How Long Is Discovery?

In a post last year titled “Is Social Media an Art?” we discussed the four attributes of social media as “Attention, Attraction, Affinity and Audience”. In this article we said “There is an abundance of social technology available for anyone to use. Technology is the science of distributed conversations that enables reach.

The art of using the technology is the critical element that doesn’t come naturally. Developing the “art” of social media comes over time when one focuses on the basics of human interaction centric to conversations that are relevant to specific subject matters which draws people and business. A lot to learn and more to understand.”  Any art or science is a dynamic of never ending discovery.

What Do We Understand?

Lee Odden recently interviewed Tac Anderson from HP regarding HP’s use of social media. Lee ask the following questions:

What arguments or business case justifications have you found to be the most effective for investing time, people and other resources into marketing efforts that include social media participation? How about insights on justifying corporate blogging?

Tac responded: “You have to start with two things. I always used to say you had to start with one thing but my time in corporate America has taught me that it’s two things.”

“The #1 thing has always been, who’s your audience. What matters to them?”

“As an example if you’re trying to reach consumers then the case for blogs and social media is about reaching them where and how they interact. It’s about building trust and being open,which are all trends I’m sure your readers are more than familiar with. If your customers are CXO’s (CEO, CIO, CFO, CMO) then the reason you have a blog is because the two most influential factors to a CXO’s decision making process are the Two G’s: Google and Gartner. Google is speaking to the importance of all search and Gartner is speaking to the importance that analysts play. Blogs are great for reaching both. There’s no lower bang for your buck tactic to reach the two G’s than having a high quality blog.”

“The #2 thing I’ve learned is to start with what your company is already measuring. Then look at Return on Total Investment.  How much does it cost you to do something today? Can you do it cheaper and more effectively with social media? At first don’t try and recreate your companies measurements and reporting. If they have stated KPI’s (key performance indicators) work with those. How can you use social media to impact those numbers. Once you prove that you are capable of moving certain needles then you can broaden what your measuring.”

The Dynamics of Discovering

As more and more businesses use social media we see a flurry of discoveries as to both the art and science of distributed conversations.  Both the art and science are developing over time as we learn more and more about human intersection with social technology.  Discovery may refer to observing or finding something unknown to one’s culture.  Discovering is a never ending process and in of itself is an art and science which requires an open heart and a curious mind.  When we hear others suggesting they understand “social media’s impact” on business, society, culture, government and individual lives the reality is their understanding is only a moment in time. The process of discovery is never ending as are the dynamics and impact of social media.  The future is only limited by what we measure today.  Don’t get trapped in understanding only that which can be measured today.  Get it?

What say you?

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