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Social Media: First Step Must Be Listening, Not Immediate Engagement

Posted by dna 13 on Fri, Jun 19, 2009
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In a recent blog post on The Net-Savvy Executive titled “Creepy if you do, Clueless if you don’t,” Nathan Gilliatt had strong words to say about the right way and the wrong way to participate in social media. “Don't stalk everyone who casually mentions your business. We've all had to shake a hungry salesman, and nobody likes it. Twitter follows may be especially likely to trigger a shudder.”

As we saw from interviews in our last social media whitepaper, How Fortune 1000 Companies are Harnessing the Power of Social Media, listening is a vital first step for all organizations. Claire Sale, Social Media Specialist for the American Red Cross and now the British Red Cross, was clear when she emphasized the importance of listening before aligning with the organization and engaging with the consumer.

“Social media is a great early warning system — this is how we hear about changes to our reputation first,” she shared. “We’re always asking ourselves whether people really want us involved in their discussion.”

Social media is the future of our industry and it is important to know what people are saying about us. The first step is to listen to what they are saying and decide if it’s relevant and whether they want our opinions. If it is important, it’s time to engage with them; if it’s not, it’s time to move on.

Social media requires all of us to learn how to communicate in a new outlet and determine what is appropriate and what is not.


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