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People want rules for social media because they want it to be easy

Posted by Lisa Hoffmann in Blogging, Branding, Marketing, Online networking, PR, Small Business, Social media, Twitter on 01 13th, 2009 | Comments

Every time I get involved in a discussion about social media and how they fit in the marketing/PR puzzle, talk turns to rules. “How many people should I follow on twitter?” “How much is too much self-promotion?” “How many times a week should I blog?” “What percent of my tweets can be personal/off topic?” My answer is always the same: I don’t know.

Sure, I can make suggestions, but only after asking a lot more questions. If anyone tells you she has definitive answers, especially without spending some time understanding your needs and goals, your skepticism meter should be going off.

There is one thing I can always say with confidence, though. Success in social media does not come easily. There is no algorithm, no secret formula, no magic ratio of posts to comments that is going to guarantee results. When you want to connect with someone in real life you don’t think to yourself, “Hmmm…how many phone calls and lunch dates do I need to have with her to make her my friend?” Sounds crazy, right? So why do we think we can come up with mathematical equations for connection via social media?

There is no shortcut to creating relationships. It’s just hard work. But it can yield spectacular and rewarding results.

Photo credit: Akirsa via Flickr

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Comments to “ People want rules for social media because they want it to be easy ”

Bone says:

January 13, 2009 at 4:05 am

It is like we discussed. How can there possibly be any experts yet? While there might be relationship experts, relationships via online methods do not follow exactly the same rules. Like anything else, what works for some may not work for others, even more so here in this place.

- Bone

Lisa Hoffmann says:

January 14, 2009 at 2:08 am

Right on, Brady. And even relationship experts require plenty of information and in-depth analysis before they can help their clients. No easy answers. Lots of hard work.

Reply

charles palma says:

January 13, 2009 at 4:57 am

Building Relationship is a continouos and never-ending process.

Lisa Hoffmann says:

January 14, 2009 at 2:09 am

Yeah, no kidding Anyone who goes into any networking situation thinking it's going to be quick and clear-cut is fooling himself.

Reply

Erich Miller says:

January 13, 2009 at 7:13 am

Very nice post Lisa – I think when it's treated more like a business, rather than JUST being social, it gets treated as such – and people want quick results overnight, which is just not going to happen.

Lisa Hoffmann says:

January 14, 2009 at 2:10 am

"Overnight successes" are often years in the making. Why set ourselves up for frustration and disappointment? Thanks for your kind words.

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DaveMurr says:

January 14, 2009 at 2:14 am

Some things just happen… think about your best friend. How did you meet? What did you talk about? What were the bonding elements? What connected you? How did you maintain that friendship through the years.

Maybe this doesn't translate to social media – maybe it does.

Or maybe we have to stop thinking and just do…

Lisa Hoffmann says:

January 14, 2009 at 2:11 am

You know, Dave, the more I think about it, the more I realize you're right. We are spending so much time thinking and talking about social media when what we really need to do is get out there and put it into practice. Then, and only then, will we realize its full potential. Thanks for stopping by to comment!

Reply

Lindsay Price says:

January 14, 2009 at 2:15 am

Instead of figuring out how to turn social media into a recipe, these people should just do it. Learn by doing, instead of coming up with rules.

And 'There are no shortcuts to relationships' – exactly so! Social media works really well as a 'talk with' medium and not a 'talk to' medium. You have to talk with people and keep at it.

Lisa Hoffmann says:

January 14, 2009 at 2:41 am

And that's why I suspect so many people want rules, Lindsay – because they want to skip the "learn by doing" phase and skip to the good stuff. It's just not that easy!

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Steve Woodruff says:

January 14, 2009 at 8:58 am

"Rules" would imply fixed goals and proven methods. That's not where it's at in a rapidly-evolving space, with as many goals as there are participants. About the only rules I can think of are, "be authentic" and "get out there!"

Tom Martin says:

January 14, 2009 at 12:23 pm

Great post Lisa. A guy I used to work with had the perfect answer when ask for rules, in his case, media planning/buying. He'd just say, "depends." He was almost always right.

Lisa Hoffmann says:

January 14, 2009 at 2:14 am

"Depends." I like it. Sounds a little better than "I don't know." Any time you're dealing in relationships – and, really, when are we not? – there are going to be a lot of variables.

Reply

Marianne O'Connor says:

January 16, 2009 at 3:27 pm

This problem is WAAAY older than social media. People have a long history of looking for guidelines to help them be immediately popular and make "old friends" overnight. Just check out the "self help" section of any bookstore. Success in most things takes hard work; humans just wish they didn't have to do it and are programmed to look for shortcuts.

Lisa Hoffmann says:

January 17, 2009 at 8:22 pm

So true, Marianne. I'm looking for parenting shortcuts all the time

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Leo Wurschmidt says:

January 17, 2009 at 3:26 pm

Yeah, a lot of people want the easy way out. How little effort do I put out for maximum results.

The beautiful part about social media is that there is a low barrier to entry, but conversely it does take a lot of work over time in order to be successful.

Lisa Hoffmann says:

January 17, 2009 at 8:24 pm

It is quite a paradox, Leo. Social media is deceptively complex and time-consuming. Guess that's why so many are looking for "just add water" rules for success.

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Lisa Hoffmann says:

January 17, 2009 at 8:20 pm

Quite possibly to two best "rules" I've heard so far, Steve. Can't figure out how to make it work until you get out there and experiment.

Shannon Paul says:

January 19, 2009 at 5:18 pm

Such a good point and eloquently addressed. Social media requires flexibility and agility in equal measure. How would you work a room? How do you behave on a date? How do you give a presentation? The rules are never hard and fast. The old formulas don't work anymore but that isn't because there's a new formula, it's because the very notion of formulaic approaches to communication are passe. We want personal, individual communication with all its flaws and nonsequiters and we want the ability to talk back. That's it — numbers of followers and all that other stuff needs to be assessed and reassessed when the demands of the business warrant reassessment — goods stuff, Lisa, and well put. Thank you.

Brad at Pharma says:

January 19, 2009 at 7:10 pm

When I hear questions like this, I hear the questions such as "How do I make a viral video?". I also get amazed by people looking at pure ROI calculations, assuming that Social Media/Networking is just like all the other marketing strategies…

I've been at this thing for a while. People listen to what I have to say… when they listen to what I have to say… not because I'm some Twitter Eagle, but because I participate in the conversations. I act like a human, because I am one, so I get treated like one. I almost want to carry a copy of Robert Fulghum's "All I ever needed to know I learned in Kindergarten" books, because I feel it's the same sort of thing… boiling it down to, "Be human", "Don't be a schmuck", "Participate" seems to be lost on a lot of people with whom I conversate…

Fortunately, this type of conversation is happening in lots of different places, so more and more people are starting to "get it" from the perspective that when I tell them it's not easy, they've read it somewhere else at least once…

#iwork@novartis

Beth Evans says:

January 26, 2009 at 2:46 pm

This is so true. What's the best way to explain this to bosses and clients who want ROI?

Stacy Lukas says:

February 9, 2009 at 10:58 pm

People outside of my online social media bubble always ask me questions like this, and I think it's because we as humans are just so used to rules and restrictions that the concept of open water is intimidating. But seriously, all I tell people is STOP TRYING SO HARD. Just be yourself, do your thang, and it will happen.

Social Media Graduates to the “How?” Era » Media Emerging says:

February 12, 2009 at 12:00 pm

[...] will look to us for the rules of the road. Lisa Hoffmann, my PRstore colleague, says people want rules for social media because they want it to be easy. And as Lisa says, “Success in social media does not come [...]

Mike Coombs says:

February 27, 2009 at 9:44 pm

Ask in Hollywood (not that I have) about how to make a big profitable commercial hit movie. There must be rules and experience for that…right? I am reminded of "Bonfires of the Vanities" Great writer, great director, great big budget, big likable stars, terrible movie, terrible box office.

Guidelines… yes. Best practices… yes. But real effective communication (with emotion) is difficult. And then there is "the audience or customers bias and habits".

Having said that… cookie cutters are useful but ultimately limiting if you only have one or two.
(I almost got into the whole "arrows in your quiver" thing but really…that sounded like too much even to me,

Hey Lisa…GREAT questions and topics.

Socworkepon says:

July 10, 2009 at 6:22 am

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