Do you have a social media tribe? By that I mean, who are the folks you consistently go to with questions about using social media? Who are the people whose social media postings you find yourself sharing most often?
My social media tribe is Colorado Women in Social Media (CWSM). I chose them because I wanted to be part of a tribe that values inspiration, education, and collaboration.
CWSM Members in the photo are back row from far left: Michelle Hoglan, Laura Atencio, Kimbirly Orr, Aimee Skillin; middle row from far left: Lisa Haas, Beth Johnston, Melody Jones, Joyce Feustel, Lauren Gibbs; front row from far left: Erin Cell, Hollie Clere, Valerie Morris, Rachel Moore.
Formed in November 2014, the members of this amazing group of social media professionals feel like sisters to me; even though age-wise I would more likely be their mom. Earlier this year, CWSM Founder Melody Jones wrote this piece about the creation of our organization: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/birth-colorado-women-social-media-melody-jones
What is especially remarkable to me about this group is our collaborative style, even though several of us are technically competitors.
Here is a great description of our group from the home page of our website:
“We are a collaboration of social media consultants, strategists, managers, coaches, teachers, and speakers. We formed our group as a place for women who work in social media to meet, mentor, consult, educate and master mind.
We discovered that keeping the group tight and focused – only 13 members are allowed – has helped us develop a high level of trust and collaboration.”
For more information, go to http://coloradowomeninsocialmedia.com/
Three Things to Consider When Creating and Operating Any Group
- Who will be in your group and what their roles will be? Decide if the group will be comprised only of people within a general locale who will meet on a regular (e.g. monthly) basis. Or will it be a virtual group with people from all over the world. What will be the criteria for membership? How many people will be allowed to join? What members be expected to do in terms of meeting attendance and involvement in the group’s activities?
- What will be the culture of the group? Groups with a high level of trust among members and a collaborative mode of operating are most likely to succeed in the long run. Sometimes the culture of a group isn’t clear in the early stages, so it evolves as the group adds members and takes on different activities. As mentioned in the quote above, one of the reasons CWSM has such a high level of trust and collaboration is because we have purposely limited our membership to 13 people.
- How will group members communicate with each other? Open and transparent communication is a critical element in any healthy group, whether it’s a family, a business, or an organization. Along with the style of communication, it is important to determine the means of communication. CWSM uses a mix of ways, which include a private space on Facebook and email. Facebook messaging has been effective when there are only three or four people communicating about a specific activity.
How About You?
What kinds of groups have you belonged to that you thought operated in a healthy manner? What was it about their operation that contributed to its success? What has caused you to leave a group?
About Joyce
Joyce Feustel helps people, especially those age 50 and up, to become more effective using social media, especially Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Twitter.
She provides social media tutoring and training to business owners, business development professionals, authors, speakers, coaches, business consultants, job seekers and many others. Find her at www.boomerssocialmediatutor.com.
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