When I started delivering the “9 Hard Fast Rules of Social Media” in 2008 Rule # 4 had a whole series on “Be Attitudes”. There were 9 of them like: “Be Engaging”, “Be Interested”. “Be Interesting”. “Be Helpful” and a few others. The one I really want to focus on today is “Be Authentic”.
Social Media has long been about putting yourself out there and either starting or becoming a part of the conversation. Authenticity is a key as it really helps people connect with you. Enlightened individuals certainly understand and have knowledge of their authentic self. Those on the path toward enlightenment have a pretty good sense of their authenticity too. People who are less concerned with “who they are” tend to have a lower sense of self. That’s okay because this post really isn’t about people, It’s about companies.
In business we are just starting to wake up to the importance of “corporate culture”. Your company’s culture is its’ identity. Just like in individuals, the identity is what drives authenticity.
When I say businesses are just “waking up” to this idea, I’m also saying that MOST have little idea as to what their culture really is. As such, they take on the identity of their leader at best, have a blend of identities or have an identity that is chaotic on the flip side. Authenticity from a business with multiple identities is similar to expecting consistency when following a twitter stream of someone suffering from Multiple Personality Disorder. It’s not gonna happen.
And time marches on.
How many businesses have been contemplating “getting into social media”? They’ve sent people to classes. Signed up for webinars. Hired younger people based on their answers to questions geared around social media and they’re still not doing it. Why? Because of three simple reasons:
1. They don’t have the understanding of how to merge these tools with their business objectives.
2. They don’t have the right people (a reflection of 1)
3. They don’t have the time
And time, marches on.
Those three reasons can be enough to have kept you from starting, but should they keep you on the sideline? No chance. Here’s the truth, getting started in social media is far more important than getting it right. If you don’t have the knowledge, people and or time, then maybe it’s time to look for a company who does.
We built a social media call center to not only take away the excuses of not being involved but to make it so easy for you to jump in that you can’t imagine waiting another second. Go ahead and click on the uNetworked description of Social Media Call Center to learn more about what we would like to do for you. If you like what you see, give us a call so we can discuss how to get started.
Rule #1 in the “9 Hard Fast Rules of Social Media” has always been: “Ready. Fire.Aim“. Getting it done today is far more important than being authentic tomorrow, or whenever you get around to it.
