You don’t have to look through your RSS feed for very long
to find a variety of blog posts about the staying power of Facebook, or the
adoption (or lack thereof) of Google+. I recently ran across this
insightful post that discusses how Facebook is inherently more about
connections (people you know) and Google+ is more about content (sharing
similar interests). While I don’t disagree with the author’s assessment, I
would challenge the fact that one social platform is inherently created for one
purpose or the other. As communicators
and marketers the conversation shouldn’t be content vs. connections, but rather
how the two work together.
To use a personal example, I had never heard of the Adventure Journal until
they came up in a Twitter search. As an outdoorsy-type, I enjoyed their content
and liked them on Facebook so I could receive their content on that platform as
well. It had little to do with a personal connection, and everything to do with content.
On the flipside, I’ve discovered more than a handful of
individuals and brands on Google+ because of
their content, which have also turned into meaningful connections (in-person
meetings, business opportunities, etc.).
Social media offers individuals and businesses amazing
opportunities to find and be found, to create and consume. Its less about which
platforms serve which function and more about how we make connections
(customers, friends, brands) through meaningful content (text, data, photos,
video). In order to do so you have to first understand your audience; where
they can be found and where they will find you, what they want to create and what
they want to consume. Then go find them, create the content that allows them to
easily find you and build on that relationship or connection by talking with
them, not at them.
Let’s stop looking at content and connections as black and
white, separate discussions, and start talking about how they can work together
to use social media as efficiently and effectively as possible.
Jim Licko is a Senior
Director of Social Media and Digital Strategy at GroundFloor Media. As
displayed above, he enjoys ranting about the use and misuse of social media.
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