I’ve been toying with the idea of purging out my Facebook friends list…and have been struggling with the idea of losing connection with other internet marketers. I made a casual tweet about this today and was shocked by the response of people who are following me. I’ve even gotten feedback from people I’ve never even had conversations with who told me how much they enjoyed my tweets/Facebook messages.
So, here’s my story I would like to share with you:
1) It’s not about the number of friends you have. Even if you have 5000 friends on Facebook…and none of them ever goes online, or posts anything on Facebook…it’s irrelevant. This is not a popularity contest.
2) I used to think it was a huge chore to get onto Facebook. I am so busy, I never had the time. Now I check my FB 2-4 times a day and I look forward to opportunities to engage with the people I follow.
3) I’ve come to the conclusion that so called “Internet marketers” I’ve respected often don’t have a clue about social marketing. Constant withdrawing of their social capital has made them bankrupt. “Come to my webinar tonight.” and “by my stuff here”…etc…and they make no effort to read anyone else they follow or comment on. They are only interested in one thing…more sales…Social media is about relationships…one at a time. If you start to care about someone else’s life, they will start to care about you.
4) Mix it up. Be real. Authenticity is the new cool. Don’t use tweetbots to spam your followers. Start conversations and engage your friends on Facebook and Twitter. When you start to care…they care back. If all you do is send out promotions, or JV promotions…then clearly, you don’t have any interest in what your followers have to say.
5) Some of you might be concerned about reach. What happens if you have 500o friends on Facebook? You like the reach..but don’t think you have the time and energy to have a relationship with 5000 people.
It doesn’t have to be that way….just let it grow organically. Just check in every day…say hi to a few people. You don’t say hi to your mother every day…and she doesn’t expect you to say hi every day either. It’s just nice to check in with people…especially when they’ve taken the time to write about their day. Just comment on their posts. Respond to comments. The name of the game is ENGAGEMENT.
Look for opportunity to engage your followers and make opportunities for your followers to engage you. Ask open ended questions.
Good luck.
Sincerely
George Tran
Author of “The Social Marketing Manifesto”
Success Strategies for Small Businesses using Social Media
www.socialmarketingman.com
www.twitter.com/georgetran
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