What social media needs to jump the chasm

People still view TV as the number one source of trusted information when it comes to advertising–this according to a 2007 study conducted by WPP Group’s Kantar Media Research and Pointlogic.  

“Consumers recognize TV as the No. 1 medium for building awareness: 43% rate it as excellent or very good. Magazines (31%), newspapers (29%) and radio (24%) all also performed well.” Asked which media helped them decide whether “they can trust a brand,” TV ranked first again with 26% of the respondents, followed by newspapers (21%) and magazines (19%). The newest media tracked in the survey – platforms like video games, video-on-demand, interactive TV and streaming online video – by contrast are still regarded by most consumers as being niche communication vehicles. Their scores on these measures ranged between 2% and 5%.  –Media Daily News post

So what will it take for social media to become more mainstream? A change in how corporations and big organizations view social media and use it…because there’s already a groundswell of grassroot use and support. Here’s what I think needs to happen:   

1. Realise where the greatest potential for mass social media content lies (see previous post…about trusting employees enough to let them blog/vlog/cast/etc. on the company site about their opinions, experiences, thoughts, and whatnot)
2. Find a way to bridge the need for people to use “trusted”/established sources of info with tech-savvy early adopters who are creating content (be it in blogs, on YouTube, wherever online). An example of this is Current TV using user-generated content for videos/docs/etc. letting people post their videos to the site, then members of the community can vote on which videos are good enough to play on Current TV’s cable television station…so that people more comfortable in watching TV can see the best of the online videos (as judged by the particular online community)
3. Design software and devices to be more intuitive, and make it easier for people to find the best social media content online. Some gear is still a little scary (and pricey) for a lot of people, and it is overwhelming to wade through the vast amounts of content on the Web. I wade a bit…but mostly I rely on a core group of friends who are online 24-7 and forward me stuff. Once we get to the semantic web stage, I think there will be more intelligent search capability that will make this much more manageable

In the meantime…continue to look for ways you can get social media going at your company. If you’re in PR, check out how JetBlue’s then CEO handled a potential PR nightmare by posting an apology to passengers on YouTube immediately after the incident (stranded passengers on a plane sitting on the tarmack for a long time), or for internal comms, talk with Richard Dennison at BT about its wiki: BTpedia and homegrown social networking site. Ragan and Melcrum are also good sources of information.