounts of data they have no idea how that knowledge may be turned into a competitive advantage.
Digitally-engaged – this digital citizen uses multiple online technologies, not for the benefit of the organization, rather it’s all about them, their interests, opinions, ego and life. Should you interact with them you simply provide them with more validation and perceived credibility.
Rogue evangelist – receiving little to no support they branch off on their own skirting the parameters of their job, hoping not to offend the decision-makers. Looking to generate some small social media win via their efforts in the hopes of one day getting the call to launch a well-funded campaign with increased responsibility.
The committed – this organization sees opportunity and they’ve decided to ensure they take advantage. The proper planning and implementation is their goal and they are ready to move. A common sense and progressive business style comes to the table with them from the very beginning.
The groupie – this person or organization hopes to draw attention to themselves by attaching their brand to an individual or audience type they feel will make them look the most savvy by association. Having no history in the industry and not interested in learning or really driving business results, their perfect day includes being attacked by the social media paparazzi.
Johnny come lately – Yesterday they sold something else, today they sell social media marketing. A few changes to the website list of services and they’re all set. Sticking with the technology and adding a profile here and a group there, these guys sell the rest of the enterprise or industry a bill of goods that they know what to do and how to do it.
Non-believer – Facebook is a fad, there’s no way to prove any of it works and this is simply a matter of media hype.
Genuine – Always striving to be a trusted source in their particular industry, continually learning and experimenting. This group recognizes that there is no such thing as an expert in social media yet, only people striving to keep up and make sense of it all. Not out for a quick buck this is where sound business building and top customer service meet a new level of human dialogue and potential for growth.
If you’d like to add another category please feel free to leave a comment and join the fun.
