I was recently speaking on a social media panel in Georgia. The room was filled with marketers from large brands like Napa Auto Parts, Coca Cola, Best Western and Aarons. Even though these were marketers, they almost all fell closer to social media novices on the spectrum.
As is usually the case when speaking with people that aren't extremely knowledgeable about social media, the conversation became focused on the most popular tools and in particular Twitter and Facebook.
After discussing the benefits of these technologies to the marketing process, a very fair question was asked...
"What if Twitter fails?"
It really is a great question. Brands have a legitimate concern of a social media platform like Twitter going under after they spend significant time and resources building of a valueable presence.
The core of the answer is very simple: SOCIAL MEDIA IS ABOUT RELATIONSHIPS WITH PEOPLE
If marketers approach this communication realm in that way, they will be able to transfer the conversations they're having on Twitter to any other social media platform when needed. If people/consumers trust you, enjoy your content and feel like they are a part of something real they will follow the conversation from Twitter to Facebook to Ning to a discussion board on the brand website. It is truly about the strength of the relationship with readers and consumers.
While building a community on a specific platform, be sure to cross-polinate your messaging on at least 2-3 platforms total. For instance, if your primary communication spot is Twitter you may also want to have a Facebook fan page and a blog. Send your followers to all of these locations throughout your entire communication process. This will train your readers to visit your other platforms if one of these technologies fail overnight.
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