Last week, I was talking with a few nonprofit executives about communications issues they face and what kind of training in communications would be most useful to them if it were available. A huge issue, not surprisingly, is time and resources to undertake communications programs. Another is using social media strategically and effectively. One senior executive told me,” I’m not tweeting and I’d really like to not feel guilty about it.”
And once again this was a reminder, that just because a tool exists doesn’t mean you have to use it or even that it is the right tool for your organization. Twitter, Facebook and other social media tools are means to create engagement and conversations. Just having a Twitter account is meaningless, unless you are using it and actively conversing. It doesn’t mean tweeting 20 times a day or even every day. But by the same token, it’s hard to have a conversation and engage, if you aren’t talking at all.
So my advice to anyone who is feeling overwhelmed by social media and beating themselves up for not doing it, relax. Remember the cardinal rule of communications–know they audience and reach out to them where they are. They may be feeling as you do. If you don’t have the resources (time and energy) to engage on social media, use other means until you do. And for goodness sakes, stop feeling guilty about it and think positively about the ways you are engaging your stakeholders.
