I am currently reading the book Linchpin by Seth Godin. It has really brought up some thoughts for me concerning social media and how we use it with business.
Social media began as a way connect friends together, to share interests, talk, reunite, and just build community. A lot of that has changed though. It has those same aspects, but there has been a lot added to it. Businesses, advertising, marketing, and promotions are now in the mix. You can’t read a business magazine or website without seeing something about social media. It has changed the entire way we do business and market our businesses.
I will say that overall, I think it is a very good thing. It has brought transparency to businesses, community, relations, interaction, and much more. It has caused businesses to be honest about their product, or they will get absolutely killed by their critics. Literally one comment can topple a goliath.
Businesses are trying to scramble to figure out how to adapt and use social media to their benefit. Not a bad thing, but its the wrong focus.
Stop using social media for your own benefit. Use it for the benefit of your customers, friends, and guests. Stop viewing your social media connections as potential customers, rather view them as guests and friends. When they visit your sites they are in a way coming into your home. Picture going to a party in the neighborhood. You’ve been invited over and are expecting a nice and relaxing time, but immediately when you walk in the door you are bombarded by a family that is constantly following you around, talking your ear off, and trying to get you to sign up for their book club that they host every 2 days that nobody goes to. This is a bit of an extreme experience, but if it happened you would immediately be turned off to it and feel uncomfortable and feel like the hosts are out for you to just sign up for their book club.
So why do businesses make their guests so uncomfortable when they come onto their website and see promotions advertisements, and ploys just to get as many followers as they can or create as much business as they can.
Don’t get me wrong though, I don’t think that you should never have any type of promotion for your business or never mention your business. But you MUST build a relationship with your customers and turn them into guests before you should even begin mentioning the business.
Think about how differently that dinner evening with the neighbors would have been if you were welcomed into the home and everything was very nice and cordial and they were very welcoming and were focused on getting to know you and learn about your family and passions. You wouldn’t mind that they asked you to participate in their book club, once you began getting to know them and found out about their passion for reading. You would be much more willing to listen and even think about participating.
Get to know your guests. Build relationships with them. Understand what they are passionate about.
Most importantly care about them and not as much about yourself.
