Social media explained through ice cream
by PatrickMason
photo credit: Daniel*1977
I spend a lot of my time explaining social media to clients. Here is a great video by leelefever on how it works, and why it is important to business.
By now, everyone knows or has heard about FaceBook, Myspace and blogs. However, from a business perspective clients can’t always see how and why this stuff can help.
The most effective way I have found is story telling. Before I meet with the client, I do a bit of research about their objectives, audience and overall situation. I then craft a story that walks them through how social media can help. Here is an example.
I recently had a call with a provincial government that is looking to attract skilled workers to the province. They asked me how social media could help. Here is what I told them. Imagine a young carpenter who recently moved away for work. Imagine he wants to come home, but can’t until he has a job.
You the Government create an on-line community bulletin board that allows people to list want ads, as well as resumes. This could be done via a blog, moderated forum or a number of other tools depending on specifcic need. Next you create a widget, say a little map of the Province that searched the site and alerted people when it found matches between wants ads and resumes or to pass on opportunities to friends that may fit their requirements.
Our carpenter hears about the site through an off-line advertising campaign that directs him to the site. He provides his resume, and lets the site know his preferences are to work in carpentry full time on the east coast. It also asks him if he knows anyone else who might be looking fro work “back home”. He does, and passes on the site’s location to a few friends.
At the same time, employers are are also alerted to the site by a customized newsletter sent directly to them via the province. It prompts them to register and tell the site who they are looking to hire. One of them says they want full time carpenters, and they have work on the east coast.
Once registered, the carpenter downloads the widget which searches the board, finds the match and provides a direct link to the want ad that fits his criteria. The widget does its thing. One morning the carpenter looks at the widget and its bouncing up and down, which is how it tells its owner of an opportunity. He clicks on it and there is a want ad for the job he was looking for. Contact is made and voila, one more skilled tradesperson can find a job and move home.
