Why I Love Social Media (Personally and Professionally)

You may have noticed that Function: has been talking a lot about social media lately. We blog about it. We tweet about it. And our most recent webinar on March 11th was entitled “Social Media: How Tweets, Posts and Friending Can Benefit the Building Product Manufacturer.”

This discussion of social media is very interesting and exciting to me. First of all, I love social media. Give me a blog, tell me to write and I’ll be happily occupied for hours. Sign me up for a Twitter account and I’ll tweet all day. Set me free on Facebook and I’ll reconnect with everyone I’ve known since kindergarten. I just love it- talking, writing, connecting to people.

But on top of simply enjoying social media from a personal standpoint, I am completely fascinated by its usefulness in business. While there has been (and still is) debate over the purpose and effectiveness of social media, people are slowly but surely beginning to acknowledge that social media is here to stay. What was once a social tool for individuals is now a business tool used by companies across a wide spectrum of industries to increase their sales and broaden their brand image. And this, to me, is exciting. I’m intrigued by the speed of social media’s evolution and amazed at the many ways creative and brilliant people have begun to effectively apply social media to so many different industries.

As a specialized agency, Function: is particularly taking note of social media in the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry. If you listened to our webinar on social media in the AEC industry last Thursday, I hope you found it interesting and informative. I enjoyed being on the panel myself and found the opinions of the other panelists to be extremely valuable and insightful. So, I wanted to share some of the webinar discussion here on the Function: blog…

The panelists agreed there are a large (and increasing) number of individuals and businesses within the AEC community currently using Facebook, Twitter and Blogs. It seems that social media is here to stay, so jump on board now. But think first. Creating a strategy is key. Knowing your target audience is crucial. Having a plan to consistently maintain and monitor your social media is necessary too. Social media is a valuable tool in this industry for its ability to provide content, broaden brands, and create dialogue and relationships with a target audience. You will be memorable if you create a personality/online voice. And five social media “tips”: Be unique. Be factual. Post consistently. Be relevant. Have fun!

For more information on the webinar findings, stay tuned for an executive summary. And follow our panelists and their organizations on Twitter: Sybil Walker Barnes (@AIANational), Laura Davis (@hpdArchitecture), Tim Fausch (@edcmagazine), Marcy Marro (@MetalConstruct, @MArchitecture, @MetalBuildDev), and Jody Porowski (me!) @FunctionAtlanta.