With more and more people and organisations dipping their toes into the murky world of ‘Social Media’, I just wanted to comment on the need for consistency – which with the Rugby World Cup taking place at the moment, got me thinking about the synergy with refereeing rugby union games!
I’ve been refereeing rugby games for over 12 years or so now and whilst World Rugby tweak rugby laws from time to time, (no rules in rugby), one of the regular criticisms that emanates from many players and spectators is lack of consistency from referees.
Rugby is without doubt a technical game, with many areas unique to the game, lineouts, scrums, mauls, and all need certain laws to be applied. For any non-rugby followers, one major contentious area in most games is the tackle area, which is arguably the most difficult area of play to officiate. Referees will see things differently but so long as the referee is consistent in his/her interpretation, then most players accept and learn not to infringe again….. or go sit out the game for 10 minutes.
When refereeing a rugby game, I wouldn’t do so without learning and understanding the laws of the game and then applying them consistently and continuing with my education via peer reviews and assessments. I believe the same principles apply with social media.
From a social media perspective, the books and articles I’ve read and the seminars I’ve attended repeatedly emphasise the need for consistency; not to try to be ‘all things to all men’ and to focus on what you believe. The guys at Duct Tape Marketing put it nicely here: http://www.ducttapemarketing.com/blog/social-brand-identity/
Look at your communication strategy, and ask yourself if you are being consistent in your communication. Are you targeting the right areas and applying the correct laws for that aspect of the game? The laws around using Twitter will be different for Facebook or LinkedIn.
The whole area around social media is complex and successful results are achieved through the consistency of your message to the players and supporters in the market.
Learn the laws applicable to your chosen social media platform and apply them – consistently.
Please get in contact with us to learn more about how you can apply consistency to your social media activities at ask@branchingouteurope.com
