Judging from the volume of posts at comments-o-matic, here’s what struck a nerve with association blog readers last week:
- Disdain for business jargon (Thx4Playing)
- Has social media jumped the shark? (Acronym)
Here’s my personal take on the amount of social media education in the association sector. Yeah, there’s a lot of it. But hey, chalk it up to supply and demand. People keep asking for it, the sessions are continually full, so who’s to blame the educators for giving the people what they want?
Besides, this isn’t just what association execs want to hear: It’s what they need to hear. Social media has opened a whole new world of opportunity for associations, so it’s an important topic for industry leaders.
Of course, those of us who’ve been engaged in blogging and socmed for longer than a year are probably near, at, or beyond the saturation point on social media education. But understand: we’re not the majority, folks. Few associations are actually making use of socmed. As I learned in crunching the numbers for the Association Social Technologies report, less than half of associations are using any kind of social media.
So, for the majority of association execs, the answer to “Is there too much education on socmed in the association industry?” is: Nope.
As someone who speaks frequently about the use of social media in associations and business (wink, wink. nudge, nudge), I can tell you that the level of understanding is scattered all over the place. Some people get it and want more advanced information. Others show off their best blank stare as soon as you say “RSS.” I try to toe the line between basic and more advanced concepts, but it’s tough meeting everyone’s expectations.
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Ben
without stridency or timidity you are continuing to cover this so well. As a fan of your blog, a speaker and a former journalist am startled to see how many association board members and staff want to change the subject after they hire me to speak and I suggest some low-key uses of social media to involve members before the annual conference, during it and afterwards.
• Hey, I interviewed people most of my life – what if (at no extra cost) interviewed (for you to podcast) some of your key leaders, members-in-the-hallways and even exhibitors re what they found most helpful so far?
Dip into the SM pool with that question and avoid most negative comments as you learn about the power of engagement.
• In advance of the conference ask members to email (or post on a Ning-based, private site) the name of the book that most helped them last year. Those who contribute will get a peek preview of the top 10 books. Those books will also be on exhibit at stations around the conference (free from eager publishers). Alphabetical lists (by member name and by book name) of the contributions will be posted on the site and blog. Speakers will be advised of this list to incorporate the popular themes into their talk.
• As you mentioned, create a private Ning site – and invite not only members of your local or state association but members, speakers and exhibitors at your sister associations to join, self-tag, contribute tips.
Vote on top 10 favorite every month – with prizes to winners contributed by companies a step away from your profession/industry (to not take away from sponsorships for asn.) but from companies that want to reach your profile of members for other parts of their lives…..