*For embedded links, see SlideShare chart.

Even laggards are now admitting that social media is here to stay, but how people engage social media varies greatly.  I notice that they seem to fall into one of four categories once they decide to link, tweet, post, blog or otherwise chat online.

With social media, a combination of IT skills and social skills is most beneficial; therefore, it stands to reason that those people lacking both would be the last to come on board and people who have talent in each area would be the early adopters.  The key, though, is not to take it to an extreme in whichever area you happen to belong.  The people who do are often the ones portrayed as representative of social media and its uses, unfortunately.

Pony Express-ives

Social media users latest to the game are those most reticent about using these tools.  They felt it was a passing fad and a waste of time – essentially a video game that didn’t belong in the workplace, so why bother learning such a thing?

They have begrudgingly added this to their already overwhelming to-do list, and don’t care to admit that mastering email isn’t something they’ve quite gotten the hang of yet.

Wall Monitors

Although more adept with the technical side of things, Wall Monitors aren’t really social creatures and find the video game analogy of social media to be enticing.  They see the entire experience more as a need to outscore everyone else, where acquiring connections is a means to an end.  “Winning” to them is more about getting the highest number, title or prize, rather than meeting people.

TMIers

While Twitter often gets blamed for creating these creatures, they existed long before social media did.  They used the telephone, mail and face to face communication in bygone years – whatever was available – to tell anyone who would listen about anything and everything that was happening in their lives, ad nauseum.

Like “reality” television, if people didn’t give them an audience, they would learn sooner not to publicly broadcast their minutiae to the world.

Fan-Addicts

Those most adept at technology and socializing have been using social media the longest, but often find it difficult to step away from their monitors, handhelds, laptops – even for a short while.  As our society becomes more connected, we often find it impossible to become disconnected.  Pew Research shows that, overall, two-thirds of adults sleep with their cell phones.

As a society, even the most technologically engaged are beginning to address what protocols should be followed regarding acceptable behavior with regard to social media invading – and superceding – the world of face to face interaction.

So which category is best?  As usual, all things in moderation.  It’s certainly good to be skilled in a trade – especially one that’s in demand – but not if it’s taken to such an extreme that it controls you instead of the other way around.

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Keep the base of the pyramid strong

One of the hardest positions to be in is to find that your organizational strategy is based entirely upon not what’s been requested, nor even what’s been successful (since no tracking has been done), but solely the personal opinions of a select few in management who feel that they speak for all.

It’s simply too easy to assume that “we know this group” and set our campaign toward them on auto-pilot; however, this can have detrimental or disastrous consequences, because all groups evolve, adapt and change.  When an organization, company or medium fails to listen, notice or adapt with them, this is a formula for disaster.  Mike Frey makes a good argument about how social media was created because traditional media didn’t pay attention and became further and further removed from its customer base.

Research toward your constituents should be ongoing, segmented and with dual considerations:  Industry-wide data is important to monitor, but you also need to keep tabs on what your own organizational data is as well.  They may not follow the same trends in all circumstances.

When reviewing and segmenting social media data, for example, we see that overall use is growing at an incredible rate among seniors, particularly in the 50 – 64 age category.  While their consumption does not yet equal that of the 18 – 29 age group, it is notable that the rate of increase has roughly doubled in the last year . . . and the year before that.  The rate of increase in social media usage is clearly higher among these seniors than any other group.

This research explains the trends of the data that gut feelings might not, such as:

•     It’s likely that even greater numbers of Boomers will join the ranks of social networking as more of them get high speed internet
•     Older adults tend to be home bound in greater numbers, and appreciate being connected with loved ones online

There are many ways that social networking engages participants of all ages, too.  Consider the plethora of online games and the market penetration of such things as FarmVille viewed on grocery shelves.  This crosses a variety of demographics.

A common misperception about a different segment is that Generation Y exists exclusively online, and the only way to approach them is through Facebook, but there is never just one way.  For one thing, recent studies have documented Facebook Fatigue among Millenials, who are finding it less cool, now that their parents and grandparents are joining in droves.

Teenagers and young adults elsewhere are showing additional offline trends as well:  In Australia, they are using the web as a means to search for ways to shop offline; and there’s documentation that German teens are becoming more interested in face-to-face time these days, too.

American Gen Y entrepreneurs have also recently been meeting with one another in person to brainstorm about how best to create new ideas, including starting the largest Google Doc.

We can’t be positive what the next new trend(s) will be or exactly what our constituents will want from us in the coming year(s).  What is certain, however, is that we must continue to learn all we can about their needs, desires – and proven response rates and meet them where they are . . . not where we decide they should be.

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Keep the base of the pyramid strong