Oversimplifying Social Media

“I am very little inclined on any occasion to say anything unless I hope to produce some good by it.” – Abraham Lincoln

As I consider social media, I cannot help but believe that in many cases public relations professionals individuals over-complicate effective communication. So, allow me to swing the pendulum entirely other way, prove my foolishness, and oversimplify it.

The question of how to respond to negative social media comments and posts was once again a topic of discussion among a group of public relations professionals I visited with last week. I remarked that I believe that in many cases I would be better served approaching social media as if it were an interpersonal conversation. This is especially the case during unpleasant conversations.

Let me explain.

In real life, clearly explaining the rationale behind a decision does not solve every disagreement, nor does every rebuttal ensure a point of contention is reconsidered. At times, “agreeing-to-disagree” is the only civil solution in my opinion.

Yet, this is contrary to what many social media experts profess. Instead, increased engagement is often considered a magic elixir. To be sure, I hope you do not read this as a post against engagement, as I believe it is the single most important quality of good social media. Nevertheless, hindsight teaches me that the biggest mistakes I’ve made on social media have come when the conversation was not going my way, but I unsuccessfully attempted to win someone over to my point of view. My continued engagement only led to my frustration, my counterpart’s anger, and an increase in hostility from others not previously involved in the conversation.

The differences in social media and interpersonal communication are many; I acknowledge my oversimplification. Most obvious is that a one-on-one conversation is a far cry from a one-on-one conversation in front of a few thousand of our closest friends.

Simply put, in real life and in social media, I believe there are times to continue the conversation, as additional details may help others’ understanding of a complex matter. At times, the person with whom you are conversing is someone you greatly respect. By all means engage that person with the care you’d offer a close friend or to anyone you greatly respect.

In real life, though, there are also times when walking away is he most effective approach as well. In my opinion, we would be better served in real life and in social media if we spoke only when some good could reasonably be expected to come of it.