Bridging the Gap Between We and They

WE are not THEY.

As the public relations world is looking to social media more and more these days, this is an important distinction to remember. Dave Fleet blogged about this issue and made some very valid points. “As new research shows, social media practitioners have a different perception of social tools than do ‘average’ users,” said Fleet.

This gap can be demonstrated with Twitter. No one was talking about Twitter when I first joined it last semester, and now I can’t go a day without hearing someone on television talk about it.

Yes, Twitter is a popular social media tool… and it can be very effective when used properly. But what is the point of being on Twitter if the people you’re trying to reach aren’t there? Answer: there is no point.

Just because WE (those interested in PR and social media) think that Twitter is  great thing and are active on it daily doesn’t mean that THEY (our target audiences) are using this tool.

The lesson to learn from this is to do your research. Find out where your audience can be found, and listen to what they are already saying. WE and THEY can be very different, so you must take the effort to bridge the gap. Find a way to meet in the middle to get the job done.

New Addition for Your Social Media Toolkit

I recently read a post by Dave Fleet about what is currently in his social media “toolkit.” In this post, he talks about the social media tools that he uses on a regular basis.

I was pretty excited when I realized that I actually knew what most of these tools were and had used them at one point or another. But there was one in particular that stood out, mostly because he had noted that it was new. So I decided to check it out.

MicroPlaza is one of the new social media tools that you should take the time to become familiar with. Have you ever noticed that the links people post on Twitter often get lost in the mass of tweets you get each day? Wish you could check out the ones that spiked your interest, but you don’t have the time to filter though everything to find them again?

That’s where MicroPlaza comes into play. This new tool goes through your Twitter network and shows all the links posted by the people that you are following. It even shows you everyone else who posted the links as well, so you can see what those outside of your network have to say. One more cool feature is called “being someone.” This allows you to view all the links shared in someone else’s network.

Try it out. MicroPlaza just might become the newest addition to your own social media toolkit.

Managing Your Online Image

Dave Fleet recently wrote an interesting post about people feeling obligated to act more professional online than they would in real life. In “Is There Still a Personal/Professional Line?” he brought up some really good questions about companies checking out how people handle themselves online.

• If online content is written with employers in mind, does it really reflect the person?
• Should we disregard online content when recruiting, or is this another way to find the people with the smarts to be professional online?
• Should employers and clients respect the line between professional and personal? Does that line even exist any more?

As a 21 year-old college student who is (hopefully) entering the workplace in just a few months, I have purposely tried to establish a more professional online reputation for myself. However, I don’t feel like I have sacrificed who I am as a person just to make myself look more appealing to the PR professionals who may be reading what I have to say.

Does that make me any less professional? No, I think it just makes me human.

Everyone makes mistakes, has emotions, and enjoys being silly sometimes. If employers and clients can’t accept that, then shame on them.

Even when you’re trying to make yourself look good online, never try to be someone that you’re not. If you really have to try THAT hard to get someone to notice you, then it’s probably not really worth it anyways. You might get that job or client, but what happens when they realize that the person they “met” online isn’t the same person they’re talking with face-to-face?

Personally, I don’t see why you can’t have a professional AND personal presence online at the same time. It might be smart to think about what you write before it’s out there for the world to see, but don’t sacrifice your true self just to be the “professional” you think you’re supposed to be.