Social Media Roundup: Don’t Focus on the Tools
Leadership

Social Media Roundup: Don’t Focus on the Tools

Social media is boring if you overemphasize the tools, says Human Business Works' Chris Brogan. Also: Give big organizational changes time to simmer.

Look, you might find a really fancy cutting board during a trip to Bed, Bath & Beyond — but, ultimately, what matters is the meal. Right?

Now apply that logic to social media. Follow? That and more in today’s Social Media Roundup:

Another New Tool? Zzzzzzz

The meal is what’s important: Chris Brogan, the CEO of Human Business Works, says in his latest blog post, “Social Media Isn’t Dead: It’s Boring,” that the real problem with the medium is that there’s too little focus on the content and too much on the tools. “When we talk about restaurants (the tools), we mostly talk about the food (the content),” he explains. “When we talk about bands (tools), we talk about whether the music resonates (the content). When we talk about a good book (the content), we never ask what type of computer it was written on (the tools).” Instead, he says the tools should be focused on the goal: reaching your audience with compelling content. Think Brogan’s advice is sound? (ht @VelChain)

Slow Down the Sales Pitch

Big ideas shouldn’t mean emotional reactions: Trying to make drastic change? Listen to Dave Phillips, CAE, who suggests that you don’t force the change drastically but give it time to go through — and as a result, avoid emotional reactions from your members. “Each issue needs a certain amount of time to go through the cycle of reaction to change: emotional rejection, intellectual engagement, and obvious acceptance,” he writes. “Allowing time to go through the cycle will take the emotion out of change.” (ht @KateNasser)

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Ernie Smith

By Ernie Smith

Ernie Smith is a former senior editor for Associations Now. MORE

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