These days, nearly everyone uses social media. Not only your family, friends, co-workers and old acquaintances, but also — and most important
to your career — members of your
association. In fact, social media is a
great way to offer members a platform
to interact with one another and remain
connected to the organization.
In an effort to differentiate themselves, many organizations are moving
to specialized social media platforms or
customized social networks that bring
people together to participate in mem-bers-only discussion forums, document
sharing and other interactive activities.
At the American Society of Anesthesiologists, four strategic questions were
continually raised during discussions
about whether to continue using pre-existing, well-established social networks or build a specialized platform.
These questions can serve as a roadmap
for executives who want to get the most
value out of social media:
1. Who Is My Target
Audience?
The first and most important thing asso-
ciations must consider when it comes
to social media is their target audience.
If the audience already is on Facebook
or Twitter, it may be best to focus your
social media efforts on these existing
platforms. Plus, converting fans and
followers into loyal participants often
is easier with an established platform
than it is with a fresh one. On the other
hand, if the audience has expressed a
need for tailored messaging and is willing to make the change, a specialized
platform may be the solution.
The audience’s demographics also
can help determine whether there might
be an opportunity to expand to a new
platform. Fifty-eight percent of Facebook users are 18 to 35. If your target
audience is slightly older, it may be
more beneficial to have your association use Twitter, whose largest group
of users are 35 to 49. However, if your
target audience fits neither, or is a
combination of these age groups, it may
be worthwhile to consider developing a
specialized platform.
The type of messaging you want to
convey to your audience also is impor-
tant. Specialized platforms are great for
associations that have a targeted niche
market. Sometimes messaging can get
lost in the crowd on larger social media
sites. With a specialized platform, the
message is delivered directly to the
specific audience. Also, if your messag-
ing is meant to be private, a specialized
platform allows you to communicate
directly with members — and only
members.
