Can you hear me now?
I’m a huge proponent of using social media as a tool for outreach, connecting and engagement. Yes, social media is used best when its purpose is for two-way communication. But what about broadcasting? Pushing information? Take a look around (computer talk for Google) and you can easily see that there are many people who say that broadcasting is a bad thing to so in social media.
The broadcasting in social media that I’m talking about isn’t the television / radio definition…it’s the sending of information. Simply put for our purpose, tweets, posts, shares.
Think about that for a moment. Imagine what social media would be like if no one broadcasted. Silence…pure silence. Actually that’s not just a social media thing…its an ‘everything’.
So what’s wrong with broadcasting? NOTHING. In fact it has to be done. It needs to be done. Two-communication can’t exist without it. Someone has to start two-way communication with a broadcast.
Try to start a conversation without saying anything. Doesn’t work very well does it? So why has broadcasting information received a bad rap?
It’s not the broadcast that should be receiving the negative connotation. Its more of what, how often and when the broadcast occurs that needs to be assessed.
What
Are you broadcasting information that is of value to the end receiver or of value to you? If it is for your own value, then you can understand why people aren’t receiving it very well. Always make sure that what your broadcast has greater value for the recipient than it does for you.
How often
If all you do is repetitive rapid fire broadcasting then you could be creating a couple of problems. First you fill the stream with nothing but me, me, me. Even if there is high value, people will see your ID in rapid succession and not have time to ingest it all. Second, it appears scrambled. There’s no focus and a lack of apparent strategy to what you are pushing out.
When
This is a tricky one. Should you post information at times when there are lots of eyes on the streams or when there aren’t as many? Arguments can be made for both sides. So how about find what works well for you and your audience and consider re-broadcasting the same information every few hours.
The problem that has the most impact on the negative tone of broadcasting is simple…it’s all you do! If all you do is broadcast then you are missing the point of social media. Social! No one wants to hear about you, you, you. They won’t mind you if you temper it with them.
When you broadcast, you better then be able to listen to the next broadcast. The broadcast coming in return of your outgoing. That is when the communication occurs. Here is the secret for a good broadcast agenda…
Respond
Thank You
Answer questions, say thank you, expand your points for clarification; in short, communicate!
In our business, we absolutely have to broadcast information and everyone can accept that. It’s a given. But, not listening and returning the engagement can seriously hurt the return on your broadcast immensely…and that’s when broadcasting is a bad thing.
Broadcasting is often a needed “baby step” into social media while a person (or organizational representative) is still getting to know their way around. But once it becomes comfortable, that’s the time to take the next step — just as social media itself was once a little scary, so will the next step (of responding, or asking questions, or managing a crisis, and so on). And as you rightly point out, only a strategy will show the next step on the path, the one that makes the most sense for you or your organization and the people you are trying to reach.
Thanks Christa.