I unabashedly love Social Media. Not just for business, but my personal life too. I’m so appreciative of rekindled relationships that I had thought were gone forever. And that Social Media love is not unrequited, either. Social loves me too.
And what’s not to love? Social has made the already incredible world wide web that much more incredible. It has torn down governments, companies, and people… most who actually deserved it. Social reports news faster, and sometimes more accurately.
Social Media will continue to change and evolve as more platforms are created. But it will always be about people sharing and conversing. It is the greatest equalizer, giving everyone a voice in this mad world. Good or bad, the people who use Social correctly will be the influencers in the years ahead.
One of my favorite sayings is, “There is a right way and a wrong way to do things.” I believe this professionally, and personally. No life lessons today, so you can relax. Like everything, as Social evolves it must be done the right way.
Let the record show, this is My Way:
- Be Positive! I recently saw a post by my local soccer equipment store, linking to the article about the referee who was killed during a match in Phoenix. Yep… that’s a mistake. Always provide content that reflects positively on your company and the industry you serve. It’s simple, you get nothing from negative.
- Engage! Social Media is a giant conversation, so jump in. Give your audience something to think about. Your content should be such that your customer wants to respond. Then you reply, and so on, and so on… Ask questions and provide answers. This will inspire trust and more engagement.
- Don’t Hide! No business does things 100% right. Embrace any customers who push back at you, or attack you on SM. Work to solve their problems publicly and show your commitment to getting things right.
- Truth Rules! Simply put, don’t lie. Make sure you that what you say is correct. Your customer is not just listening, but they are out there talking about your company, and probably to everyone but you. They may not agree with what you put out there, but you will do a lot better if it is real and accurate.
- Push The Envelope! Don’t be afraid to get little bit out of your comfort zone. Be funny. If you don’t think you are, find someone who can help you. Don’t push it all the time, just enough to let your audience know that Robby the Robot isn’t creating your content. So, link to that funny article or post that cartoon… it’s liberating!
- Share! Coming up with good content is tough, so don’t be afraid to share relevant content from other sources. And if you want to really push that aforementioned envelope, share something from a competitor. Shows confidence, don’t you think? It will probably freak out your competitor a bit too. Give them credit, of course…
- Quality First! Quantity second. If you have something relevent to say or share, do it. If not, keep quiet and listen to the conversation. Posting for the sake of posting can dilute your message. No yapping!
Looking at some of the key terms, it’s sort of “old school”… conversations, trust, talking, truth, quality, etc. Nothing really new or earth shattering here. Social… it’s new? Nope, it’s old… and it’s all about people, people!
And I said there would be no life lessons…