Social Media: Riding the Current Wave of Technology

It could be said that social media has been the communications equivalent of a tsunami. Without warning, it has swept aside decades of ritual, convention and etiquette about how we communicate with each other. It has also demolished the association community’s comfort zone, leaving many struggling to grapple with new concepts about how to best engage with key stakeholders (and often each other).

Take a minute to consider that this huge wave of change has occurred just within the last decade (Facebook was founded in 2004). For associations, which are almost by definition conservative enterprises, the introduction and rapid integration of social media has caused more than a little turmoil. Social media can be unpredictable—we’ve all heard stories about a bad tweet going viral—but the medium is also awesome in its ability to accelerate innovation with breathtaking speed.

So while association executives realize its necessity and potential, they’re also wary of how social media might backfire. The fear of being unable to control what is said is a major factor contributing to the dread many feel—but that’s just part of the online environment, said Jake Zatzkin, marketing manager of digital strategies for the National Association of Broadcasters, based in Washington, D.C. For instance, if the worst were to happen and one of your members publicly criticizes your association, he recommends taking the discussion offline. “Posting a response immediately might have the effect of generating additional criticism,” he said. “You don’t want to incite a public debate. Instead, carefully assess the situation and take appropriate action to address the complaint privately.”

Too many association executives still dismiss Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and others as irrelevant to real business, but an association without a social media presence is viewed as a dinosaur by many of its stakeholders. Zatzkin recommends considering all possible networks. That said, Zatzkin also believes that social media should continue to serve as a supplement to email communications. If used properly, tweets, posts and blogs can be effective in promoting the broader involvement of members and other stakeholders, but the fact remains that the social media space is very crowded and noisy. If you must connect one-on-one with someone, email remains the preferred channel of communication.

If you’re not convinced social media is right for your association, consider the following insights and advice from experts in the field before making a decision.

Keep abreast of the latest advancements. Groups that aren’t involved in social media miss out on some astonishing and transformative innovations. One of the most amazing social media breakthroughs was created a year ago by InGo, a technology company in Arlington, Virginia, that partners with event-registration companies and uses attendees as the catalyst for promotion efforts.

By using sites like Facebook, Twitter and Google+, attendees can register for an event using InGo’s software and one of its social media networks. For example, after you register for a trade show using Facebook, the program asks permission to inform your friends and colleagues on social media networks that you will be attending. After receiving your approval, InGo analytics previews your friends, and its algorithms determine who among them appear to share characteristics that suggest they, too, may wish to attend. Those selected would get an InGo-generated invitation to join you.

This program was beta-tested at an event for GLM, an organizer of trade shows and conferences, and the results were stunning: More than 8,000 additional messages were generated, equating to an 8 percent read rate, and ultimately hundreds of additional attendees registered for the host event. Kevin O’Keefe, vice-president of GLM and event organizer, noted that GLM paid only $3 to $4 for each socially acquired, qualified attendee, compared to $25 to $40 per attendee that the organization might typically spend using traditional marketing tools. He predicted that InGo’s marketing method would go viral in the trade-show industry—and he was right. In the 12 months since its debut, InGo has been adopted for dozens of events produced by nine independent show-organizing companies.

Many association executives suggest that Facebook is not worth their time because it may have reached the peak of its penetration and is losing its momentum. That is a foolish assertion to make about a network that involves one out of every six humans on the planet. While this excuse is used to avoid the social media sphere, more nonprofits are discovering the opportunities that this communication tool offers for growth, engagement and member-to-member networking.

Put the right plan into effect.Where many associations fail is operating without an integrated strategy, said Kimberly Hardcastle-Geddes, president of Marketing Design Group in San Diego. “Many are thinking of social media as an outbound marketing tool and fail to understand the nuances that exist between different social networks,” she said.

Tina Anthony, senior manager of social media for the Consumer Electronics Association in Washington, D.C., and Sean Parker, the group’s director of digital media marketing, both agree that groups must come up with a social media strategy. “Having a voice for the social media channels, even if that voice is professional and B2B-like, is important,” said Parker. “You have to have a strategy defined for your voice, and you must always stick with it—when posting and tweeting and also when engaging with your social media community. It wasn’t until we created and defined these voices that we started to see true social engagement.” As sponsor of the annual International Consumer Electronics Show, closing in on some 200,000 attendees, the CEA knows something about effective communication.

Hardcastle-Geddes said she frequently hears that association social media audiences are small and perhaps not worth reaching. “A lot of associations are hesitant to make the necessary investment to do social media right, telling us things like, ‘Our Twitter account has only 80 followers, and 20 of them are staff,’” she said. “That’s wrong. They must realize that those other 60 followers could well be worth the engagement. They offer valuable content. With the right strategies in place, they could soon have more followers who will see a history of relevant activity.”

Zatzkin suggests looking for ways to amplify your messages, like seeking others who have their own large followings. “If you can get them to retweet your message, it could just go viral,” he said. Another strategy is releasing “just announced” information. This kind of “breaking news” is overused by media but it still gets your attention.

Associations can take another lesson from Zatzkin, who said that organizations often make the mistake of designating just one staff member to both generate and manage social media messages; with only one person generating posts, messages and tweets, content is inadvertently being restricted to only the topics of which that social media manager is aware. At the National Association of Broadcasters, each department generates content, all of which Zatzkin manages. The result is robust, diverse and important content, transmitted in the same distinctive NAB voice.

Create appropriate content and tone. Hardcastle-Geddes is encouraged to see some associations “letting their hair down a bit” and becoming more interested and active in social media platforms, with a more user-friendly tone. It’s important to remember that business-to-business communications does not need to be devoid of personality, she said. “We’re still speaking to people who have emotions, who like to laugh, who want to feel like a part of a community, who appreciate valuable content,” she said. “We love it when we see associations sharing information about philanthropic initiatives, passing along a funny joke or meme that may have some relevance to the industry or posting pictures of staff interacting with members in a casual setting. We also like it when clients use their event sites to promote specific speakers or innovation being launched by leading exhibitors or to share lesser-known insider tips about the host city,” Hardcastle-Geddes said. “This shift from self-serving to community building is a big step in the right direction.”

Zatzkin recommends that the focus of messaging be conversational rather than promotional. Also, he believes that social media should be used for marketing and public relations but not for hard selling. “At NAB, we use the ‘20 percent rule of engagement,’ a formula that permits only one promotional message for every five messages we issue,” he said. “If a message contains even a hint of marketing or commercialism—such as offering a discount, a coupon or a prize—we consider that to be promotional. We try to avoid the typical ‘don’t forget to register’ message. If we overload our messaging with promotional messaging, we erode our goal.” Asked why this is important, he said, “NAB, and other associations, should be using social media to position themselves as thought leaders. We want our audiences looking at us as the sources of valuable information.”

Developing unique and relevant content is vital. The Consumer Electronics Association, which issues messages year-round, works with its web content and market research teams to make sure it’s generating “interesting and visual content about the consumer electronics industry,” said Parker. “We look for key events throughout the year and put together promotions on social media for our community to engage with. For example, Earth Day is one of our bigger promotions. We educate our followers about the benefits of Energy Star products and recycling electronics. ”

Understand and apply social media advertising platforms. A recent enhancement to social media is advertising. “Social advertising has opened up an entire new media channel,” said Jacquelyn Wells, account strategist and director of digital media for the Marketing Design Group. “It allows us to reach audiences we may not be able to reach in other ways and where they are often most engaged.”

Wells believes that targeting prospects through Facebook pages that users have liked is the easiest strategy to reaching the right people. According to Wells, “Facebook audiences allow us to advertise to our existing database. It’s also much cheaper than traditional advertising and often more effective given that it’s highly targeted and provides direct response. It helps build our fan base so that we can continue to build relationships and engage with our audiences­—at no cost.” For doubting executives, that’s certainly an incentive—free advertising for your association.

Sink or swim. As association leaders, we must become educated in the ins and outs of social media and, at the very least, understand the way communication is evolving. There’s great potential for groups willing to ride this wave of technology, and equally great risks for those who refuse to even get their toes wet.