Social Media is not the future, it is the present. It is not going to save the planet, we are. It is not the answer to all of your poor marketing efforts; it is simply the next telephone and a brilliant one at that. In the end what it has done is increase the value of the PEOPLE behind the screen. I say it all the time, “The internet threatened to DE-Humanize the society and social media has simply RE-humanized it”. This should tell anyone one thing, time to brush up on your people skills.
What people seem to have forgotten is the fact that we have only been in the “Information Age” for around 15 years. Do you remember 15 years ago? What was hot? What we wore? Beverly Hills 90210 was #1 on TV, Grunge was tops on the charts, Notre Dame was still a good football team and some guy from Arkansas was running the country. Major companies didn’t have websites yet and some folks even had pagers. This was only 15 years ago people.
In that time frame America has completely changed, we have all gotten more tech savvy and less real or human. We have all regressed in our people skills and have become master internet researchers, texters and Tweeters! Now What?!? The whole world is trying to develop tools to save the universe and make social media as good as it can be, but it seems to me that they are all forgetting one important thing: people. We have forgotten how to be real people.
Almost gone are the days of hiding behind a desk and doing business in private. Now you ARE going to be Googled and you WILL be searched out on Facebook; it is happening right now. I speak with dozens of CEO’s every week and some are excited to get into social media and some are deathly afraid. This I can understand on both ends. The thing I cannot understand is why they are not in the space right now. The fear of having people pry into your life is not a good excuse. It is going to happen even if you don’t want it to, people love to dig and dig to find information on you. Make it easy for them, be real, offer a bit about yourself out there and people will actually search less!
Everyone needs to focus on getting real, driving reality to everything you do. The reality is you can connect with people pretty much every minute of every day across the globe. You must accept that social media needs to be at least a 2% focus of your everyday routine. It has earned its place in all of our daily routines, and it is here to stay. Respect it and use it now so you are not dragged in when it's too late.
Social networks are like cocktail parties at light speed. Please do not hop on the table and dance, boast, lie, or try to sell; those are the worst things you can do. BE REAL! Imagine walking into a networking event by yourself. Use those instincts to make sure you are not pushing your luck and scaring people away. Once you have connected, be REAL. There is nothing worse than a professional without a sense of humor. Have fun and be yourself.
The tip for this week is to make sure you take a daily stance to provide value to your community of friends or fans or followers at all times. Locate and share answers to questions that people have. Inspire them with insight. Don’t share 300 Churchill quotes, though many love to see the same quotes over and over again, original insight is what we all signed up to hear. If you want something out of a social situation you always have to give first, you must always add value to lives. The more value you provide the more the world will give back, that I promise you! Social media works in one crazy way that most people don't connect with, it is a scrap book of your life and all the things you do, treat it with respect. In the end, be a resource, be a team player, be patient, and more than anything get, and stay, REAL!
By Eric Rice
LWI and The Founders Den
The Founders Den
The Founders Den is a collaborative group of successful entrepreneurs, attorneys, investors, tax professionals, and advisors who are committed to sharing their knowledge, expertise, and resources to improve the environment for rising startup businesses. The Founders Den Members come from a variety of professional backgrounds and business sectors, and are focused on leveraging their wisdom and experience to offer advice to young companies, and in select cases the Den serves as an incubator for promising ventures who are in need of support to turn their plans into reality.
Eric Rice is a successful entrepreneur and has built a number of businesses in sectors ranging from financial services to gaming. He is currently the CEO of LWI, a non-traditional marketing firm specializing in social media and online branding.
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