While there are millions of avid social media users and thousands that understand the value for business, there are very few who can truly communicate the value effectively. Those few are in high demand.

It’s important because in the grand scheme of things social media is a new space. This means that when working in a digital capacity or looking to do so, we are in the business of education and influence.

I have pulled together the five things I keep in mind when talking about social media within the organization I work for. The way I see it – every conversation counts. It’s not just the high-profile presentations or pitch meetings that develop support. Each chat is an opportunity.  A true expert demonstrates how their particular subject matter is of interest to those who are non-experts in this area. This is achieved through effective communication.

1. Explain “the shift” in simple terms Whoever you’re talking to cares about their customers and their employees –  guaranteed. It’s important to understand the changing behaviour of these key audiences. Sometimes we jump to the shock value statistics “THERE ARE 100 MILLION+ PEOPLE ON FACEBOOK” . We forget to point out the important fact that the way in which people source and share information has changed.

Explaining this will help them to see that it doesn’t really matter what tool we are talking about (avoiding the argument of MySpace or My5 disappearing so “who’s to say twitter won’t be dead tomorrow…?”) and get them to see that the shift has broader implications. In the most basic terms, we have moved from a model of broadcasting to narrowcasting.

• Broadcasting (old model): media companies and corporations disseminate information and messaging from the top-down
• Narrowcasting (new model): individuals control their own media (music, TV, news, movie) experience and share personal news and media cycles to other individuals in their community

2. Tell the story they know. Rather than use famous cases like the Obama example, tell the story of their customer or employee. A story that allows them to picture how their customer or employee could or does use social media can be very effective. Choose a specific brand touch point (for example: customers comparing prices) and relate this information to the opportunity social media presents. If I was speaking with a health care group I might say “If we had twitter stream, Mom will be able to check wait times in the emergency room for her sick little one right from her phone.” Use relevant and scaled examples.

3.Relate social media to an existing business function. Relate social media to something the company is already doing. Some great examples are proactive communications, crisis communications, consumer insights, customer service or simply story telling. Explain how the customer today expects these functions to transcend online. This is also a good way to explain the power of peer-to-peer sharing.

4. Don’t ignore the elephant in the room. Talk about risks, priorities and resources. These things that matter to the business will be addressed in your social media plan. This conversation can only be kept relevant with a little bit of prep work. Think about the priorities of the business and risks involved in advance. This is the point in the conversation that can make or break your credibility. Demonstrate a genuine understanding of concerns.

5. Use their business terms, not yours. Minimize the use of social media buzzwords by relating social media strategy to terms that their business depends on. If you’re talking with HR, you may choose to explain how story-telling online will help to further define the company’s EVP (Employee Branding Proposition), or if you’re talking to sales and marketing you may relate online tactics to your brand’s differentiator or consumer insights.

This isn’t to say that we should tackle all these points in one hallway conversation, but hopefully helpful when thinking about how to talk about social media.  Please share your tips! I’d love to hear them.