Uncle Bob: Hey Meg.
Me: What’s up?
Uncle Bob: What’s Twitter?
Companies all over are asking themselves this very question. And that’s a good thing.
With millions of people on the Web every day, there’s no doubt that people are talking about your company; their experiences, their praises, their critiques, their general opinion about your awesomeness, etc.
In sum, the digital word-of-mouth (WoM) conversation is already out there. Which is why it’s great that companies are echoing Uncle Bob when they ask, “What’s Twitter?”
It’s a difficult task to learn about new platforms that are revolutionizing the way companies do business. Especially because the new media industry moves so quickly.
If your company isn’t already in the new media space…how can you catch up?
The first step would be to learn a) What new media is, and; b) How the ‘important’ platforms function. This step takes time, but as with every new venture, it starts with a single step.
It’s important to note that it could be potentially devastating to your company’s brand to join the platforms and start using them, especially if you don’t know with whom you are conversing.
That’s why it’s great to ask questions.
UPDATE: 05.05.09, Ragan.com (a prominent communicator guide) posted an article by Geoff Livingston at The Buzz Bin on how to introduce your company to social media. The post sites that forming an internal blog to share and recommend sites privately may be a good way to become familiar with the sphere.
