Why do we use social media, be it personally or professionaly? To be heard.
This was my takeaway from the recent Edison Research survey, which indicated that 25% of Facebook users visit the network five times or more a day. And when they visit, they pay more attention to interactions with their posts than the content others are putting up.
This is a remarkable insight for insightful marketers, entrepreneurs and businesses. When we first start using social media, we likely reconnect with old friends and curiousity drives our usage. Then, after the new wears off, we begin to use these platforms to express ourself or be a maven.
This jives with Dan Zarella’s findings at Hubspot, where he indicates that the top reasons we share content are to be “in the know” or to “warn/recommend” to our friends. Again, it’s all about expression. The psychic currency, then, is for their posts to in turn be liked, shared, commented on, etc.
So here’s the takeaway: If you want to connect with media, influeners, prospects or your customers, don’t interrupt them with a cold call or spam them with a press release or “what’s up?” email. Give them what they want: Attention. Create lists (Twitter) or preferred feed (Get Notifications/FB) for those you want to build a relationship with. When they post content that should be shared, share it or comment. Be additive, though, because it’s all about authenticity.
They will reciprocate by paying more attention to you, and who knows, your hat tip could lead to opporutnities to interact. In a world where your calls don’t get returned and your emails are never opened, the hat tip may be the only way to become signal, instead of noise.
Case study: Desk Elf and Carol Roth – Edison Research Link
Watch: Video clip from one of my keynotes on “How To Win Business Using Social Media.”
Connect With Your Prospects Using Social Media (instead of spamming or cold calling them) from Tim Sanders on Vimeo.
