Are You Connecting—Or Just Broadcasting?

July 5, 2009 By 4 Comments

social media connections

Social media may be the buzz term right now—it will be something else next year. It’s all just a synonym for connections and relationships.

I hear from a lot of people that they are on social media sites, but are not sure what to do beyond signing up. Or, they are on them, and say they feel they are connecting, but upon further discussion it’s revealed that they really aren’t.

It’s more than just collecting friends and followers.

People say they have thousands of contacts, friends or followers as if it’s a marketing strategy! It’s a start—but it’s conversations with those connections that lead to results.

For example, I have gotten almost all of my clients through social media in the past 6 months, had over 375 people register for my last teleseminar, grew the number of people who Like my Facebook Page by 350 people in less than a week and just recently increased my blog subscribers to nearly 1400 people.

I tell you this not to toot my own horn, but to impress upon you that these results are because of the fact that I actively participate in social media. Just as you can’t expect to throw up a website and see sales just come rolling in, you can’t just collect friends and expect miracles. You need to engage people in conversation.

The key is not to expect immediate results nor feel you need to spend a ton of time on social media in order to make any progress. Choosing a handful of strategies where you are actually connecting with people and implementing them on a regular basis won’t take a ton of time or energy.

What it will do is build momentum gradually but steadily. This is what leads to relationships, word of mouth, traffic, subscribers and ultimately, more sales.

So next time you participate in social media, ask yourself: Am I really connecting?  Or just broadcasting?  The difference can be HUGE.

Photo credit: julianrod

Filed Under: Social Media Tagged With: , ,

Twitter Dos and Don’ts

February 9, 2009 By 5 Comments

wade-rockettI’ve been noticing a lot of talk lately in the social media space about “rules.”  Some people like to say there are specific rules that must be followed when using tools like Twitter or Facebook.  Others take a different view and say that there aren’t any hard and fast guidelines—you should always just do what feels right to you.

I personally don’t love to think of anything I do in social media being restricted by rules for the most part.  That being said, I do feel that there are ways to use a tool like Twitter that make the overall experience more beneficial to everyone.  I therefore offer the following rule—er, advice:

Do use a real picture of yourself for your avatar.
When I first joined Twitter a year ago I was guilty of using a caricature of me for mine, only because I thought it was cute and it happened to be part of the header design of my old blog.  However, a few months later when I switched to a photo of myself, more than a few people commented that they were happy to see the “real” me.

I now feel the same about others.  It is hard to find a picture of a flower or a company logo very personable.  Let us see your smile, people. :)

Don’t start following people without posting a couple of your updates.
It may seem a little like you are talking to yourself to do this especially if you aren’t being followed by anyone else.  But trust me, when someone comes upon your page and is making a decision whether to follow your or not, they need something to go on.  Some sign of life or personality.

Do spend a good amount of time interacting.
There is nothing wrong with letting others know what you have planned for the day or that you loved the movie you saw last night.  Just intersperse those types of tweets with some two-way conversation.  Re-tweet others, ask questions, reply to questions, comment on others updates, etc.  People appreciate this and it makes the community that much more interesting.

Don’t mass follow right out of the gate.
My ratio of followers to followees (made up word) is pretty even, mainly because I enjoy following back most of the people who follow me—as long as they don’t look like spammers or something.  But I also find it hard to follow someone who, in addition to having very few updates, is following thousands of people and only a handful of people following them.  It looks off and it feels spammy, like you don’t care much to have any sort of relationship with anyone.

Do use a Twitter client instead of doing everything from the web.
Installing a client such as Twhirl or Tweetdeck allows for more functionality than what you can do from the Twitter webpage.  For example, Tweetdeck allows you to place people in groups which makes it easier to track them, especially once you are following several hundred people.  Plus, these types of clients run on the Adobe Air platform, so you don’t have to be connected to the web to use them.  I find they make tweeting a lot more convenient and it is easier to keep track of your replies, direct messages and followers.

Have anything to add to these or your own dos and don’ts?  Definitely let me know.  I am always interested in hearing what works or doesn’t work for others.

Photo Credit: wade-rockett

Filed Under: Social Media Tagged With: ,

Gratitude for the Social Media Conversation Part I: Women Who Have Come Before and Shared All They Know

February 4, 2009 By 7 Comments

ThanksI’m feeling particularly grateful to those women business owners who have set out on their own to work for themselves and been very open about their journeys.  These women not only teach the how-to for having a successful business online, they share what’s been a struggle and are not afraid to admit they’ve made mistakes along the way.

We are able to connect with others like never before thanks to the internet and various social tools and it has certainly benefited me immensely. I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have made anywhere near the progress I have without the relationships and interaction I have enjoyed online.

Friendships
Just like the marriages you hear about that wouldn’t be if it wasn’t for internet dating, there have been many real friendships forged online.  It can be lonely when your “in real life” friends don’t share or relate to your entrepreneurial leanings.  It’s comforting to be able to connect with and bounce ideas off of someone who has been through what you are going through.

Cheering Section
There is nothing like the encouraging words from someone you think highly of or even just someone you know understands you.  It can be a much needed boost when things get tough. Starting a new business can be overwhelming and scary.  It can feel like there is so much to learn and do and this often freezes us. Knowing someone is rooting for and supporting us can often give us the push necessary to keep on going.

Knowledge
As the title of this post alludes to, in my experience I have found many others who give freely of their time and provide lots of great information to those seeking it.  A major theme of social media these days is the importance of giving generously and often.  There is no shortage of tips, advice and helpful nuggets of wisdom out there if you’d only look.  Make sure you are always giving in return as well.

Empathy/Humanizing
Some of the best people to learn from are those who are the most authentic and open, even about the things many others wouldn’t share for fear of appearing weak or somehow less together in their life.  This is a real barrier for a lot of people in a web 2.0 world.  The truth is, these are some of the most magnetic folks in the game.  Others are drawn to that honesty and I know I really respect this characteristic when I see it.

Inspire Courage
There’s nothing quite like hearing from someone you consider successful that they’ve been right where you are in the past and made it through.   No one was a raging success right from the gate although it is easy to think that because we are seeing them at a different point in their life.  Just knowing someone else has made it and flourished can be enough to get us over the hump onto the other side.

Accountability
As with any endeavor we wish to successfully complete, having someone hold us accountable dramatically increases the probability that we will do the thing and do it well.  With so many support communities out there it’s easy to find others who not only want us to succeed, but who will put guidelines in place designed to keep us on track.  This is invaluable and can provide us with incredible motivation.

So thank you, to all of you who have supported and cheered me in my journey and made it that much less intimidating and lonely.

I’d love to hear from others how people in your online community or social networks have been there for you.  How have they propelled you forward?  What conversations are you engaged in currently that you feel are especially benefiting you?

Photo Credit: Fern R

Filed Under: Social Media Tagged With: , , ,