“Hi. I’m new to social media, but I am really excited to be here. So, to start, why don’t you have a look at my amazing widgets for sale for you at a discount price if you buy within the next 20 minutes at [insert link here]”
Honestly, do people really do this kind of thing? Still? Sadly, they do – and the more people who get involved in social media there are, the more we see this or some variation of this. Whether on LinkedIn Groups, in Twitter, on Facebook or anywhere, the die-hard marketers abound.
Perhaps the word ‘conversation’ is a little too difficult to get to grips with? Or maybe there is a sense of laziness involved? (I want results and I want them now and I don’t really want to have to put the hard graft in) Or perhaps it is a lack of understanding? Whatever it is, the people practising there are rapidly finding themselves out in the cold, wondering what it was they did to get there.
I don’t know about you, but I will always spend a bit of time looking, listening and learning before I embark on any kind of marketing, interaction or relationship. If you just met someone at a party who looked nice, would you walk up to them and say ‘wow, you look great. I am single, available and well worth it so why don’t we just forget everything and go back to my place now?’ And if you did, would you expect them to fall at your feet and agree, or slap you across the face? Unless you were at that kind of party, chances are it would be the slap. Why would you do that, if the person really was gorgeous and you really did want to establish some kind of a relationship? I mean, you are destroying your chances before you even start.
But, that is what a lot of people do. They seem to see business as completely separate from the rest of human interaction. But business interactions are as much a part of human condition as anything else. If it doesn’t work in any other relationship, what makes you think it is going to work in business?
I wish people would realise that everything they do will have repercussions and unless they are selling their products and services to a machine rather than another human being, bowling on in with a message of self promotion isn’t going to win you friends or loyal customers. Honestly, I don’t think social media has actually changed things – I think it has made it more public when you get it wrong.
Feel free to argue with me – I would be interested to hear the opposing view.
Thanks to Cayusa for the image
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Tags: LinkedIn Groups
