Putting the Social in Social Media

By Julian Karstel - 847 views
We are constantly promoting ourselves, our content and associated content through social media. We automate our responses, our interactions with engagements and even our greetings to keep up with the immense demand for content. The thing is, sometimes, at least for the first few times, people actually believe it’s you responding. The problem with this, however, is that we are becoming robots in our interactions. Once that person realises that it wasn’t you responding they end up less impressed than ever before. When was the last time you preferred interacting with a robot over an actual person (With exception to ATMs)? Never, and the reason for that is that as humans we like to receive attention from each other, otherwise we end up feeling neglected. We are literally sucking the social out of social media.

We are the networking generation, we typically have an account for at least the biggest social media networks namely Twitter, Facebook, Google + and so on. The amount of information to process can be simply overwhelming, so we find ways to operate our social efforts as best as we can. Quite frankly that is the only way to do it. What we don’t realise is that the most important element of social media is the social part. People may consider your automated responses as genuine at first but after a couple of attempts at connecting with you they will soon realise that they’re dealing with a robot. Without that feeling of personalisation your interactions will actually have a negative impact on what could otherwise have been a mutually positive relationship.

Twitter

A prime example of negligent interaction occurs frequently on Twitter, whereby an influential person will post a link, which in turn is retweeted and favourited by numerous people. However upon clicking on the link I discover it’s not even working. What this means is that not a single one of those people actually even clicked the link, they literally shared and promoted faulty content. Why? Because we’re so busy trying to get ahead that we don’t even attempt to process what’s in front of us.

In fact the DM function of Twitter (whereby you send and receive personal messages) has been completely destroyed by automated responses. So much so that people don’t even use the function anymore. 

LinkedIn

Another example is LinkedIn. When you invite someone to connect with you on LinkedIn it sends them a generic “I'd like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn” message. Most people don’t even consider changing that message, yet in many cases that is the first impression of that person. Imagine receiving a LinkedIn invitation that goes something like this: “Hi Julian, I read your article on social media on your blog and loved it; I would love to connect with you to discuss the topic further!” now that sounds like a greeting that will leave a lasting impression.

What can we do?

Always have a fully updated well thought out bio, and make sure to include something about you. Always have an easy to identify picture or avatar. A good idea is to find one and stick with it. Not only does it add a bit of you to your profile but it also acts as a means to be identified by others. Often the only way people know it’s you they’re interacting with is through your picture. Consider your picture to be like your signature. After all people find it easier to identify pictures than they do names, especially in the world of social media where there are simply too many names to remember.

Always personally engage users that retweet or mention you in posts. But don’t stop there, click through to their profiles and engage them through their content. Discuss their content and comment on their blog posts, before long you will have built a powerful and mutually-beneficial relationship with them. A little bit of social media etiquette goes a long way. There are few things as powerful as an intelligent question, so engage others and demonstrate your knowledge and intellect through insightful and thought-out interactions.
The entire industry has changed under the guise of truth and transparency, whereby the most selfless are the most successful, so why are we all being so selfish about it then?

Disclaimer: I must admit I am guilty of most of the above; however I promise to work on it and change my ways. Who’s with me!?

Julian Karstel is a Digital Marketing Consultant for Sound Idea Digital | @JulianKarstel |Julian@soundidea.co.za

Sound Idea Digital is a full service digital agency | www.soundidea.co.za

   

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