Posted by Matt Spada on Mon, Sep 21, 2009
It wasn’t that long ago that if you had asked me what a “
tweet” was, I would respond by telling you it was
the sound a bird might make during the warm summer months.
MySpace was definitely an imaginary circle of about three feet in diameter that individuals held as their personal comfort zone.
YouTube? Of course this would be the piping under your sink that carried your faucet water away. Oh and wasn’t
Facebook simply the picture album your parents proudly showed dinner guests, complete with your naked baby photos?
Now, if you pose these same questions to
the average teenager, they would quickly (and proudly) produce a mobile phone and tell you what their closest friends were doing at that exact moment, or perhaps stream a video of
the game winning touchdown their team had
scored last night, or even let their “followers” on
Twitter know that they were being asked
the silliest question at
that very moment.
This
well informed teen would only be demonstrating the marvels of “
social media”, the term for interpersonal communication in a public space. This advance in communication has not only aided the means of staying connected with our peers, but has also tweaked the
business community by allowing instant access to a
wealth of information, including ideas and communication on a corporate level. The mere fact that you are reading this blog is proof positive that
social media has a place in the business world.
We are now at the point where companies, regardless of industry, are analyzing the benefits of this relatively new platform. By giving clients, employees and
the intended audience a ‘voice’, the medium for information delivery is no longer static. Social media allows dynamic communication to occur, including relatively immediate responses and an opportunity for questions to be quickly targeted and effectively answered. It closes the gap between consumer and distributor, allowing for a
more personal, trusted relationship. Businesses are also able to broadcast their branding and open up
direct lines of communications with customers without busting the marketing budget. Equally attractive is the
low barrier of entry, requiring only a minimal amount of knowledge to “get in the game”. If there is a story to tell and it is told honestly and well, your intended audience should follow. (“
If you build it,
he will come.”)
Besides the obvious advantages social media brings when establishing a
dialog with customers, in the event of a
disaster,
social media provides new inexpensive ways to reach out to a business’s employees, clients and vendors when other lines of
communication may be down.
On September 23, Agility will be showcasing an example of how social media is being used to assist with
Disaster Communications and we hope you will join us as John P. Shea, of
FEMA External Affairs, presents a
free webinar in concert with
National Preparedness Month. Mr. Shea will discuss what social media offers communicators during an emergency and the successful ways in which
FEMA uses social media to engage and inform emergency management partners, as well as the public, to better prepare for
disaster response and recovery.
If for some reason you’re not able to attend this webinar, feel free to send me a ‘
friend request’ and I’ll post the presentation on
YouTube for your viewing pleasure .
- Jonathan Prasad
Agility Recovery Solutions
Agility Disaster Recovery & Business Continuity Solutions
Our Agility Blog
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here.
