Social Media, Reciprocity, and Active Engagement
Courtesy and Personality
I am often asked how my Twitter following grew to over 25,000. How I have over 4,000 connections on LinkedIn. Those who know me ask how, across 1600 social media sites online, I was able to add over 50,000 social media friends, contacts, connections, and followers.
How?
What’s your secret?
I have thought about this a lot!
I am a relative unknown. I don’t particularly like socializing and usually stay to myself and people I am familiar with when out. I am slow to wwarm up to people and 2 years ago I didn’t have or know how to set up a website, much less know what Twitter or Facebook or YouTube was. The only reason I knew about MySpace was because my kids were on it and it was talked about in the media all the time.
I was less than a novice, if that is possible, and knew less than nothing!
When I joined Twitter on December 18, 2008 I nursed a grand total of 218 followers into March of the New Year and still had no clue what I was doing when it came to social media and Internet marketing.
Inbound marketing?
Again, less than nothing!
But I am a fast study and I realized several things right off the bat:
- The Internet was simply a communication vehicle, albeit an extremely powerful one.
- Social media was a communication vehicle within a communication vehicle and also an extremely powerful one.
- Social media was a reflection of a need expressed throughout society, a need for connection and meaning.
- Video sharing was an extension of social media and just another way to share and connect.
- Social media wasn’t about building a huge amount of followers all at once, as many people seemed intent on doing at the time.
- Social media was like the Breck commercial, one of the most famous marketing campaigns in the history of marketing. I tell two people…and they tell two people…and so on…and so on…and so on! The root of viral communication, pun intended!
- Social media was not about selling stuff online, it was about:
- Making connections
- Building relationships
- Building trust
- Forming bonds
- Social media was about converting all of the above into a Win-Win for both parties in the relationship!
But a funny thing happened on the way to meaningful social media interaction…marketing happened.
Bad marketing!
Social media marketing!
The fact is, social media has very little to do with direct marketing, it is almost anathma to what social media is all about:
- Connections
- Relationships
- Trust
- Bonds
The challenge is, everyone wants to be Dell and Southwest Airlines.
The fact is, most are not!
Yes, Dell made 3 million with social media. But Dell is Dell and has spent many millions over many years creating brand awareness. Southwest Airlines is Southwest Airlines, arguably one of the most successful customer service companies in history, in any sector, in any line of business!
Southwest and Dell did not start out on the Internet two years ago with zero visibility and no brand awareness and throw up a Facebook Page and a Twitter Page and make millions from day one. They did it the old fashioned way, they earned it over several years, banging it out, one day at a time.
No secret!
No mystery!
Solid marketing that carried over into a new medium.
Enter John Zajaros and The Ultimate Internet Image, Joe Dokes and Joe’s Auto Shop, or Julie Smith and Julie’s Flowers…or whatever.
We enter social media from basically the same space, square one!
For those you us who have little or no brand identity, little or no Internet savvy, and little or no real capital behind our inbound marketing efforts, we must do it the old fashioned way too…we have to go out and earn it.
That means one day at a time, one connection at a time, done over time, and in such a way that it benefits both parties.
In other words, we push each other up!
How?
- Spreading each other’s posts, messages, videos, tweets, etc.
- Sharing each other’s links.
- Reading each others blogs.
- Watching each other’s videos.
- Following each other back.
- Responding to open questions put to the entire commiunity, the social media community.
- Responding to each others messages.
- And much more…
Finally, and this one is so intuitive and yet is never done…show appreciation!
To say:
- “I care!”
- “You matter!”
- “You’re welcome!”
- And the biggest one of all? “Thank you!”
It is incredible how many times a day people fail to say those two magic words, any of them, but especially…
…“Thank you!”
“Please!” and “Thank You!”
Common courtesy!
The secret to building a social media following?
The secret to success at anything in life?
Push others up and show gratitude for the opportunity to connect, to be a part of someone else’s life, to contribute to the “Greater Good!”
Sound naïve?
Sound a bit starry-eyed and utopian?
Not at all!
Common courtesy and reciprocity have been around since we were all running around in tribes.
No, not Seth Godin type tribes…although he is dead on!
It is what makes us human and it is why social media is such a big hit…because people are thirsty for that connection, that sense of oneness, and that sense of being appreciated.
Want to succeed online?
In business?
In life?
Make someone else feel special, make someone else feel important, make someone else feel like you noticed them; and make sure it’s not just for some relationship ROI cr#p but because you really care about people. Do that and you will succeed in every aspect of your life.
If you are focused on where your next 1000 Twitter followers are going to come from…
Good luck!
If you are focused on how you can make a difference in soemone’s life…
You don’t need me!
This has been building up for a while. I thought this a good time to bring it up.
Thank you for reading this and I hope it resonated with you on some level.
If it did? Please leave a comment?
If it didn’t? Please leave a comment!
In any case, please leave a comment!
Thank you!
John Zajaros
The Ultimate Internet Image
Lakewood, Ohio 44107
216-712-7004
I believe that social media is great for building relationships. To be honest when I started out using it I didn’t have any clue and just used it to promote my blog. But that’s not the way it works. You need to try and build genuine relationships in order to succeed.
You speak truth here John.
Push other people up. Seek their best interest.
Show gratitude.
Say “Thank You.”
Be remarkable.
THIS is social media at it’s best.
THIS is life at it’s best!
Thank you Julius!
You are absolutely right! Engagement and building relationships leads to trust and deeper relationships that benefit both parties. Thank you very much for your comment and please feel free to stop back often.
John Zajaros
Hi Frank!
Thank you so much for the comment! As we make our efforts more about others and less about Self, we all win! I know you know this, as social media is how we met and built a relationship over time. Life is the same way. Cherish each interaction and see every person and unique and special…all with something to offer, and we all benefit and push each other forward.
Thanks my friend!
John
Be polite. You’ve nailed it with this one bit of wisdom. Well done!
Another tidbit I share with my students at UNH: lead with a compliment. Whether it’s a comment on a social networking site, a comment to a post, a letter to a potential employer, an e-mail to whomever … lead with a genuine compliment. It’s about making “…someone else feel special” as you also pointed out here.
Kudos on your post. And on your web success.