Social Media is a conversation: Some Still don't get it....

I am a serious advocate of Social Media, Blogging and all things Internet Marketing related that are positive. I will admit to indulging in some things that are not postitive and somewhat stupid in an harmless way. What?? Don't judge me...nothin' wrong with a little stupid fun if it's harmless and makes me laugh. 

Well, upon my quest of getting more into Social Media from a business perspective I started to analyze and take notice of some trends. One thing that I did notice is that  a lot of people really do get it, they are embracing it and living it for their companies and small businesses. Then there are the OTHERS. Yes I am going to refer to them as THE OTHERS like on LOST. No I wasn't a LOST Fanatic, but I do remember people that were referred to as THE OTHERS, which is sort of at the point that I was LOST as a fan due to the weirdness. Digression, sorry. Which brings me to the point of the Social Media OTHERS. The people that still don't get it. 

Social Media is about engagement, to use the words of the amazing Brian Solis. In it's simplest form Social Media is a conversation, a social conversation between yourself or company and the people that are following you. That's it! 

As with any conversation, the goal is to connect with people, listen to what they are saying and respond accordingly. Simple, right? These are coincidentally things that traditional marketers have NOT done in the past gazzilion years and why Social Media is still so out of the comfort zone of many companies. The days of yap, yap, yapping your message to your customers is over. However we will leave that subject for another blog post.  

Things that are needed in a conversation:

• Listening: Listening to conversations on your social media channels are essential to find out what interests your followers. 
• Responding:  It is essential that you respond to what you are listening to or followers will feel ignored.
• Dialogue: Talk to your followers, I mean really talk to them. This is after all a conversation. 
• Observering: Keep your finger to the pulse of what your followers like and dislike. If you have absolutely no response to a post or conversation, keep that in mind for the next post and conversation on that same subject.
• Respect: Respect what you've observed, if you find that your followers were not big on a certain post or line of conversation. Respect that!

Remember, Social Media is a conversation, so in your everyday life there are thing that are done automatically when having a conversation that can and should apply to social media. Don't think of social media as a tactic, think of it as having a conversation. With that said, take a look at things that DO NOT create a great conversation.

Things that do not create a great conversation:

• Not Listening: Some business pages DO NOT give followers the ability to post on the wall. This is a one sided conversation and equivalent to talking to an audience with ear plugs in. #FAIL
• Not Responding: You can't respond if you haven't listened. Let your followers post to your wall. #FAIL
• Lack of Dialogue: It is essential that there is conversation or else it is not social media. If You are blah..blah..blahhing your message at your followers old school marketing style. #FAIL

Open the lines of communication, you will be happy with the conversation. That's a good initial Social Media Strategy.

As usual, I welcome your opinion, good, bad, ugly or indifferent. So fee free to comment or post directly on my Facebook Wall.