I Object!

by Guest Blogger, Lena West, Chief Social Media Strategist at xynoMedia Technology

So, by now you've heard that this blog's editor, Yvonne DiVita, and I were on the same panel, Overcoming Internal Objections, at BlogHer Business 2008.  (Side note: As if I weren't *already* a part of the Yvonne DiVita fan club, I'm officially a card-carrying member now!)

The conference was great. The snacks were great. Elisa, Jory and Lisa were freakin' awesome! And, the closing keynote was even better than last year...if that's even possible. And, just happened to feature two of my favorite blogs: Passive Aggressive Notes (when your day is so stressful and you feel like if you don't laugh, you'll climb atop a belltower or to confirm that you're not the only one dealing with a**holes...ahem...difficult people) and The Budget Fashionista (just because we're blog geeks doesn't mean we can't look great doing it! *two snaps up*)

And, as per usual, my session at BlogHer Business made me think. I find that I learn a lot just thinking about how the session went. Our session was all about, you guessed it, overcoming objections to using social media when you work within a company, but can't seem to get the support you need to implement the stuff.

Karen Wickre (pronounced wick-er-re) of Google was our moderator as we shared real-life case studies, pithy advice for corporate social media champions and supportive sighs of, "Yes, I know....I've been there (sometimes that's all people really need to keep fighting the good fight)."

So, annnnnyyyyway....I was thinking about the session and it dawned on me that the objections people face inside the corporate firewall are the same "objections" that pop-up in just about anything we do. I always find it interesting how social media really is a microcosm of what happens in the macrocosm of the World.

For example, a common objection to social media within companies is, "There's no way to track the ROI". How often do we say to ourselves, "I don't want to do it because I don't know if it's going to benefit me or not." Instead of trying to figure out a way to make sure it benefits you by asking for what you need (when applicable).

Or, another goodie is, "People will say negative things about our company". Far too many women think, "What if they don't like me?" Instead of showing up as your best you and realizing that not everyone will llike you -- and SO WHAT?

And, of course, there's always, "Social media is nothing more than a time suck. There aren't enough hours in the day as is!" The macrocosm equivalent to that statement is, "I don't have enough time to buy healthy groceries/exercise/take time for myself/get a mani-pedi/navel gaze..."

I also led an Overcoming Internal Objections Ask the Expert session, that included (what I thought were) cool flash cards. The objection on one side and the insightful answer on the flip side.

So, while flash cards might not be the ideal scenario for business, I do think it's helpful when meeting these objections head-on in the workplace, to take the time to see how similar objections come up in your life and how you tackle them there...and extrapolate that into your work life.