about responsible social media.
Sounds like safe sex, doesn’t it? I know you can get past that.
What I’ve been thinking about is a conversation I had with a dear friend, Jon Swanson, about 3 weeks ago. I had called Jon because I didn’t understand changes I saw happening among my friends. Jon, in his wisdom, pointed out something that keeps returning to me still.
What Jon said recalled this image to my mind and sounded something like this …
What makes social media business different is it’s twofold nature. We have to manage for the business and the brand, but we can’t lose sight that we make personal relationships with real human beings.
That’s the difference, isn’t it?
Most customer relationships stay in the head. Good ones make us feel smart, but the personal touch of a social media champion gets us to invest with more than our thoughts. Isn’t that what makes social media so powerful, so collaborative? Isn’t that what gets us to think we can change the world or at least how business works?
Folks looking on might think that starting out in social media is the hardest part.
But the longer I watch the more I know that holding dear the investments that people make in us as we grow is the tough nut to crack. Anyone who’s gone from ten friends to a hundred knows that time doesn’t stretch to accommodate the same level of giving back.
It’s the choices we make as we grow that determine whether social media stays centered on personal relationships or turns into a “Hollywood” sort of community of friends.
Real people understand that as we grow we have less time to sit with them. Who doesn’t get that? Who doesn’t wish the best for their friends? They want to enjoy the ride with us, not be left behind and wondering where we went.
Responsible social media respects that real people are investing back one at time.
Real people want to know that a good “friend” doesn’t change when “he, she, or the business” gets bigger than life. It’s not hard to show that. Just keep acting the same to real individuals one at a time and core fans will know that when it’s their turn again, you’ll still be there for them.
The key understanding is that real people come in ones.
Could you add your ideas about responsible social media and would you pass this on, please?
–ME “Liz” Strauss
Image: WendyPiersall photo: SOBCon08
Want to be successful in social media? Work with Liz.
