Why Social Media Training Needs to be More Social
07/29/2009
Seminars have been given on the care and feeding of Social Media. An expert stands in front of the room, eager attendees listen closely and write down every word on their computers or on paper.
Webinars are the same, except the attendees are at their own place of business or watching at home in their pajamas.
But in both cases, there is a distance and a barrier to learning just what Social Media is all about. Like many lecturers, there are people who know their subject far better than their ability to communicate it. And the lecturers aren’t always aware of the paper shuffling, the foot tapping, and the quick and not-quite-so-furtive glances at watches.
There has to be a better way, and in fact, there is. It’s a group of people getting together and talking, sharing, asking questions, getting answers. Both lecturer and attendee have their assumptions challenged, their premises questioned and a spirited dialogue emerging. Which is exactly what Social Media is about.
I have given these seminars to various groups of wineries. And what I have found is fear, doubt, and a general reluctance to engage in social media. Everyone nods approvingly, takes copious notes, and ultimately does not understand the concept. Even our question and answer sessions, while more dynamic, still have the residual “I’m not sure I understand so I won’t say anything and appear dumb.”
Granted, this could be because I am not the world’s finest communicator, at least in this format. But why should this be a lecture anyway? My own style fits very well into the style of what social media truly is. It is a dialogue, a conversation, with questions and answers.
Enter Beerinars. Let’s talk about social media over a beer (or wine, or iced tea or water or whatever) and ask, answer, challenge, offer, speak, listen, tell jokes, trade stories, learn, teach. Everyone will do each of these things. And this is the essence of Social Media.
I call these sessions Beerinars even when given for wineries, mainly because wine-inars sounds dumb, iced-tea-inars is idiotic, and I happen to like beer as well as wine!
So if you just want to get together and talk (and it doesn’t have to really include beer, or anything alcoholic, after all, this will be during the workday) we will figure out how to participate in social media in a way that works specifically for you.
Clients of eWinerySolutions can request these sessions at www.ewinerysolutions.com/webinars which will be held at our Napa offices or other convenient spot. If you prefer asking about it before filling out a form, or you are not an eWinerySolutions client, simply send an email to me at larry@ewinerysolutions.com or larry@beerinars.com and talk to me.
Larry Chandler
eWinerySolutions Director of Social Media
Webinars are the same, except the attendees are at their own place of business or watching at home in their pajamas.
But in both cases, there is a distance and a barrier to learning just what Social Media is all about. Like many lecturers, there are people who know their subject far better than their ability to communicate it. And the lecturers aren’t always aware of the paper shuffling, the foot tapping, and the quick and not-quite-so-furtive glances at watches.
There has to be a better way, and in fact, there is. It’s a group of people getting together and talking, sharing, asking questions, getting answers. Both lecturer and attendee have their assumptions challenged, their premises questioned and a spirited dialogue emerging. Which is exactly what Social Media is about.
I have given these seminars to various groups of wineries. And what I have found is fear, doubt, and a general reluctance to engage in social media. Everyone nods approvingly, takes copious notes, and ultimately does not understand the concept. Even our question and answer sessions, while more dynamic, still have the residual “I’m not sure I understand so I won’t say anything and appear dumb.”
Granted, this could be because I am not the world’s finest communicator, at least in this format. But why should this be a lecture anyway? My own style fits very well into the style of what social media truly is. It is a dialogue, a conversation, with questions and answers.
Enter Beerinars. Let’s talk about social media over a beer (or wine, or iced tea or water or whatever) and ask, answer, challenge, offer, speak, listen, tell jokes, trade stories, learn, teach. Everyone will do each of these things. And this is the essence of Social Media.
I call these sessions Beerinars even when given for wineries, mainly because wine-inars sounds dumb, iced-tea-inars is idiotic, and I happen to like beer as well as wine!
So if you just want to get together and talk (and it doesn’t have to really include beer, or anything alcoholic, after all, this will be during the workday) we will figure out how to participate in social media in a way that works specifically for you.
Clients of eWinerySolutions can request these sessions at www.ewinerysolutions.com/webinars which will be held at our Napa offices or other convenient spot. If you prefer asking about it before filling out a form, or you are not an eWinerySolutions client, simply send an email to me at larry@ewinerysolutions.com or larry@beerinars.com and talk to me.
Larry Chandler
eWinerySolutions Director of Social Media
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Larry Chandler
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