Some Reflections on Listening

During a break out session at the conference, we participated in a Social Media Strategy Simulation Game.  Our team was tasked with developing a list of social media objectives for a fictional non-profit:  "You are a marketing team for a museum that showcases art in different media featuring bridges in San Francisco.  You offer workshops, have a youth program and want to increase registrations, participation and attendance. "  By identifying which tactical approaches and tools we would use, we hoped to chart a social media plan.  

Early on, we realized the importance of the distinction between "marketer" and "community manager".  The two are not necessarily the same thing.  Certain social media tools lend themselves well to one or the other.  Which of these are you familiar with?  Which would you choose to employ? 

Digg, friendfeed, utterli, podcasts, technorati, RSS Readers, Social networking sites (Linked In, Facebook, etc.), Video Sharing (YouTube, blip.tv), blogs, google tools, etc.

Program delivery depends heavily on your goals.

As our group discussed these issues, we realized how very important listening is before composing your social media strategy.  Before launching videos on YouTube, creating a SNS or blogging, has your organization taken enough time to listen to your prospective audience?

By placing key terms into google alerts, one can establish a better understanding of who is talking about your organization and determine which media forms are best for your goals.

How much time can your organization just listen?  A month?  Six? Twelve?

MIIS has seen an explosion of media projects in the last year.  Have we established clear objectives for these or are we just reacting to what we think we need based on what we have heard in the media.  ("Other colleges are XYZ-ing.....so should WE!!)  Should we listen to what is being said about MIIS a bit more before we leap?  

Time to fire up google alerts?