Let’s start with the basics. What exactly is social media? According to Wikipedia (which in itself is a social media platform):

“Social media is media designed to be disseminated through social interaction, created using highly accessible and scalable publishing techniques. Social media uses Internet and web-based technologies to transform broadcast media monologues (one to many) into social media dialogues (many to many).”

Social media is about creating conversations online. It’s about having the freedom to express your thoughts, without repercussions. It’s about spreading news regarding your positive experiences or expressing your anger about negative situations. It’s about sharing.

Before jumping on the social media bandwagon, organizations need to determine their target audience, outline their objectives for each social media platform (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, blogs, YouTube, Flickr), and develop a plan to ensure successful execution. Even though the various social media platforms are free to use, they are not free in terms of your time. It takes time to develop your social media strategy, and even more time to execute it. If it’s not properly executed, social media can have more of a negative impact than a positive one.

To ensure your time will be spent wisely, make sure to examine three things:

1. What is your target audience ready for?

In the book “Groundswell” written by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff from Forrester Research (a highly recommended read), they identify 5 categories your audience can fit into:

• Creators – at least once a month publish a blog, maintain a Web page, upload videos or audio, etc.
• Critics – react to content online, post comments on blogs or online forums, post ratings or reviews, edit wikis
• Collectors – save URLS & tags on social bookmarking services, vote for sites, use RSS feeds
• Joiners – participate in or maintain profiles on social networking sites (e.g., Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn)
• Spectators – consume what the rest produce (e.g., read blogs, online forums, reviews, listen to podcasts)
• In-actives – non-participants

If your audience includes creators, critics, collectors, or joiners, then implementing a social media strategy is a good idea (you’ll need to allocate the time and resources to do so). If your audience is made up of spectators, they will take in messages from social media; however, do not expect them to participate. Lastly, if your audience consists of in-actives, then perhaps it’s not worth your time to enter the world of social media. Always keep in mind who your audience is.

2. Why will your audience participate?

What kind of content or information do you plan on sharing? Will your content speak to your audience? Is the content engaging enough to inspire participation? Content is king in social media.

3. How will your audience participate?

Will your audience be comfortable responding to your blog posts? Is your audience the type to forward on information to friends and family? Will your audience be inspired to re-tweet your message? Audience participation is needed to spread your message(s).

Knowing your target audience is extremely important. If they are not willing to participate and share with you online, you might be wasting your time.

Is social media right for your organization? Now is the time to find out.