New Year, New Media

Much to my delight,  a gaggle of new media naysayers have resolved to take on the social web this year. Some of you are doing so because you’re tired of the collective eye roll when you balk at the verbs “re-tweet,” “poke” or “friend.” Others are revisiting and refreshing dormant online accounts left over from the first time you gave new media a go.
 
Here’s the best part: after you dive in, many of you will declare newfound allegiance to the Internet. You’ll question how you ever lived without Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr. You’ll might even feel the need to evangelize and proselytize to family, friends and co-workers still fiercely protesting technology. I’m all for that, as long as you promise me you won’t scare everyone off in the process:
 
Don’t be pushy
When you lead the horse to water, don‘t try to shove him in the pool. It’s poor form and ineffective: the horse is only going to get angry and certainly won’t ever trust you around anything resembling a lake. The same is true for the Internet. You’ll be much more successful in your effort to convert your non-techie peers, relatives or clients by showing them that it’s safe to jump in. You, and a host of well-respected others, are already surfing around, and the water is fine.

Share your success
Did Facebook connect you with a long-lost friend? Or, perhaps your new and improved LinkedIn account led to a dream gig? Maybe Google alerted you to a potential PR crisis, or using a Kindle helped alleviate your Carpal Tunnel syndrome? Did Christmas shopping on Amazon.com save you hundreds of dollars? Go tell it on the mountain! A few well-timed, casual mentions of your wins are great ways to enlighten and pique the interest of the tech-less masses.

Show them the metrics
Enough about you, what’s in it for them? If you’re sincerely trying to reel someone in to new media usage, shine a light on what they are missing. This is especially applicable to bosses and clients.

For example, I once worked with a company who was completely afraid of the Internet; they believed there was too much risk involved and too little control over what folks might say about them, insisting that “the web is a teenage fad,” and “there’s no return on investment,” etc. Rather than run in with guns blazing and sounding the snobbish “OMG! I can’t believe you’re not on Twitter!” alarm, I eased them in by helping them keep up with the current state of their online reputation. And that of their competitors.

I’d email my company contact mentions of their brand and topics of interest on Twitter, blogs, public Facebook pages and YouTube. I’d send them links to their rival’s social media presence, and the mainstream media’s news stories touting it. Over time, this company realized—on their own—that the social Web offered legitimate opportunities to strengthen their brand, market their product and monitor their competition. They also saw real-time, measurable success stemming from the new media campaigns of respected peers. A few months later, the company launched their (now thriving) YouTube, Twitter and Facebook accounts. The subtle, toe-in-the-water strategy was successful. A sky-is-falling fire drill would have surely failed.

Applaud their approach
If someone was afraid to swim and finally dove in, you certainly would not criticize their form and choice of swimwear. Think about this the next time a friend finally ditches their flip phone for a Droid or creates a Facebook account with a status they rarely update. It’s not when they “joined,” what technology they use, or how they compare to others that counts. The fact that they are giving technology a chance is the real achievement. So, avoid the temptation to dictate a preferred, one-size-fits-all social media strategy. You may be an newly converted iPhone fan, Facebook poker and hashtag addict, but not everyone else has to be. After all, you came around in your own due time and in your own particular way, and just look at you now!