campfire_stories (Photo credit: williamcromar)
Social Media is about cultivating relationships. not selling. Period.
Whatever simile you want to give it, be it my favourite, “the largest mixer party in the world”, or “a campfire”, or “clubhouse”; social media sites are a place where like-minded individuals gather to share and discuss their thoughts, ideas and experiences. While, yes, I’ll agree, it is a place where a sale can be made; it shouldn’t be your focus when you’re participating.
Think about it. When your at a mixer, or around a campfire, or at your chosen meeting place for the club you belong to, is this a place where you’re expecting to be sold to? Most likely not. You’re there to share experiences with others like you. To get away from the workday and share some laughs and drinks with friends and coworkers at a party, to swap scary stories or previous camping experiences around the warmth of an inviting fire, or to share/express/learn thoughts, ideas and ideals at a group or organization meeting.
Social media is one in the same.
Facebook is more “friends and family”; as in a holiday get together. Sure, we’ve all got an in-law who, after listening to one of our stories of hardship like a leaky roof that has us bailing for days or a yard that’s overrun with ants, who’ll have a product that will solve our problem; and as long as their not the one who’s selling it, we’ll take it as well intended advice. But if they’re the one selling it, they become the pushy in-law who can’t turn off the salesperson at a family get together. We frown upon it, because it’s not the place for that sort of thing and usually causes the conversation to come to a halt and shift to something else.
When I’m at a campfire and I’m telling a story about a time when we went camping and it rained for days, resulting in an absolutely miserable time because I was soaked to my skivvies the entire trip, and someone pipes up that I “should invest in an RV like the one that they sell”, or that “their company sells HUGE tarpaulins that would cover this entire campsite”, I don’t want to hear it. I want to share my experience, and hear others outdo my story with one of their own. Again, this isn’t the place for that. Twitter, with it’s hash tag categorization techniques, is just like this. You tweet about a particular topic. ensuring to use a hashtag. and now others who have a thought, opinion or story of their own, can chime in.
When you’re at a Toastmasters, Masonic Lodge, single mothers who like to read, or Photographer’s monthly meeting; you don’t want to have the person next to you lean in and pitch you a product or service. Your trying to listen to the proceedings so that you can comment on and/or learn about your c0-participants experiences. This can be likened to a Linkedin group, Meetup or even Flickr for that matter. These can seem like grey areas because they have a professional feel about them, but understand that they are still “get togethers” not “advertising mediums”. Even many of the Linkedin Marketing Groups that I belong to are simply conversations where people share information, ideas and thoughts on a variety of topics. I absolutely abhor when someone posts a question looking for thoughts from the group and someone comes along and says “I have the answer you’re looking for. Message me directly and I’ll offer my company’s services to you”. This isn’t the place for that.
Now, as always, there will be those who say that social media can very well have revenue generating opportunities, and I will agree.
IF I’m at a family gathering and I say to my brother-in-law that I’m in the market for a new ladder because I’ve got to clear the gutters, this is the perfect opportunity for him to say that they’ve got them on sale this week. If I’m on Facebook and I’m looking to take the wife out for a nice romantic dinner and specifically say “anyone have any suggestions?”, by all means, offer them. BUT, if I’m simply discussing which style of ladder is best for clearing the gutter, the simple 3-step house ladder or will I need the ultra 50-foot extendomodel and a friend to hold the base? Or, what’s everyone’s favourite local restaurant? This is not the place. It’s a discussion, not a request for pitch.
Are there exceptions to these rules? Youbetcha! Take for instance my statement above where were discussing everyone’s favourite restaurants. A savvy social media-ing restaurateur might chime in and say that they’d love the chance to change your mind and offer a discount to those in the conversation if they stop by for some appetizers tonight. Or a suave hardware store who offers equipment rentals might chime in that since gutters aren’t an ongoing chore, one might consider saving themselves a hefty price tag and some storage space by simply renting a ladder for the day.
While I will agree that a timely placed reminder that you offer services that can solve someone’s problem is never a bad thing, I will say that “Always be closing”, as a general rule, doesn’t apply here!
As always, I look forward to your thoughts and opinion. Feel free to join in the conversation by leaving a comment below.
…just no pitches please!
