If this speaks to you, you’re not alone, and there is a wealth of support out there for you.  A few suggestions:

1. Be goal oriented.  If you can frame your social media project to be in support of larger or more specific goals of your organization, then you’re defining yourself on the same team.
2. Sometimes there are egos involved.  Two thoughts here:  First, give credit to your boss for great goals and big picture, so he/she feels validated, and not challenged.  Second, the unknown is sometimes scary — think about how you can help teach that person about your work in an exciting and not belittling way.  He/she may feel “out of date” or “being passed by”, and if you can temper these negative emotions, the whole conversation may be smoother.
3. Find low costs ways to begin, so all you’re asking for is a bit of time, not an outlay of cash.
4. Make sure you can articulate how you’ll measure your success, and then measure it.  You must be able to declare victory in order to build trust and future support.
5. Find relevant examples from related organizations or people who have the same job responsibilities as you do. While some leadership might assume that “all technology things belong with the IT guy”, we believe that all staff (and volunteers) need to be using the most up to date tools in their work.  The phone, photocopier, fax and email are all “technologies” that we use in our daily work.
6. Listen to their fears and objections.  If someone is terrified about a negative comment on a blog, consider meeting them half way by more aggressively moderating comments (needing to approve before they go live, etc.) to reduce fears and help everyone take baby steps forward.
7. Ask about privacy policies and any other guidelines that you should know about and use as you implement your project.  Avoiding accidental mis-steps will buy you good will down the road.
8. Consider framing your project as a “pilot” — short term, very focused, low cost – so that leadership feels they have an opportunity to reflect and assess whether the project will move forward.

Check out this blog post from The Buzz Bin on the topic, and if you’re hungry for more, read chapter 11 in Groundswell for strategies on how to move forward with social media in your organization.  Better yet, buy a copy for your boss!

How have you approached “selling social media” in your organization? How have you been an advocate? How are you teaching others?  What sort of feedback do you provide to others to demonstrate your impact? What support do YOU need?

While a host of recent publications have focused on social media (and many of them very useful and worth reading, such as Naked Converastions and The Long Tail), the mere fact that Forrest Research has published this book is a major statement not just for big business, but far beyond.

According to the authors, Josh Bernoff and Charlene Li, “the groundswell is a social trend in which people use technologies to get things from each other, rather than from traditional institutions like corporations.”  The themes, data, strategies and suggestions they present are just as relevant for Jewish life and Jewish organizations as they are for corporations. In this new landscape, we must examine how our organizations can  adjust to remain relevant to the “consumer” or community member, and explore how both the organization and community can benefit from these trends.

Groundswell is a huge help in understanding these questions and deriving useful answers. The book is extremely well organized, and accessible to readers of all sophistications.  Part 1 defines a variety of tools (blogs, wikis, social networking, etc.) and their strategic value and practical uses.  However the real value of the book is in its second part, Tapping the Groundswell.  This four-step planning process is a fantastic tool for any organization that wants to better align itself with this important shift, focusing on People, Objectives, Strategy and (finally) Technology.

Ultimately, the Groundswell is all about relationships.  And this is the business we are in.  Thus, we cannot ignore the significance of these trends and their implications for the relevance and success (or lack thereof) of our work.  The social media tools are just that: tools.  They not sufficient, but are increasingly necessary for our continued success in our work. This book will help you understand the tectonic shift  taking place, the tools and trends, and the strategies through which you can take part in this excitement and power of the groundswell.

Groundswell is an important, accessible and thorough work, which is valuable to both novice “web 2.0” folks as well as those who are more experienced.  For more, check out the Groundswell blog.

Have you read the book already?  What did you think?  What was the most valuable “take away” for you?