For those of you who weren’t able to join the National Safe Boating Council at its General Membership meeting on September 11 in Milwaukee, WI, I began the North American Safe Boating Campaign (“Wear It!”) update by showing the “Social Media Revolution 2011”. This is an updated version of a previously released “Social Media Revolution” from Erik Qualman. As quick background reference, Mr. Qualman founded Socialnomics “with the intent of providing short social stories, statistics, studies and surprises. The term Socialnomics also has a double meaning in that as the success of this site [www.socialnomics.net] grows the more social good we hope to accomplish/give back.” (Source: http://www.socialnomics.net/about-socialnomics/). The web site itself is really honest, smart, and incredibly informative, but I’d like to talk about “Social Media Revolution 2011” specifically and how it relates to us as recreational boating safety professionals.
We’ve all heard for years (and more so recently) that social media is the future and if you’re not on Facebook/Twitter/YouTube/etc., then you’re already behind. Anyone that would argue that point has clearly not been paying attention. For those individuals that know social media is the future, but still have not jumped on the bandwagon, they’re in need of re-evaluation. Social media is there to help us, not hurt us. All of us are facing one major brick wall: budgets. More specifically, budget cuts. Social media is one way we’re able to break down that brick wall, even if it’s only piece-by-piece.
What could be better than reaching potentially millions of people (or millions of boaters) essentially for free? There’s really no argument here, either. Besides the time factor and the potential for a few paid advertisements, social media is free to use and free to promote your own message. Furthermore, an active audience is right there – waiting to receive up-to-date information on what’s happening with your agency, organization, or company. Taking it one step forward, social media has been set up to encourage direct, simultaneous communication. Gone are the days when letters are sent out and a request is required two weeks later. You need an answer to a question you have? Done. Now. It’s all right at our fingertips if we just recognize its potential.
How does this help us when we consider our audience? How do we utilize these valuable resources to deliver safety messages, important information, and current trends that are affecting recreational boaters not only in our state, but also across the country? We need to consider some key points that were brought up in the “Social Media Revolution 2011.”
“Over 50% of the world’s population is under 30 years old.” (:14). This is something we need to be extremely conscious of as we figure out how to talk to our target audience. In 2010, 248 of the 672 deaths were between 36 and 55. The next highest age group? Over 55 years old. So, how do we relate this to the notion that over 50% of the world’s population is under 30 years old? Are people over 30 using social media? Are they as in-tuned to these different social media sites as those under 30? One of the things we must be cautious of when using social media is that we still also must use traditional media. This is not a one-or-the-other type of thing here – this is using whatever is out there – both social media to reach out to those the “younger” crowd and those that are more technically inclined and traditional media to reach those that are “older” as well as those that are not actually able to own a computer, for example. We must remember that there are many people out on the water that may be of a lower socio-economical background and need to hear what we have to say a different way.
Moving on… “90% of consumers trust peer recommendations. Only 14% trust advertisements” (2:06 – 2:15). What is this really saying? It’s saying that we need to do a better job to actually meet boaters, talk to boaters, and understand how they think. What better way to do this than to chat with them over Facebook? Or send them a tweet over Twitter? We can’t talk to each and every one of those that have registered over 12 millions boats last year. What we can do, though, is be smart about our own advertising and outreach efforts. This is another example of the “new” social media meeting and complementing traditional media. Are you tweeting multiple times a day? Great! Are you spending your weekends at a marina or boat ramp? Even better. Did you tweet where you’ll be, including up-to-the-second tweets? If you answered “yes,” then you’re on the right track. You’re coupling social media with traditional media to create more communication and face-to-face opportunities. You need to become these people’s peers. You can’t solely be the name behind an advertisement anymore. You need to let boaters know that you’re also a real person, with a real interest in boating that wants to see them boat safely to have the best recreational experience possible.
There’s no doubt that we’re getting there. The fact that NASBLA has created its Connected Community is getting us thinking, “How do we work together to address key issues of recreational boating?” The future – our future – looks bright as we continue to welcome these changes, rather than view them as a hindrance.
What do you think? Do we need to continue with both traditional media and social media? Is social media the future?