Lessons in Social Media from the ICE Conference

By now, we should all know what social media is, but the larger question is how best to use it. There is not a simple answer to this question, unfortunately, and the answer often varies from organization to organization.

During the recent ICE conference in Atlanta, I attended a session debunking the myths of social media. The presenter, Jarin Schmidt, had a lot of great advice for attendees. Here are a few takeaways that stuck with me when it comes to social media.

• Go where your customers are. Many of us get into the world of social media by using all available, free outlets. We start a Facebook page, a Linked In group, get onto Twitter, etc. Consider if your customers are using all of these channels. If not, why are you on them?
• The details do matter. Treat social media with the same respect that you with other communication channels.
  
• Think of social media as coordinating interactions among your audiences, not just pushing information out.
• Having a strategy is good, but sometimes it is okay to react to what others post.