A guest post by Triad Strategies President Roy J. Wells
Any of you who are friends with me on Facebook, connected with me on LinkedIn, or are part of my small following on Twitter, have been probably scratching your heads wondering why a lobbyist is pushing out volumes of content on Social Media. In fact, you were not the only ones shaking your heads. When I introduced Social Media to the Triad Team last November, there were a few eyes rolling and heads shaking. So, I figured I owed a bunch of people an explanation, and what better way to do it than on the TRIADvocate.
When someone asks me what a lobbyist is, my usual response is that on one level, we are nothing more than relationship managers. We manage relationships on behalf of our clients that do not have the time or expertise to manage those relationships themselves. Conversely, we manage client relationships on behalf of policy-makers who need access to information to make appropriate decisions that affect over 12 million Commonwealth residents.
Therefore, it is not a great leap to then understand that Social Media, or New Media as some in my office would label it, is another place where our relationships hang out, and by extension, a place to interact with them.
I have been listening to conversations on Facebook for over eight months. The key word here is listening. Because of I have been listening, I know the Rep. DePasquale and I have a common hobby/appreciation for Battlestar Galactica. I know that when I listen to Rep. Vereb’s latest political observations, that I will likely see a story the next morning on Fox 29 in Philadelphia. I always knew the Rep. Cohen was an avid reader, but every day I can pick up some insights into what he is reading. I know who Rep. Gordon is supporting for Governor, and his views of what is going on in the House Republican Caucus.
I did not update my status on Facebook until September, with a post that I was heading off to attend the U.S. Open tennis tournament in NYC. Because of that post, and subsequent tennis posts, I found out that two long-time friends of over 20 years, Vicki DiLeo and Eric Fillman, are both tennis fans.
Well it became pretty clear that this medium was one that Triad Strategies needed to be fully engaged in. We established a Facebook Fan Page, LinkedIn Page, and a Twitter Profile. We then launched the TRIADvocate in December, and have been going strong ever since.
We are pushing a lot of content out of Triad. People ask me why we would offer content to our competitors and groups that are on the opposite side of our clients’ issues. Well, my answer is that Social Media is all about “paying it forward” and that if our clients and friends benefit from pushing content out, then we as a company will benefit in the long run. More on this in future posts, but I will say that we still reserve a considerable amount of content for our clients’ ears only.
We would love to hear your thoughts on this post or any other post on the TRIADvocate. Feel free to give us your honest opinion, good or bad. We are big boys and girls and can take it. But, true to the nature of the medium, we will be happy to share our opinion as well. Enjoy the weekend.
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