Longtime readers of my blog know that I typically discuss how to use social media as a business tool to promote yourself and your business. I’m going to deviate a bit from that for this post.
While it is a great marketing tool, first and foremost, social media is, well…SOCIAL!
Obviously, everyone has their own individual reasons for using social media. When I first started using social media, it was simply a way to connect with people. I home office and I’m by nature, a very social being. Social media gave me the ability to communicate with people.
Initially, I used LinkedIn to connect with other professionals and to discuss what was happening in my industry and in the business world in general. I used Facebook on a more personal level, chatting about shared interests, posting Happy Birthday wishes, and just getting to know people. Twitter was for quick snippets of conversation – kind of like you’d overhear when standing in line at the grocery store or Starbucks.
Just as we do in the “real world,” we use social media when things are going wrong and we want people to commiserate with us and we use it when things are going well and we want people to celebrate with us.
The whole “social” aspect was recently very apparent to me when in the span of just 24 hours, four Facebook Friends posted about the deaths of immediate family members. While this was obviously very sad, it was also very moving to read what others were posting. Some posted their favorite memories and photos of the deceased, while others simply posted heart-felt condolence messages.
Several years ago when my own father was in the final stages of his life, I posted about it on Facebook. I will always remember the people who took the time to share that they were thinking about me – especially those who responded when I was posting in the wee hours of the morning! It was definitely a comfort, whether they were my BFFs or someone I only knew in the virtual world.
For me, social media is an online water cooler. We chat with those who are there, sometimes for a sentence or two, sometimes more. During these conversations, we decide if we want to develop a greater relationship with that person. And yes, we also sometimes decide we don’t want to know them better!
On my program on Mile Hi Radio, my guest, Joe M. Turner, said that social media (in true Wizard of Oz fashion) gives us a “peak” behind the curtain of those we’re connected with. Some raise the curtain quite a bit while others just barely give us a glimpse, but this is how we get to know each other, personally and professionally.
Of course, there are many people who don’t use social media to connect with others for business…and that’s perfectly acceptable. But, for those who do, keep in mind what master networker Bob Burg says: “All things being equal, people will do business with, and refer business to, those people they know, like and trust.”
I’d love to get your thoughts on this. Have you made great connections online that you’ve moved to the real world? What makes you decide whether or not to take that next step, whether personally or professionally? Post your comments below!
