Are You Talking at or with Your Social Media Community?

The questions sounds simple enough.

Oftentimes, the answer is not.

Let’s discuss this!

Many times when I take on a new client, they’re posting fairly decent content regularly.

The problem is that they’re not getting any traction.

No engagement, no new followers.

Nothing.

Nada.

They’re ready to give up on social media before they even get started with me.

Some tactful inquiries on my part and a careful scan of their posts usually reveals the problem.

They’re talking at their community and not with it!

By at, I mean one way, no dialogue, just preaching.

I don’t care how good your content is, that approach gets old very quickly.

We all have people whom we consider to be good friends, very good friends oftentimes, but when we see them coming, we start moving in the opposite direction.

Why?

Simply because these people start talking as soon as they meet us and don’t let us a word in edgewise.

Or, they talk about things that we’re only marginally interested in.

On the hand, we all know people whom we might not call friends, maybe wouldn’t want to identified as their friends, but when we meet them, we’re happy to see them.

Why, what’s the difference?

The difference is these folks talk with us.

They ask about us, our families, our interests.

They even listen!

How’s that for a novel idea!

The same thing applies to social media.

Are we really getting the other parties involved in the conversation?

Are they happy that you’re engaging with them about what they really want to talk about?

Notice how I’m even talking yet about adding value with the conversation.

(One of my other usual rants.)

Getting attention on social media is getting harder and harder even from our most loyal followers.

There’s just so much competition for their attention right now.

If we want them to look forward to hearing from us, or better yet, come looking for us, then we have to bring our A game to the table when it comes to having a conversation with our communities.

Yes, engagement and content are very important on social media.

But, how we have that conversation with our communities is paramount.

Think about it.

How do you like to talk with others?

That’s it for now!

Please check out my 8 step approach for developing a social media program for more ideas on how to use social media.

Also, never forget to reach out to either ask questions or to ask for help from someone like myself!
In the meantime, thank you for following and reading my blog.

I look forward to any and all comments that you may have. I will reply to any comments made to this blog post as promptly as I can.

And, remember!

I do this for a living and if I can be of any assistance to either you or your organization, please feel free to call on me. Our initial discussion will be of no charge to you.

I can also be reached at conpsweeney@someddi.com.

My Twitter handle is @conpsweeney.

Stay well!