Social Nation: How to Harness the Power of Social Media to Attract Customers, Motivate Employees, and Grow Your Business

Chapter 11. HOW TO GET STARTED AND 10 PITFALLS TO AVOID

	In the beginning of life, when we are infants, we need others to survive, right? And at the end of life, you need others to survive, right? But here's the secret: in between, we need others as well.
	--Mitch Albom

So far you've read about how organizations are using social media and online communities to create real value, spur innovation, and use the wisdom of the community to generate products and ideas. The concluding questions, then, are how do you build a Social Nation where your constituents work as much for you as you do for them, and how do you measure their contributions so that you can maximize and drive this mutually beneficial relationship? This chapter consists of four parts:

1. A definition of friends, fans and followers;

2. The difference in value between friends and followers and fans and fanatics;

3. Six ways to get started on the path to building a social nation; and

4. An illustration of social media tools that you can use to build your own social nation (not just Facebook or Twitter).

Additionally, this chapter covers the 10 obstacles you want to avoid while building your Social Nation.

DIFFERENTIATING FRIENDS AND FOLLOWERS FROM FANS AND FANATICS

In any community, there are two basic types of members: friends and followers in one and fans and fanatics in the other. Friends and followers are those people who demonstrate an interest in your organization by following what you do and how you do it. Their interest is passive, rather ...