Making connections with people is by far the most motivating and rewarding part of what we do – “we” meaning BGN. Making an impact on someone else and the way they think about their business is the key to our job, and I believe it’s why I was put on this lovely Earth. I surround myself with people who want to challenge themselves and want to challenge others.
We’ve recently made some connections through a new member agency, Lanier Upshaw – a group of folks engaging in social media who are not only open to being challenged, but are challenging us as well.
Does social media scare the pants off you?
Bill Dorman is one of our new friends. He is openly and sincerely documenting his social media journey through a blog where every day he is challenging himself and others, and asking others to do the same for him, as well.
I’m a much more keep-to-myself person than Bill, but I have had many of the same thoughts, and challenges as he’s experiencing. One of those ideas is making the connections – knowing how far to take a conversation, how deep and wide to go, and knowing how it fits into your goals (personal, business, combination, fun, entertainment, education, etc).
To continue with the idea that Kevin brought up in his Voyeurism post, I think the idea of interacting with other people – strangers in many cases - scares the pants off many people. It’s so much easier to be a voyeur and just read what other people write, take away an idea or two, and maybe tweak it to fit your own situation.
The problem with that way of not interacting with the people who post the information, and a layer deeper, the people who comment, is that we’re not taking the opportunity to challenge and educate others with our own ideas.
And we’re not stretching ourselves to take advantage of this amazing new way of
- educating ourselves
- building relationships
- developing innovative ideas for our own businesses and for our clients
All of these things lead to an opportunity for increased business success. It may not be someone buying from you directly, but remember - the cornerstone of building a business is through the connections you make and the education you provide.
By not interacting and simply watching, you're not taking the opportunity to make the idea better, and you’re not letting other people know what you think about and how you might be a valuable contributor to their team. And you’ve completely missed the chance to get to know new people who may enrich your life and challenge you to be a better person.
Now, I’m not saying that you need to comment and interact all the time, but by not venturing out and at least trying it, how do you know if it’s going to hurt? Or not work for you?
Everyone has their own reason for not commenting. Here’s just a few I hear regularly:
I don’t have time. Really? If you’ve got time to read articles, I’m sure you can take another 2 or 3 minutes to compose a thought once in a while.
Comments are just left by ranters and spammers. Well, if you read articles on Yahoo, this is true. Just like there are certain coffee shops I avoid, I also avoid those blogs. There are many, many intelligent, insightful people who regularly participate in discussions. Go there instead.
I don’t know what I could add that hasn’t already been said. You know that little voice talking while you’re reading? The one that calls BS or nods vigorously or conjures up an image or asks a question? That’s what you comment about.
There have been many articles written, and a plethora of discussions following these articles (and links to other similar articles) about the value of commenting. If you’d like to check some of them out, you might be amazed at the quality of conversation and debate – while you’re there, think about how this might translate to your business. Would you like to have ongoing discussions with your clients and prospects about topics near and dear to your business? Yeah, me too!
Mark Harai – Not Commenting or Answering Comments on Blogs is Lame
{grow} by Mark Schaefer – The silent majority: Why people don’t comment on your blog
SpinSucks - Five Ways to Lose Your Commenting Virginity
It starts by digging in deep and getting involved in the discussions and becoming a regular reader and commenter. If you don’t, people don’t know you’re there and can’t help you except by happenstance of a relevant blog post. Bill has proven it can be done and has developed amazing relationships along the way. I’m taking his advice and following his lead – so if you see me around in your neighborhood a lot, feel free to blame Bill for that!
How are you making online interactions work for you and helping you build a better business?
Photo by Joi Ito.
