Social media: Deliberate before deploying

Recent posts on other blogs, notably those of Liam Fitzpatrick and Jennifer Bull, show that people are still thinking about possible internal communication application of social media tools.

Social media can be very useful in some organisations. For example, blogs and Twitter, to name but two tools, provide the opportunity for people to tell the author what they think about his/her musings, thus furthering essential two-way dialogue. But a number of conversations I've had suggest that too many leaders considering the deployment of social media within an organisation risk putting the tools cart before the communications horse.

The focus is too often on having the social media tool itself, rather than where it fits into the communication mix and how it will add value. Making social media tools available does not necessarily mean communications are certain to improve.

Communicators are all too familiar with the following scenario. A senior leader arrives at your desk or calls you and says they want to send out an all employee email. They haven't yet discussed with you the message they want to share or why there is a need to share it, but in their own mind they have already decided a blanket email is the most appropriate channel. Often it can be the right method, but a lot of the time it isn't. Cart before the horse.

It is often like that when deciding to use social media. The channel or delivery medium is determined before any real consideration has been given to whether there is a more effective or beneficial way of delivering the message. That is not to say the circumstances don't lend themselves to the advantageous use of social media. They often will. But the decision to deploy social media should be made only when it has been identified as the carefully thought through solution to a particular engagement challenge. Otherwise it could become a flop that undermines credibility and leaves people feeling frustrated.