Lately it seems as if the market for social media 101 and 102 have hit critical mass, unfortunately I think it’s just beginning to grow. Everyone will get into the business of telling you how to leverage, game, manipulate, and pendulate wants against needs. The more we become a “friending” society the more we need to be reminded that we are still human. Yes, there are ways to help nudge or further expose a desire into a “friending” action but the incessant documentation and rules for social media needs to find a plateau. This isn’t to say that those who are creating materials for those just becoming acquainted with social media are wasting their time or creating useless chatter amongst the internet. It does seem, however, that we are wanting to abandon our humanity for something more enticing. This happened with the advent of email and email newsletter campaigns, still heavily used but often tossed to the side for more social fields, email has been through this and maybe we should learn some lessons.
In the beginning of email marketing there was this influx of activity, books, seminars, and courses on the subject, all of them signifying how to avoid taking the tedious time of earning the sale. But then after many spam protections and laws went into place many people had to reconsider their humanity. How should we treat our customers or leads? This isn’t to say that there are people who haven’t received the message yet but they don’t believe maintaining their humanity at all in their business. I believe it isn’t just something we should ask ourselves but a bearing on where we decide to take our business when presented with multiple options. Do we take a high road and preserve our customers’ sensibility and trust or the low road and attempt to maximize profits? Is this to say that there isn’t a happy medium but only a lonely road of high moral and ethical ground? No. There is most definitely a middle-ground which can be attained. Marketing to people through social channels should look more organic and grow out of existing customers.
Email marketing is the older sibling to social media marketing, they left some important lessons to learn.
They want information on what you sell.
Ensure they know what it is you sell, very plainly and concisely.
They want to hear from you.
People click the Like or Follow button because their interested in what you have to say.
They don’t want to be sold on the company.
They know who you are, now tell them why they need you.
They want reasons to stay in love with you.
My father told me that falling in love is easy, it’s staying in love that’s difficult. Sound business advice in my opinion.
Reward dedication.
They don’t have to follow you, they have other things to do in their life.
Make it easy to connect.
If you wanted to respond, it was simple and natural.
Be authentic.
People can see through bullshit, just stop it.
Driven by stats.
Human behavior drives stats, if you don’t have the desired stats, change what they’re clicking on.
Give hope.
Deliver what they’d hoped for.
We must never forget our humanity.
Image taken by Trey Ratcliff.
