Digital natives, top Tweets and controlling the content: what social media means in Bristol

Following last week’s post on graffiti and social media, our Twit Poll revealed that most of us agree it’s here to stay (the media…and the graffiti). The majority of people answered that large corporations aren’t in danger of sanitising social channels, it’s the way the world works now and we should accept it.

We put this question to the attendees at last week’s ‘Digital Dinner’ event in Bristol. The evening brought together a varied bunch of marketers, journos and PR people to thrash out the topic of social media over some delicious food at Goldbrick House.

The conversation flowed (aided no doubt by the wine). The first thing that struck me as interesting was the huge variation in understanding and use of social media for business.

The discussion included some great stories about how blogs and Twitter had been used to successfully manage crises and competitor activity. It also included a fair bit of ranting about the irritating ‘noise’ of running a Twitter app on your desktop, and the brilliant observation that ‘Facebook is social stalking’. Couldn’t have put it better myself.

As one of the guests has already observed, much of the chat was about Twitter and how best to manage it. The overall opinion was that we’ll get more selective about who we follow and who follows us, and that, as in all social media, the good Tweets will rise to the top and the ‘noise’ will decrease.

‘Generation Y’ also came up a number of times in conversation. Suddenly CEOs have to turn to new graduates for advice on how best to use these channels for sales and marketing. But are the ‘digital natives’ now entering the work place better or worse off for all this assumed knowledge and power? The jury was out on that one.

So, beyond airing our thoughts and experiences (and having a bit of a rant where necessary), what conclusions did we come to?

• Social media is really just another communication channel. How you use it depends on the nature of your business and who you’re talking to
• You’ve got to be in it to win it – social media really only makes sense when you start to see the results for yourself
• Sometimes, for marketers this means stepping back and accepting that you can’t control all of the content all of the time
• As a consumer, it’s more fun to be negative than positive, so accept that bad things will come up over social media channels – how the business deals with them can be a deal breaker
• When it works, social media can raise your business’ profile, help you to engage with the press and your customers, and ultimately make your job easier and more enjoyable 

 

Comments

[bluesoup]

Interesting that we perceive "Generation Y" as having the 'power and knowledge' when it comes to digital communications channels, yet actually it appears to be "Generation X" leading the shift, as discussed by Neville Hobson: http://www.nevillehobson.com/2009/09/14/understanding-the-large-organization/

What are your thoughts on this?

[Lisa G]

Thanks for the link - it's good to hear a different opinion! I think any survey of this kind would probably come up with a different set of data. We're talking about massive generalisations here, which can be useful, but not necessarily constructive.

That said, my personal experience has been that those who have left school or graduated in the last five years do tend to be more aware of social media channels (and not just those who have studied the media).

Do you agree with Hobson?

[bluesoup]

I think that Generation Y takes naturally to social media because it is what we (as a Generation Y myself) are growing up with and it's all just what we are used to. Generation Y is unfazed by it all so I understand why people perceive that it is this segment of society that "wields the social media power". Of course, it is a generalisation, but Gen Y can maybe immediately see how social media may be used for marketing communications where Gen X might want to sit and have a think about it first because one might argue that all that doesn't come so naturally. That said, I think Gen Y is also more wary of comms through social media channels as a result, they are much more savvy and don't necessarily buy in to the use of these vehicles to engage with them.

I agree with Hobson to a degree - in that this is obviously a business-focused report (and I suspect that is probably where the contrast in findings comes from). Generation X is still at the helm of business, although of course Generation Y is naturally pushing through and will take this on with the passing of time. For social media to be adopted in the business world, it needs to be Gen X buying in to it at the moment.

And this all overlooks emerging opinion that Gen Y is abandoning social media because they are already "over it" and leaving it for the fogies to play with :)

[Adam]

Twitter is generally over exposed and erroneously celebrated as the silver bullet to advertising, tapping in to that magic social networking market. The fundamental flaw is that there is no control over Twitter, it is firmly in the hands of the public and therefore any efforts to shape brand perception using it can only fail.

It should only ever be viewed as one of a suite of communications tools, utilised if it is appropriate to whom you are speaking and what you have to say. In my opinion its usefulness comes, ironically, from managing the negative user experiences of a brand or organisation and offering transparency and easy access to them for the consumer.

This can still raise brand awareness in a positive way, if it is handled correctly and used to show a thinking, responsive and engaging brand that cares what the consumer has to say, showing that they are working with them to continually improve. Delivering the perception of honesty is now key for the more savvy consumer within the online and social communications networks.