Businesses are quickly recognizing the strength of social media, so it’s no surprise that there has been a sudden rise of confusing noise from too many Facebook statuses, too many tweets, and too many blogs. Obviously you don’t have the power to make everyone else be quiet, so the only option is to break through the noise.
How Can You Break Through the Noise?
Solution: Release your Inner Gen, where “Gen” is short for “genuineness” (clever play on words, if I do say so myself). To break the barrier and get noticed, you must be genuine and personal in your approach. What are the best ways to release your Inner “Gen” and build those social media relationships?
Businesses must be genuine on social media — release their “Inner Gen.” Lead with your personality, not your business. Be weird. Be conversational. Image Credit to beliefnet.com.
Lead with Your Personality, Not Your Business
Posting company updates is great, but nobody wants to carry a conversation with a business that does nothing except promote themselves. Consumers want to talk to real people and they get frustrated when they’re forced to talk to a machine. The businesses that are genuinely wearing their personalities on their sleeves are seeing the greatest success with social media. Check out 9 Companies Doing Social Media Right and Why for some great examples.
Embrace Your Weirdness
Sometimes when I’m in a quiet room full of people, my brain triggers something hilarious and I start laughing. Don’t judge. Let’s be honest, we’re all a little weird in our own way. I mean, take a look at the guy below.
Connect with people on a quirky level and watch your social media relationships flourish.
Think about your closest friends. Isn’t it really those weird interests and habits we have in common that holds the bonds together? Embracing your weirdness and displaying it openly is sure to differentiate you from the competition. Connect with fans on a genuine, personal, emotional level…somewhere beyond the surface. Of course, don’t be too weird. If you believe Charles Manson is truly a friendly guy, you might not want to share that with everyone.
Be Conversational
When was the last time you talked to a wall? Hopefully never! Don’t be a wall when you’re using social media. Open the doors for conversation with anyone and everyone.
- Never forget your goal is to socially network, not form acquaintances. Don’t be afraid to send someone a tweet out of the blue. A couple weeks ago I sent a tweet to Jonathan Fields, who BusinessWeek named “one of the 20 people every entrepreneur needs to follow on Twitter.” No big deal, he’s only one of the bigger names in social media and entrepreneurship! I woke up the morning after I tweeted to him pleased to see that he was following My Social Game Plan on Twitter. Contrary to popular belief, people are pretty friendly.
- Ask questions often. The Questions/Poll feature on Facebook is incredibly underused in my opinion, but it typically brings in better interactions than a normal status. Which is easier: clicking once on a poll option or typing out an answer in the comments? Engage, engage, engage.
- Never use the “update and run away” strategy. Research has shown that most interaction with status updates and tweets comes within the first hour of the update. If you don’t have time to interact with a status or tweet within that first hour, save it for later. Don’t leave your fans and customers hanging.
Comments and Suggestions
What are some social media tactics you use that fit into this “Inner Gen” framework? Do you struggle to be genuine and personable on social media?