Powerful wise words for those of us delving into the world of social media – blogging, tweeting, Facebook. What is the best way to make these “social” networking sites work for you and your business?
ENGAGE. Knowing that you had too much to drink last night or that your husband lost his job is not engaging. It’s boring and, quite frankly, none of my business. It amazes me when Upper Management in a small community publishes posts about misconduct in their lives. Don’t they get how viral this is? The conversations are personal but decidedly not private. So is it possible to be personal AND professional on Facebook? I think absolutely yes! Part of “Enlighten” is to allow colleagues a glimpse into your life, within reason. I still live by the adage “Don’t publish (on the internet) anything you wouldn’t want your grandma (or biggest client) to see or hear about!” Keep it relevant and interesting. Offer up some value; an inspiring quote, an interesting anecdote or a link to some fascinating tidbit. Engage with your friends and colleagues without sharing so much that your other 430 followers are made uncomfortable. On Twitter there is no space to waste. 140 characters means get to the point and get me interested!
ENLIGHTEN. According to the dictionary the definition of “enlighten” is: to give intellectual or spiritual light to; instruct; impart knowledge to. What does this mean to you? Find out what your community (friends/contacts/followers) are talking about. What is trending in their world (follow http://twitter.com/trendingtopics and look for Twitter to release a local trending topics search tool soon: http://bit.ly/583Ejx). When you stumble upon relevant interesting tidbits – share that! When someone enlightens your world – pass it on!
EMPOWER. My favorite tweets are the ones that lead me to the coolest newest app or to a fantastic article about my industry that provides immediately applicable strategies. I feel empowered and that creates immense good will for the person or organization that provided the information. Chris Brogan calls these folks “Trust Agents” and uncovers how to become one in his best seller of the same name.
Become a trusted agent in your online community. You do this by Engaging then enlightening and empowering.
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