How do you strain out the junk?

By Don Meyer, CAE posted 01-06-2011 01:09 PM

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Today a CPA tweeted this: "It seems like the real issue with SM execution is dealing with data overload. How are your members straining out the junk?"

My response was too long for Twitter so I moved it here and posted a link to this blog in my retweet.

I really want to hear from other CPAs about how you're "straining out the junk", but I have a few thoughts:

Figure out what you want to accomplish and then tailor your social media outreach accordingly. Just because the NJSCPA and others have pages on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, doesn't mean that you have to have a presence on all three. It's not a competition to see who can get the most number of fans, followers or connections on the most sites. Pick the one (or two) that work best for you and stick with it.
Limit the number of people that you're connected to. Most social media users are on these sites to share information about themselves, their company or their profession. The more connections and followers, the more information to sift through. Connect yourself with like-minded people that can help you accomplish your professional goals. Anything beyond that is just showing off. None of us needs as many followers as Ashton Kutcher or Britney Spears.
Give up something else. I say all the time that you don't need to devote an excessive amount of time to feeding your social media pages, but you need to devote some time, perhaps less than 30 minutes a day. But how does a CPA who's already taxed (pardon the pun) devote even 20 minutes to posts and tweets? The answer: get rid of another task. I know that sounds bold, but every major advance in office technology has involved a shifting of priorities (how did we find time for hundreds of emails a day?) and social media is no different. Every CPAs situation is different, but if you're looking for tasks to give up, any traditional forms of marketing/advertising are a good place to start. Also, how do stay current on your profession and your world? If you're still weeding through newspapers, magazines and e-newsletters to find the information you need, consider dropping a few and following those sources via Twitter. Heck, even the IRS is using Twitter more.

Let's hear from you. How are you straining out the junk?

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Comments

Jesse M. Herschbein, CPA, CGMA

01-07-2011 06:55 PM

Don,
Joseph makes some great points. I use Tweetdeck to manage my Twitter, FB, and LinkedIn accounts all in one place, and it allows me to run multiple concurrent search queries right from my startup, allowing lots of information to come on the screen with very little effort.
Constantly refining Twitter search terms and follows, LinkedIn connections and group memberships, and understanding exactly what your FB presence is is necessary when you truly want to utilize these sites to your advantage.
You could easily not manage these sites to this degree, but the benefits you receive will be diminished, and your overall experience will hold little value.
Jesse

Don Meyer, CAE

01-06-2011 04:27 PM

Great suggestions, Joe. Thanks for the comments.

Joseph P. Manzelli, CPA, CITP

01-06-2011 01:58 PM

Don,
I think you hit on some great points, mostly give up something else. Handling SM is really not that difficult and does not take a lot of time. Earlier today, I was at a seminar that you presented at and using a SM tool, Hootsuite was able to post to all 3 SM sites you mention here at one time. Someone may say that I was not paying attention as I am tapping away on my iPad but it is another way to take notes and share with others at the same time. (I gave up looking through my notes later - they are on Twitter)
I limit who I follow and if they are a prolific poster wit nothing to say, I no longer follow them. A lot of time I spent looking for accounting and technology items, I now do not do as I follow some really great people who are doing some of that research for me and I get the information by following.
I used to think a lot of SM was "See what I am doing and I am here or going there" but there are a lot of great business uses of SM and it stas with sharing information.

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