Social Media: Don’t Forget the Human Side

by | Nov 4, 2010

Social media is about engaging with other people. In order for it to be successful, we need to move that engagement beyond the posts of Facebook or your blog. Yes, it’s understood that there are people behind the words, but  unless you just want to be pen pals, you need to nurture them.

Once someone knows, likes and trusts you, you can go from engagement to a relationship. I know it may sound silly, but you’d be surprised how many social media folks would be happy to sit in front of a computer screen all day and engage people on social but are afraid to take it to the next level. A relationship by definition is an emotional or other connection between people.

Here are some suggestions to help you take that relationship to the next level (I sound like a dating coach):

  • If someone responds to you and you start going back and forth with them, suggest an offline phone call to discuss in more detail.
  • If you belong to a group or association and you plan on going to a trade show or a local meeting, let your audience know your plans, and maybe you could hook up. (People buy from people.)
  • Social Sites – instead of using your logo, put up a team photo. On the about us pages, include the names of employees representing your brand. Put up profiles of team members.
  • Encourage networking – if you have all this info about employees on your sites, then suggest that they promote the brand on their Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn accounts.

These are some of my ideas. I’d like to hear what you’re doing to make it more “human.”

Share

Share this:

Related Posts

Subscribe to the Tradesman Insights Newsletter

Stay up-to-date with Tradesman Insights from Sonnhalter!

You have Successfully Subscribed!