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Twittered out fed up with Facebook finding value in the social media chatter

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We are in. CARA has been on Facebook now for several weeks and most of our team members have the icon in our signature blocks. This blog you are reading just launched, and we’ve created a closed group on LinkedIn where our consultants can go to dialogue with peers. My point in reviewing this checklist with you is that CARA is “all in” when it comes to social media tools and interaction. We see an opportunity to interact creatively with clients and consultants, share ideas and grow our network, and we are gathering the Web site stats to prove it.

As I write that with confidence, I also have some of the words I read in a recent social media white paper ringing in my ears. The paper explained that most people are still reluctant to engage when it comes to social media—they are lurkers who surf and read content but do not engage. Why are people holding back? Why will the vast majority of readers of this blog entry have a strong opinion on its message but choose not to leave a comment? Are we Twittered out and fed up with Facebook, LinkedIn and all the tools that constantly ask us to step up and engage? In my thinking, a lot of the low engagement and growing disengagement rates for social media tools are a result of three factors: fatigue, distraction and dislike.

Flat-out Fatigued
Fatigue definitely plays a role in whether people are engaging via Web 2.0 tools or any other social media promoter. Many people are just plain tired with the constant (and often prosaic) updates that come with tools like Facebook pages. In a Wall Street Journal column on Facebook, writer Elizabeth Bernstein details her own personal “Facebook Fatigue” and frustration with the deluge of friendship SPAM—quizzes, forwards, random updates on mundane tasks—that pour onto her computer: “Amidst all this heightened chatter, we’re not saying much that’s interesting, folks. Rather, we’re breaking a cardinal rule of companionship: Thou Shalt Not Bore Thy Friends,” writes Bernstein.

Distracted and Less Productive
Another problem with social media can be unregulated enthusiasm. People who dive in wholeheartedly to social media sites and tools can quickly find themselves overwhelmed. Consider this recent study by Stanford University researchers, which showed that people who do lots of online multitasking are not good at core multitasking skills, such as memory, ability to switch from one task to another and being able to focus on a task. The results seem to argue that the more we engage online and the more tools we use, the less effectively we are at engaging online. Give the psychologists just a little more time, and we’ll all be calling it EADD (electronic attention deficit disorder) soon enough.

Downright Dislike
Finally, it seems there is still a significant portion of people who remain less than enchanted with social media. For example, this USA Today article profiled people they deemed “Twitter Haters.” These haters—who really seem to be average professionals of all ages and from many regions—are frustrated with the fact that social media tools like Twitter are replacing in-person interaction—and that much of the content is well, poppycock. On Twitter, I have to agree. I personally feel that Twitter Tweets are more often drivel, and this opinion is supported by a recent survey by Pear Analytics, a research company that found 40% of tweets to be “pointless babble.”

So you take fatigue, add in the distraction and top it off with dislike, and there are plenty of reasons why many people are lurking rather than interacting on social media sites. And despite all those arguments for stepping down social media efforts, CARA is stepping them up. Why? Because we believe we can deliver tangible value to our clients and consultants via social media networks. As a training and performance improvement consultancy, we know social media offers unique opportunities for interacting and informal learning. And finally, we believe that after proving ourselves able to consistently deliver valuable content and messages through these resources, more and more people will gradually engage with CARA. Let’s look at our social media offering today:

  • LinkedIn Groups – This is a LinkedIn-based forum CARA built for our network of training professionals that is relatively new but gaining traction. The intention of the forum is for our geographically dispersed consultants to update peers on technologies, trends and issues that can help them with daily assignments. It’s a virtual gathering place that offers speed and convenience in reaching this targeted community of professionals. Participation continues to grow as we work to widen its reach and encourage greater dialogue.
  • Facebook Page – As a training and performance organization, CARA hosts several events (association meetings, seminars, continuing education opportunities) and publishes plenty of industry-focused content and thought leadership. Facebook offers us an excellent tool for sharing event information, industry news and research with our network of clients, partners and consultants.
  • LinkedIn Networking – CARA leverages social media sites like LinkedIn to recruit and build relationships with training experts nationwide. These efforts have broadened and diversified our talent pool while helping us more quickly reach out to and connect with highly qualified passive and active training professionals and performance consultants.
  • This BlogThe CARA Chronicles – Last, but not least, we have this company blog, which members from our team and I will use to share industry and training insights. We see it as another vehicle to communicate and dialogue with you-the clients and consultants who keep our business strong and growing.

As a public forum for discussing the issues that impact business performance and operations, this blog is also a place where we can all stop lurking and engage. Please, challenge my ideas here, or CARA’s determination to make social media work for our business, our clients and our consultants. So, what’s your stance on social media—professional, informal learning, social, or something different?

The post Twittered out fed up with Facebook finding value in the social media chatter appeared first on Performance Consulting Firm.


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