Is Social Media Really a Risk?

Posted on October 5, 2010 in Social Media in Wichita Kansas by JuggleMedia

risky business, wichita kansas social media, Wichita Social Media

This post was inspired by a friend of mine who works for a rather large, yet social media conservative company here in Wichita, Kansas. As frustrated as he is about the lack of social media presence by his company, (which, is rather large and when they do take a dip, they’ll be in for a lot of work) I appreciate his willingness to create an open communication platform with its customers. There in lies the problem. One simple word. Open.

You see, social media isn’t a risk, it’s natural and already happening. If you do business with one person, that’s all it takes, chances are you are involved in social media. What people are really afraid of is an open communications environment. True story.

You see, if you create social channels, like, say a Facebook Page, now you have to think about stuff to say, post, do all the time. You have to be constantly communicating with people and answering questions, comments and concerns. You have to monitor what your competitors are up to and how and who is talking to them. What people are really afraid of are three simple things: time, knowledge and openness.

1. Time

A properly monitored Facebook Page isn’t something that can be posted upon once per week and then forgotten. Social media is a tool to
communicate with people, not an objective. You don’t just “get on” Facebook and then you’re done, you start the page and learn to
connect.

2. Knowledge

Simply stated, many people around Wichita are not seeing the right way to connect to people using social channels. I’m constantly seeing a
business, for example, use a Facebook Profile instead of a Facebook Fan Page. A huge no-no in both Facebook’s Terms-of-Service and also
the interaction between the business and the individual. The problem isn’t that businesses are being “vindictive” or “doing it wrong” they
just don’t know. Furthermore, once they find out, it’s hard to switch because they have a large following. It’s a bummer, but has to happen.

3. Openness

Yes, if you post something on Facebook, your competitors can see it, I get that. We are actually working throughout this problem with a
client in that some of the types of post that they are posting are being copied by a competitor’s page. Now this strategy is always a
little behind and the audience can figure it out, but more than anything business owners are scared to divulge too much to the
competition. Creating an open business culture doesn’t mean you tell everybody everything. It’s actually quite the opposite. Creating an
open communication environment means that you are open to discussing your business with customers. It’s no different than receiving
feedback on a survey ro talking to a customer in a store. It’s real-time and super important.

Let me know what you think. Sometimes it helps if the people actually understand social media technologies. Show nay-sayers how by reading here.

We at JuggleMedia are really excited to help the businesses around the Wichita, Kansas area with social media technologies. We mainly focus
on building an audience and connecting your business to your customers. Give us a call at 316.747.9266 or shoot me an email at
rcole@jugglemedia.com and we’ll get the ball rolling your way.