It’s the Relationship, Stupid!

As my association has been slowly edging into the social networking world, there are a few things that have become very clear.

First, this endeavor is (and will continue to be) more costly and harder to pull off than originally expected. It seems with the free tools and endless supply of people who are able to use them, that content would be cheap and plentiful and experts would be everywhere. Well, I'm finding that to not necessarily be the case. Creating blogs, editing audio and video, and searching for the next great story takes resources. I did find a great article in my quest to find the perfect social networking primer. It is from BusinessWeek titled "Debunking the Six Social Media Myths". It is a great read if you are on the road to social networking nirvana.

Second, just because a tool is there and free doesn't mean it is right for your organization. I have spent countless hours reviewing tools, gadgets, add-ons, apps, and what conclusion have I come to? There are nearly as many tools available as I've got members. Identifying what tools my members use and want, and how I can make them available to them to improve their life...those are the really big questions.

Finally, and most importantly, success in web 2.0 is going to be about relationships. If I solicit advice from a group about a restaurant to try or a movie to go and see, I trust the opinions of those people I have a relationship with more than those who are just casual acquaintances or people I don't know at all. Social networking is no different. As organizations, we need to develop these relationships with our members so they trust their relationships with us. How do we create this trust? We can do this by providing a keen insight into a timely news story on our blog. We can provide a forum for members to discuss issues they care about. We can provide a place for member generated content to be hosted so they can share knowledge and expertise among each other. By giving them the tools they want and the space to use them, we can work to gain trust and develop those relationships.

With a real relationship, however, comes criticism. Many groups have retreated from getting member feedback, especially that of a critical nature, under the banner of "brand protection". Keep in mind that just because you are not allowing them to talk about you on your sites, doesn't mean they're not talking about you. If you answer criticisms of your organization with honesty, and make changes where you feel they are appropriate (and explain why you won't make changes where they are not) your members will see you are not afraid to engage them openly and honestly, and although they might not agree with you, it will go a long way to creating a real relationship.

How are you doing at developing relationships with your members? Does anyone have a story of hosting a forum where the organization became the topic of discussion and how they dealt with it? I'd love to hear it.