Social Media: 5 Things Every Project Manager Should Know

Being a project manager is often like being a juggler: everything you do boils down to maintaining a balance between all of the elements in play.

Of course, juggling is an easy skill to pick up; managing business projects can require a little more subtlety. How, then, is a project manager going to strike the right balance between team members in a world full of modern distractions and technological complications?

Simple: social media. This tool of the well-connected can be harnessed both for the powers of good and the powers of evil….as a project manager, it’s your job to make sure that you’re using it to enhance your project and establishing better relationships with colleagues and clients as a result. Here’s how to do it, and what you need to know to get started.

1. Discipline + Focus = No Distractions on Social Media

Now, we’re not talking about social media distractions like following the latest tweets of Kim Kardashian. But it’s important to remember that excessive social media usage even when it relates to a pending project can be a way to avoid the real work of a job. It’s important to focus on the hard work that gets things done and allow your social media use to be a means to an end, not an end in and of itself.

2. Communication is Two Ways

If you’re going to enhance your communication with employees and clients through social media, be sure that you make it clear that you expect your communication to work two ways. If you’re using a social medium to ask questions and you receive no responses, your efforts don’t only make you less productive, but they kind of make you look like a simpleton.

3. Catch the Industry News Instantly

As a project manager, you likely have a niche or focus that helped you land the position you’re now in. So stay plugged in to the industry news in your field so that you can continue to refine your methods and stay up to date with any breaking developments that can affect the way you do business.

 

4. Keep In Touch with Clients 24/7

You’re a project manager, so you know how some clients can be nosy when it comes to what’s going on with their money. It’s their right; as a project manager, you have to find a way to facilitate them. Social media makes an ideal tool for giving them updates on projects, allowing two-way interaction, and inviting their feedback as the project progresses.

5. Fun is Not Illegal

You’re in charge of the project; it can’t hurt to use the power of social media to keep things fun. Send out some interesting challenges via Twitter or post contests on Facebook for your employees as you go on with a project; they can serve as motivators and welcome distractors as you all work hard to meet your deadlines. Remember: social media doesn’t have to be all business.

 

 

James Cofflin is a marketing strategist for a consulting professional at Arcisphere Technologies, a Life Cycle Pros software company in New York City. Learn more about Arcisphere Technologies: 

Image Credit: Freedigitalphotos.net

 

Posted on: August 15, 2012