Comments on: Remembering When I Felt Differently

By: Kim Werker

Kim Werker — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 22:49:07 +0000

You've nailed a really good point about scheduling versus speaking when you
have something to say. Are you able to flout their rules and just post when
you want to?

By: KM

KM — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 10:16:26 +0000

I definitely relate to this. My friend & I own a franchise in a business, and we were interacting somewhat on Facebook & Twitter, getting some reactions as we opened. Not a lot, but some. Then corporate hired someone to instruct us in social networking, and a schedule was sent out, with instructions on which networks to work on each day.

It became unfun, unspontaneous, and to be honest, I stopped doing it. Which is the exact opposite of what was intended.

But I don't want to post something on Twitter just because it's Tuesday, I post when I have something relevant to say. I am not seeking quantity of posts, and I think people can tell who's out there to promote themselves, as opposed to people who are out there reaching out with something genuine to say.

By: Kim Werker

Kim Werker — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 11:32:15 +0000

I'll argue it's only mostly about conversion. Conversion as long as a level
of integrity and honesty is maintained. Without that, it's just business,
and *just* business can be empty, cynical, irresponsible and harsh.

By: boris

boris — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 10:50:11 +0000

Great post, Kim. I know that I feel jaded by many online interactions by the time they hit mainstream / small business. In many ways, that initial spark of fun goes into automation and pressing marketing buttons.

Being social, yes, and the best ones show true personality of the people involved in a way that reflects well on the people and the business. BUT…

…it's all about conversion.

By: Steve Hoefer

Steve Hoefer — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 10:31:25 +0000

Honestly it's exciting to me! I've been using the Internet for 20 years or so, and there has always been active interest in the business potential. But the old rules of business say that business owners should keep as much control as possible over the product/experience. (For example I know companies that have 300 page books+training camps to teach ad agencies how to use their logo.) So all anyone ever did was make a web site with no social aspect. But much of the success of social networks--if not the whole Internet--is about giving up control.

Old business thoughts go like this: "I want to control any discussions about my products--what if someone says something bad?" But of course people will be talking about your product anyway, so why not participate in it? Not only can you help shape it, but you'll create a track record of paying attention to your customers.

Businesses are coming around, and it's not too much hyperbole to say it will change the way businesses work. I picked up McGraw Hill as a Twitter follower today. If you had told me 2 years ago that I'd have businesses of that size chasing after me I would have laughed hard and long. And yet now...

Sorry.. I've gone off on a bit of a rant and gotten off topic a bit, but your post really helped me coalesce some recent thoughts that have been looking for a home. Thanks again!

By: Kim Werker

Kim Werker — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 03:32:15 +0000

By: boris

boris — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 02:50:11 +0000

Being social, yes, and the best ones show true personality of the people involved in a way that reflects well on the people and the business. BUT…

…it's all about conversion.

By: Steve Hoefer

Steve Hoefer — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 02:31:25 +0000

By: Kim Werker

Kim Werker — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 17:29:16 +0000

I'm so glad you delurked. You should do it more often!

I see your point. I never thought of being online as a representative of the magazine as promoting myself - it was, to me, about promoting the magazine. But I needed to be able to promote the magazine *as* myself. What I mean is, not that I was the magazine, but that I needed to not be a persona while promoting it online - I had to be me. Which should have been perfect, since "me" was the editor of the magazine.

The differences you highlight are exactly the ones that trip companies up when they start a social media campaign. Employees *are* people -- and when they appear as such, when other people can relate to them as people, that's when the magic happens. Otherwise it's like encountering a robo-call, but online. That's no fun for anybody.

Hm. Between all the crazy verb tenses in my post and this convoluted comment, I must be driving you totally nuts.

By: Kim Werker

Kim Werker — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 17:23:08 +0000

Wow, Steve. Thank you so much for sharing your story. People like me, who've always (heh, “always” = for like a few years) been online and have been immovably enthusiastic about the business potential of such, hypothesize about your very story all the time. We do this because we're intimately familiar with our own stories and we've watched others succeed along similar lines. But to read about your thinking and how your approach has changed over such a relatively short time, and to know you're happy with the changes, is, well, it's just really very exciting.