Social Media You Should Be Doing Now

Sage Lewis and Jim Evans

Last Saturday (3/10/12), we attended the meeting of the Greater Cleveland PC Users Group (GCPCUG - www. GCPCUG.org - @GCPCUG) on “The Most Important Social Media You Should Be Doing Now” with speaker Sage Lewis (@SageRock) of SageRock (www.sagerock.com).  Stuart had met Sage years ago at a COSE (Council of Smaller Enterprises - www.cose.org) networking function at the time Stuart was volunteering as a COSE ambassador, so he knew to expect a great presentation.

As with the tradition of GCPCUG, the pre-presentation part of the meeting started with a general tech Q & A session. The Q & A session offers the opportunity for attendees to find solutions to their technical problems. We highly recommend attending GCPCUG to make use of this free technical advice service.  

The GCPCUG has been around since 1982, and is run by Jim Evans (@geekclean), who is a fixture in the tech community and a real Cleveland treasure. GCPCUG is our local Cleveland chapter of the Association of Personal Computer User Groups (APCUG - www.apcug.net - @APCUG). GCPCUG, while encouraging attendees to become paid members, continues its 30-year tradition of offering monthly free tech-related educational programs to all who attend.  With the low-cost membership of only $30.00 annually, it is a good investment in our community. (FYI, Stuart is a past GCPCUG board member, having served as treasurer for eight years.)

After a brief break for attendees to purchase raffle tickets for technology-related books and swag, Sage Lewis started his presentation on “The Most Important Social Media You Should Be Doing Now.” 

Sage gave a dynamic presentation on the uses and purposes of social media. It has been said that people have become isolated by the use of computers and other technology, but Sage put social media in a different perspective by showing how it actually brings people together and fits in with people as “social creatures.”

Sage started his presentation by taking a photo of Stuart’s @DrupalCampOhio shirt, and sharing it with his followers on Twitter to demonstrate how you can use social media to go beyond your present location to engage people remotely. Sage, later in his presentation, involved our son, Kevin (@Kefrith), in his talk.  He learned how Kevin uses social media to share his poetry, and suggested additional ways to reach new audiences. Sage did a great job with our family and many other attendees to personally connect with us, and demonstrate how social media can extend these connections worldwide.  

Sage next shared some YouTube videos that demonstrated how technology today lets average people be creative and produce videos that have an emotional (funny, touching, exciting) appeal.  Using the technology available for free on YouTube is just the starting point. The real power to connect is found in the social aspect of sharing these emotions. 

Traditional media such as TV do not use social media to its full potential, since they are afraid to lose income.  Information is becoming free and available on demand.  This is a large contrast to the days of MTV (music television) when you had to pay for the privilege of waiting to see your favorite performer only at limited, scheduled times.  

Recommended book: The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century

Sage went on to share examples of both local and national companies who built positive customer relationships using social media.   

Three necessary parts of using social media successfully in business:

1. Must have social media policy for your company.
2. Must actively listen for your brand name.  Example: Use Google Alerts to track your brand or yourself. 
3. Actively use social media.

Sage ended his presentation with a challenge for everyone to become active in social media. We suggest that you contact Sage Lewis at SageRock.com to learn more. 

Please use the comments section below to share examples of the successful use of social media.