Really great post, and I know I’m late to the game in getting to read it, but I think you hit the nail on the head in that if you’re using SM tools for business its important to build relationships and community first. Too many people make the mistake of using SM services as strictly a sales tool. Even on the web, its still all about relationships. So thank you for a fantastic post.

Firstly I think you lay out all of your message for all segments and let the public find their own way. Working at the pace of the consumer allows freedom for users to adopt your message at will rather than when told. Also, writing the messaging in one project allows for coherency and flow that may get lost trying to pace it for each segment.

If the message is already out there, like train tracks, allowing consumers to discover it at their own pace, the permission question is somewhat moot. However it would be useful to know where on the track most consumers are so a pace of adoption may be measured. By monitoring, blogs, tweets and searches a pattern should emerge which will indicate where the bulk of consumers are on their journey. Knowing where the consumers are guides how you respond to their blogs and tweets allowing you to enhance and elongate the message cycle.