How Attending Your High School Reunion Will Help You Understand Your Social Media Strategy

I’m one of the younger authors on this site, but I’m old enough to remember when Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and MySpace were not a part of my everyday waking life. Sure, I was a high school student then, but even back in the early days where people weren’t really connecting on social media, I wondered what the class reunions would be like after graduation.

The beginning of October usually means homecoming and reunions season for schools of all levels all across the United States. People whom theoretically have not seen each other for five, ten years, all aim to get back together and catch up on new events and reminisce on new times. Social media of course, has changed all that. Now without showing up, you can see that Joe got married and that Mary moved three states away and that Harry and Christine, once sworn enemies in high school now seem to be the best of friends.  Social media has in some ways, replaced meeting in person by allowing people to instead observe from afar the changes that have been made since people last met, to the point where some think that attending reunion is somewhat pointless.

Like your social media strategy however, just knowing half the story about anyone at your reunion doesn’t mean you know the whole story!

Despite knowing everything however, social media is not the end all, be all for knowing what all your buddies have been up to since graduation. After all, like your social media and marketing strategy, just knowing what your friends are doing on Facebook without seeing their LinkedIn or having talked to them in person since graduation is not enough. The story after all, is a lot deeper than we all imagine it to be. Your Facebook page, much like your knowledge of your acquaintance Ted after graduation, might be golden, but you don’t know about the other things going on in his life, much like if you were to ignore your Twitter strategy.

So this fall, book those tickets and get back to the people you knew when you were in school. Sure, sitting around the punch table talking about your practical jokes on your English teacher doesn’t measure up to receiving a Klout perk, but at least you know that like your social media strategy, you know the whole story, instead of just bits and pieces!