Srikanth Mandala

Software engg

Many companies are searching for the perfect blend of online and offline strategies, and their forays into social media are impacting their interactions with women in important ways.

“Businesses are going where their customers are, in an effort to reach them in their environment,” said Rashmi Sinha, CEO and co-founder of SlideShare. “[They] are also starting to share content and join in the conversation in the same way that individuals do.”

Conversations between companies and female consumers are moving beyond “what do you want?” types of questions. Companies are starting to use social media to secure real-time feedback from women on products, services, and marketing campaigns—sometimes before they go to market.

Companies seeking to gather women’s opinions, feedback, and insights should consider using what Tim O’Reilly calls “architectures of participation” on their sites. Such architectures build the collection of information into the site’s structure, so that users participate through their activities on the site. Instead of (or in addition to) asking users which features they enjoy most, companies can measure the usage or traffic patterns for particular features and get a sense of what users enjoy, and plan for future offerings.

These participative structures are important because they help gather data about women’s activities and interests on the social web. With the significant amount of stereotyping that occurs around women’s interests — particularly assumptions that limit women’s interests to fashion, celebrities, and motherhood — collected data on women’s Internet() behavior can give companies a better idea of how to develop communities that can garner maximum participation from women.

Human beings have always gotten together, collaborated through their church groups and PTAs, told stories over coffee or over the backyard fence,” said Quihuis. “Social media merely allows us to do what we’ve always done faster, better and with scale… From a persuasive standpoint, social media can be used to surface engagement opportunities and increase participation through building new social norms.”

In other words, social media can increase the visibility of opportunities to engage, and influences actions so that the visibility of the engagement acts as a catalyst for increased involvement. We’ve seen evidence of this type of engagement with the recent catastrophe in Haiti. Quihuis noted, “When individuals see all their friends texting money to Haiti, they’re persuaded to do so as well.”

In addition to overcoming hindrances to action, social tools help people to connect across cultural, social, and other barriers to interaction. For women in business, this is especially good news, as they often confront difficulties in securing capital, gaining access to key decision-makers, and finding opportunities to demonstrate their expertise. The “flattening” effect of social technologies allows women to develop relationships with people previously out of reach, and they can demonstrate their expertise using blogs, webinars, and other social tools.

Opportunities are abundant for women to demonstrate thought leadership in the world of social media.

“I believe that now is a golden time for women in technology,” said Gina Trapani, an award-winning author, blogger and programmer. “It’s a time when an awareness of the need for diversity in our field is at its highest. Conference organizers, editors, journalists, and CTO’s are desperate to get knowledgeable women onto their speaker rosters, mastheads, source lists, and staff. There are bigger and better opportunities than ever before.”

Women hoping to seize these opportunities need to be proactive, by submitting workshop proposals that demonstrate knowledge and substantive value. In social media, everyone has an opinion. Conference organizers want to know what research you have done and what expertise you have — why people should listen to you. If you can demonstrate expertise, next steps include networking with conference organizers, speaking regularly at tech events, and publishing.

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