Flickr Photo: kjoyner666I spent the latter half of last week in lovely Arlington, Virginia, at a communications and marketing training for the Kellogg Action Lab. Although I do love to talk, my favorite part of this sort of opportunity is usually the Q&A period, or after the presentation when folks stop by to talk further.

It's always exciting to discover that something I've said has inspired someone to think about things in a new way. But the best part is how much I get to learn from the participants. It's a real gift.

The Kellogg Action Lab was no exception. I focused on social media strategies for distributing your message, and I got as good as I gave. Here are just a few of the new ideas I walked away with:

Does social media give you a competitive advantage? Tim Brostrom, Director of Product Innovation for the Kellogg Action Lab at Fieldstone Alliance asked me this question at my first presentation. I didn't answer him very well, in part because I  didn't really understand what he meant until I hunted him down in the sandwich line and monopolized his lunch.

A section of my presentation discussed how to get leadership on board with your plans, which included articulating an ROI for your proposed project. I usually give examples of ROI that include raising money, getting people to sign up for your e-newsletter, more press mentions, and the like.

Tim rightly thinks we ought to account for the competitive advantage of social media tools, when it applies. There will be some cases where using social media tools effectively gives you a competitive advantage over others in your space. If your audience has already embraced the philosophies and tools of social media, then your organization will be more attractive to that audience simply because you have embraced social media. I'll be chewing more on this idea for a while.

You Can't Generalize. It's easy for me to stand in front of a room and say "Young people are using these tools." I even use a chart that illustrates this point pretty well. The reality isn't that simple. I know AARP does some amazing things with their audience and technology. Conversely, not all young people have access to computers or internet access, so they can't participate.

It's not enough for us to say that this is a movement for young people. We need to be much clearer that every organization needs to do its homework and find out if the people THEY want to reach are using these tools. It could be as simple as surveying their crowd -- or they may need to find some deeper research about who's using what.

Success is often surprising. I heard a great story from a workshop participant: she found social media success at her church. A young female leader in the church loves Grey's Anatomy. She also loves her church. Why not put the two together? The leader created a blog about Grey's Anatomy that ties themes from the episode back to her faith. The blog has a strong following in her church. It builds community seven days a week, not just on Sundays. (Now I wonder if I can tie my current Mad Men obsession to nonprofit technology?)

These are just a few examples. I left the training feeling that I had learned as much as I had shared.

Now it's your turn: If you were at the training, share your big "Aha!" moment with me by commenting on the blog -- include your organization name in the comment please! -- or ask me a follow up question. Everyone who responds will get a special something from NTEN!