Remember: Social Media is Social

Imagine that I meet you at some event like a cocktail party or business meeting. I shake your hand, tell you that “I’m a very smart and handsome man, a skilled athlete loved by women, envied by men, and someone who can really help you out.” At this point I sweep my hand across the room and add that, “of all these people gathered here, I am the best.”

Described another way that’s advertising. Whether it’s on a billboard, TV screen or website, the message is “I’m the best. Buy me.” And it’s a one-way message. The billboard never sees you react.

Social media is different. It’s a conversation. You can talk about yourself at this cocktail party but you need to do more than just that if you want to be invited back. It helps if you’re interesting, polite, ask about me, and show me that you’re honest.

And here is the confusion. Conventional advertising and PR firms as well as news divisions are beginning to use social media but they apply conventional media rules. They talk at you on Twitter the way they’re accustomed to talking at you on a website. In many cases their “message-points” are barely veiled spam. A mistake. These self-described “communicators” are more likely to be invited back to the party if they learn to converse instead of pontificate.

When it’s your turn to talk on a social platform, whether Twitter or your high-school reunion the same rules will endear or repel you. Think about who you’re talking to. Try to engage them in a discussion that interests them. That probably means talking about more than just yourself.

AK