Weekly Blog by Philip King, CEO of the ICM - 'To tweet or not to tweet'

Tweeting to Rachel Bridge of the Sunday Times, recently, made me realise just how far we have come in our social networking strategy.

We've now been actively tweeting for over a year (philipkingicm: 1,244 tweets; 389 followers / icmorg: 313 tweets; 145 followers), I've been writing this weekly blog for almost ten months (this is my 41st), and our LinkedIn group (ICM Credit Community) has amassed 1,745 members. These numbers both impress me by how quickly they've grown, and disappoint me in that so many people aren't engaging.

The reality of course is that we are all different; we all want to consume news and communicate in different ways. For some, our magazine Credit Management is the only communication they want to receive; others want email contact; and others want a mix.

And this of course isn't limited to contact from organisations like the ICM; it flows through all aspects of life. I can't remember the last time I watched the TV news yet I'm an avid listener to news on the radio; I've recently become a Kindle convert yet I always insisted I never would because I love books so much.

So what's my point? I've recently seen examples of just how powerful Twitter and LinkedIn can be in generating contact and communication (particularly with the press) that otherwise wouldn't happen. The Sunday Times coverage for the ICM ten days ago came as a direct consequence of a Twitter conversation between me and the Enterprise Editor. I'm making contact with some of our Members in an informal way that would not take place by phone or email, simply because Twitter and LinkedIn provide the opportunity to do so, and those conversations sometimes lead to deeper, 'real' conversations as a consequence.

We shouldn't be afraid to embrace new technology and ideas. Some will fail early, some will last a while then diminish (Friends Reunited is a good example), and others will get stronger - although there's already talk that Facebook's popularity is starting to decline precisely at the point when some of us are just beginning to understand its value. Twitter, too, will no doubt one day reach saturation point and outgrow itself. For now though, by being selective about who I follow, Twitter provides me with access to news, views, information, and contact that I might otherwise miss or at least not see so quickly. It is therefore useful. And I've talked to credit professionals who use these media as a way of knowing their customers better and that can pay real dividends!

http://twitter.com/philipkingicm
http://twitter.com/#!/icmorg
http://www.linkedin.com/groups?home=&gid=94851