Thanks to everyone who joined our Awareness Networks webinar last week: "KNARF-BUSTING – How to Turn Social Media Skeptics into Believers." Here's the presentation we shared.

At frank, we call your worst social-media nightmare – a decision-maker who blocks 2.0 progress – a KNARF. (Pronounce it "KAH'-narf" for maximum therapeutic value. We get it. Working with KNARFs can be totally frustrating.)

A KNARF is "frank" spelled backwards. It stands for a Know-it-all, Narrow-minded, Authenticity-deprived, Resistant, Fraidy cat.

We heard some seriously KNARFy statements from folks during our webinar:

@kendallrcox "it's dangerous! you're opening yourself up to a PR nightmare."

@markericelton "But we've always done it THIS way"

@LMontefusco "I'm 42 years old. I don't do facebook." (our KNARF-BUSTER 6-pack winner!)

@hrinke "our target market doesn't use social media"

@SMsherpa "My customers are too old"

@jseek "Why are we letting these people talk this way about us?"

And from @SocialAbility "We think there are tons of KNARFs out there, but with the growing need for social media, they'll come around. Your thoughts?"

I believe KNARFs will be around forever. (A KNARF is "frank" spelled backwards, right? Which means they'll always be in our lives as our shadows or mirrors of what we need to work on. But that's a whole other discussion!)

To help you work with KNARFs and choose how much time you want to invest, here's my breakdown of their life expectancies, that is, my best guess at how long it'll take them to de-KNARF and trust your social media vision:

Tippers are the folks with the shortest KNARF life span: I'd say less than six months. Which is good! Tippers openly admit that they don't get it and they might not want to. That should be music to your social media ears! Self-awareness is a prerequisite for change. Make this type of KNARF your new BSMFF! (Best Social Media Friend Forever.) They're at the tipping point of change. Go slow. Share social media business stats and case studies. Explain how authenticity is the new differentiator. Open Tippers up to the realization that they no longer have to go it alone. By leveraging social media, their colleagues and customers can help. Put together an integrated, strategic picture showing them how.

Twixters are not quite there personally and still put up a lot of moronic social media barriers. They're stuck betwixt & between two worlds as @elissa4frank likes to say. That's ok. Twixters will take a little more work – I'd say another year of social media legitimization by their favorite traditional business media. (And that will continue to happen big time!) Twixters are worth working with, though. But at a more personal level. A characteristic of high-potential Twixters is that they're usually active in many offline communities (business and personal). Look for that and help them understand how wading into social media can amplify who they really are + accelerate and multiply all of those great offline relationships and communities they already have in place. Again, give them a roadmap and keep your butt in the passenger seat along the way!

Ahhh, Lifers. Not saying these dudes can't change, but the real question is how much time and effort do you want to invest in changing them? During the last 8+ years of working in the social media space, I know Lifers who still haven't budged. That's because Lifers are often established, entrenched and actually quite successful doing what they've been doing for decades. Why change? That's the trick-question you'll have to answer for them. Thing is, it might be tough to get their attention given how much time they spend on the golf course, traveling, taking long weekends. Yes, I'm generalizing, but the point is that life is often very good for Lifers and the perceived cost of change is often far less than they think they'll get in return. That's the math they're motivated by. They have a major "Why risk it?" attitude which to you, can feel like chiseling through granite with a toothpick.

YOU are more important than KNARFs.

KNARFs are fun to inspire and transform. But you are actually more important than KNARFS. So choose a timeframe, map a plan, expect change from your KNARF and communicate that. If you don't see any progress, bail. Seriously. Take your talents to others who will value, support and fund the passion you have for social media and empower you to unleash it.

I believe there are more business leaders eager to leverage social media vs. those who want to sabotage it.

You?

- @john4frank