If you're not familiar with social media tools, it's natural to start looking at the options and get overwhelmed.
Should we create a blog or be on Twitter?
Is smarter to have our own web page or make a page on Facebook?
Yet those are the wrong questions to ask. These social media tools are different. You wouldn't use a screwdriver to pound nails.
There's a lower barrier to pick up the phone and talk to somebody than to set up an appointment and meet with them, especially if it's a stranger.
E-mail took that six-foot wall and dropped it down to a four-foot fence. It made it easier for people to connect no matter who they were or what continent they were on.
Facebook has lowered the social barrier even more. If you use Facebook, you understand. If you've never seen Facebook at work, it's a little strange at first. It's like e-mail on steroids. The barrier to interacting with other people is lower. You'll wind up talking to people who you wouldn't make an appointment with, or call on the phone -- or even e-mail -- in a million years.
Twitter makes that social barrier almost disappear. It's like a crowded bar where everybody is saying hi to everybody. It's great for making new connections and meeting new customers or clients.
Increasingly in public relations, people are sending announcements to the press and public by Twitter -- with a link to the full news -- rather than relying on press releases shipped by e-mail .
Blogs are different. They're better for deeper conversations, for dialogues. They're also places for people to get real information and knowledge that you can update quickly, things your audience can't get somewhere else or through a 140-word tweet.