I created this simple presentation to provide a basic overview of social media and address some of the common myths and misconceptions surrounding social media.

1. A Guide to Social
Media:
Why you need it and how to use it
A
Production
Image source:

2. Social media is information content created by
people using highly accessible and scalable
publishing technologies.
At its most basic sense, social media is a shift in
how people discover, read and share news,
information and content. It's a fusion of sociology
and technology, transforming monologue (one to
many) into dialog (many to many) and is the
democratization of information, changing people
from content readers into publishers.
Social media has become extremely popular
because it allows people to connect in the online
world to form both personal and business
relationships.

3. Okay, so how does that relate to me ?

4. Social Media is all
about
Conversation

5. Talking
Listening
&
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6. … But first you must be visible.
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7. Before we show you how
Let us tell you why

8. Social Media Encourages :
Empowerment: Give your audience a voice and direct access to you using social media. The
use of social media tools for engagement with your base can really drive constructive
conversations and lends itself to genuine empowerment.
Inclusion and social cohesion: Digital inclusion closely matches social inclusion, and some
studies suggest that promoting digital inclusion can help tackle social exclusion. Using social
media promotes on and off-line community cohesion.
Performance management: Social media encourages the timely distribution of information
to citizens, presented in more comprehensible, attractive and inclusive ways. This increased
transparency benefits members and stakeholders alike.

9. Social Media
Enables :
Customer insight and service transformation: Social media can help you
understand the customer experience and communicate your priorities effectively with partner
organizations. Social media can also be cheaper than many existing communication channels.
Equalities: Social media allows you to hear from voices not normally heard, providing
information and opportunities to contribute more accessibly.
Service-specific support: Create hyper-local sites for projects and generate more feedback
by providing access to planning and implementation information.
Innovation: Many innovations can be delivered through social media. Lessons and
adaptations can be shared widely and immediately.

10. Social
Media
Myths

11. You have to be technical to use social media
Millions and millions of otherwise ordinary people use YouTube and Facebook.
Anyone can upload a photo
Anyone can write a blog post
It’s all about the tools
Too often people use
the names of popular tools
to describe types of
interaction and social networking
(i.e. I’m Twittering).
Tools are the support, but people make the conversations.

12. Only young people who use social media.
Not true.
Younger folk may use it as a matter of course, but lots of “older people” use
social media, too. More and more are using it all the time. Understand also,
some people just don’t want to engage this way. That’s ok.
It’s a waste of time and resources.
Communicating and listening constructively is never a waste of time.

13. It’s easy
It is and it isn’t. Much of social media is easy and accessible. But good conversation,
consultation, listening, facilitation and communication skills take time and effort to
develop. That doesn’t mean we don’t try.
A successful social media campaign consists of working at it every day and making
small, but constant, gains.
It takes effort to monitor, track and engage with people on different platforms.

14. If we let people say anything,
then they’ll say the worst things
A public site must never be the home
of nasty vitriol, or inappropriate diatribe.
These are all things that can happen when
you open up conversations on your own site.
However,
most people know what’s appropriate.
Do we trust people? Of course.
We don’t let the random loudmouths
stop us from engaging in public discourse.
And we shouldn’t let the Internet equivalent
stop us from holding public conversations
in online spaces.
Trust, but verify.
Be prepared to step in and moderate.

15. Social media
is too risky
What are the risks of not doing it? What are local people talking about? If you’re not
listening to them where they’re talking then you’re missing out.
Its also about reaching people where they congregate. If you have something important
to say, make sure its heard.
The new ROI - Risk of Invisibility
On the flip side, mistakes will happen. Only by actively managing your approach to
social media in an open environment can you hope to mitigate that.

16. It’s a replacement for traditional consultation and engagement
As you begin to use social media, some people will switch over from traditional means of
engaging with you.
You’ll start to get new and different people engaging with you. As you
demonstrate that you’re listening online and supporting an active
community, you’ll actually get more people physically turning up to events
and meetings.

17. Many Social Media Tools exist today

18. So its important to take a targeted approach

19. How?

20. Let’s start with the basics…
Networking
Blogging
Multimedia

21. Facebook is a free access social
networking site that connects people.
Develop and maintain your Facebook
ace

22. blog,
blog,
blog.

23. The Value Of Twitter Is In
“The Power Of Passed Links”
Twitter = Traffic
Share info in 140 characters (or less)

24. YouTube
generates millions
of views daily.
Flickr is the most searched
image site online.
Multimedia helps you stand out.

25. Make it MOBILE
Extend your reach by making yourself accessible via mobile.

26. Social media shouldn’t OVERWHELM you

27. Stephen Chukumba
Digital Technologist
(718) 308-5730
stephen@stephenchukumba.com
IM dgtlsnpr
Skype genmobi
Twitter @stephenchukumba
But give us a call if it does.