In reality, social media has the potential to provide an outlet for the average person to communicate on an equal footing with any corporation. Let that sink in for a second. You don't need a bevy of lawyers, or a Madison Ave ad agency in order to have your point of view heard.
Social media breaks the lock on ideas and grants access to audiences that previously were only available to the mass communication outlets. You no longer have to rely on a mass communication system that is owned, controlled and filtered by someone else.
Social media empowers the individual, the everyman. You can now not only be part of the process personally but also be the messenger and most importantly, control the message.
What do I mean by "control the message."? This is one of the truisms of life, if you don't define your message, then it will be defined for you. Often in ways that are not favorable to you or your cause.
Social media provides the opportunity to be 'pro-active, but this activity is a double-edged sword, it giveth and taketh away. You need to invest resources into monitoring and engaging your audience. If you see that someone has an issue, you need to respond to them. This isn't the old days when someone would write a letter to the editor or send one to Corporate, which would end up in the trash or be ignored. Now corporations have conversation managers who track every post and tweet, as a method to control their message. I have experienced this effect personally during the great GTab incident.
This generation's version of a letter to an editor is a tweet, a YouTube upload, blog or Facebook post has the potential to be seen by thousands, if not millions of people if it goes viral. Further, the internet never forgets. Somewhere that post will live on... forever.
However, if you lean into an issue and treat concerns with attention and respect, more often than not you will have a positive result. When you engage one person online, you are often speaking to many more 'lurkers'. Their opinion about your brand, cause or organization is as equally important as that of the squeaky wheel. Even if you can't satisfy the person with the original complaint, the rest of your audience will appreciate that you tried.
While social media can provide you access to an audience, your messaging must be of value.You just can't post 'stuff', it has to have a value to your audience or they won't return to your content. You can have all the likes you want, but unless you can convert those likes into action, what purpose do they serve except ego?
If you want them to support your cause, then you need to provide them a reason to do so. Your contact with them should be a call to action, it should build relationships and provide personalized attention. There's a reason why there's the 'social' attached to the media. It is a medium that by nature, thrives on personal interaction.
With personal interaction, comes the potential to have your voice not just heard, but listened to and ultimately that is all that the every man wants, the opportunity to be listened to.
