Some of the folks who work with me have only been engaged in SM for a short time or for social purposes. They come wanting to engage for a specific advocacy activity, like increasing awareness of a bill or some impending legislative change. It really doesn’t work to jump in and try to generate momentum for a specific activity when there’s no foundation upon which to build and no commitment to continue to build relationships with advocates and constituents on a regular, ongoing basis.

Deborah mentioned that she is also a volunteer for the organization for which she is tweeting. I think that makes her an authentically engaged consultant who is invested in the mission and understands the complexities and personality of the organization.

I’m very focused on the authenticity of the relationship that is built between the public and the organization via the tweeter. The donor/member/constituent needs to trust that the person with whom they are communicating is genuinely invested. To discover that this is a paid relationship only undermines trust in social media as a reliable source of information and for communication. People are naturally (and legitimately) suspicious of social media. It’s up to us to be as transparent and authentic as possible so there is hope for trusting, viable, and ongoing relationships online. People hear stories about people posing on Craigslist and dating sites, and are naturally wary on Twitter and social networking sites. Consultants need to be aware of this and do all they can to get organizations tweeting and posting on their own as soon as possible, lest they undermine the trusting relationships their clients need to remain viable.

Here’s my thing..controversial again: If consultants are teaching their clients to “fish” while tweeting/posting for them, I’m all for it. If there is a detailed plan that the organization understands will become an employee or volunteer’s responsibility in the future so it can become self-sufficient, it’s an authentic learning experience. The long term plan for the client should be to train, coach, and mentor, and then recede to the shadows of pure consultation as soon as possible.

I know many organizations don’t have the resources they need to launch and maintain full social media presences. That’s a subject for another day…

I am tweeting on behalf of a client organizatin right now that is largely volunteer driven and I am closely advising on its Facebook presence. I am also a volunteer for this organization in another capacity. This organization knew little about social media but is learning slowly. As I take the helm in this area, I am at the same time fostering an understanding of the various platforms/tools and encouraging key volunteers to take a more central role.

The organization always needs to be involved in the social media efforts and ideally, should feel comfortable engaging stakeholders in this way. I am in no way advocating that an “astro-turfing” approach is OK. At this stage in the social-media game, though, many clients need considerable support to get started and feel confident. Doing it right also takes considerable time so I do think there is a role for significant consultant support.

I think the nature of the relationship between client and consultant as well as duration plays a role. For some small nonprofits, the consultant is really a part of the team–almost staff-like. As long as you’re not claiming to be someone within the organization or leading people to believe that, I think a consultant can play a significant role.

I do agree, that ideally, the client needs to engage directly in the social media sphere, especially when it comes to the “back and forth” that you refer to above.

I strongly agree with the “becoming your own media empire” point. It’s getting harder and harder to gain traditional media attention these days and more and more people are looking to new media platforms for their information.

I like Fran’s comments as well but not sure I entirely agree with the last one about consultants not being able to participate in SM on a client’s behalf. Although I think there are major challenges to doing this and I agree with the importance of relationships and authenticity, if it’s a long term nonprofit-consultant relationship, I think it can work. Many small nonprofits are not in the position to hire someone to do SM or can do it entirely by themselves. If the nonprofit is involved in the process, I think the consultant can have an important role here.