Sharing is Caring, but it's Also Hard: Why Your Audience Won't Comment on Your Blog
Flickr Photo: hekman2007i just finished a whirlwind two days at the NetSquared conference in San Jose. As always, the TechSoup folks did a great job, and I'm truly amazed and inspired by the creativity and passion of the community.
While everyone was excited, I felt that there was one big disconnect, though it's not unique to NetSquared. I see this a lot. Lots of folks got up and showed off social media tools and strategies, telling the audience how these tools can help their stakeholders have a conversation. The assumption is that your stakeholders WANT to have a conversation. That they are just waiting for you to ask them to share, and they will unleash a torrent of comments, photos, and widgets about your cause.
Maybe they don't.
What no one addressed, and I will confess that I am similarly guilty, is that your stakeholders won't necessarily want to interact with your organization, at least not at first. You may launch a blog to start a conversation only to find that no one wants to comment. You may create a Flickr group only to find that people don't upload their photos. You may build it, they may not come.
Of course, this is not to say that I don't think you should be experimenting with social media. I think you should be trying as much as possible. What I am saying is that your audience may not be ready to have the conversation that social media enables. That's because social media does not just enable conversations. It enables PUBLIC conversations.
- If you blog, do you remember your first blog post? Did you feel awkward and silly for publishing your two cents where anyone could read it. Did it make you feel like a bit of an egomaniac?
- Have you posted a photo online and wondered what your boss, colleague, or significant other would think if they ran across it online?
Digital natives probably don't struggle with these issues the same way. They've grown up sharing and expressing themselves online. For the rest of us, and that's still most of your audience probably, the comfort to share your thoughts publicly doesn't always come naturally. Unless you like attention. And then you probably starred in your high school musical.
So along with figuring out how to implement the technology tools, you will need to figure out how to make your community comfortable sharing. You will need to help them know that their opinion counts, and that it's a valued part of the work you are doing.
Here are some of my tips for preparing your community to share:
- Demonstrate that it's ok. Find a few community members (not staff!) and ask them to participate in your conversation, and encourage others to do the same.
- Use social media like a normal human. You will be more successful at having a conversation if you don't participate as "THE ORGANIZATION." Empower your staff to participate as individuals, sharing the right mix of organization party line (Check out our new program!), as well as personal news (I got a new puppy!).
- Keep at it. Building a true, interactive community takes a lot of time, and it happens slowly. Keep plugging away at it, and be consistent in your attempts and it will start to pay off.
Where have you found success in engaging your audience in conversations through social media?
