Are YOUR Lights On?

[Eydie Stumpf]

Today I would like to tell you a little story about one of my clients. She hired me to help her increase her web presence using social media as a tool. When I took on this particular client, she already had a blog and accounts in LinkedIn, Facebook, FriendFeed, Twitter and a host of other social media sites. Profiles were written, photos were uploaded and she pretty much ready to go. We discussed strategy and I told her what I would be doing and what she needed to be doing. This morning my client emailed me and wanted to know why, after only a few weeks, she wasn’t seeing any results.
Well, aside from the fact that social media networking can take some time to kick in, I was curious to see if my client was holding up her part of the bargain. Ta Da! Guess what I found? Not much! Her interactions with her online connections were minimal and when she did post something she didn’t follow up on the comments made back to her. She dropped the conversation!

Contrary to that famous quote in the film, Field of Dreams, “if you build it, they will come”; however, people won’t come unless you ask them to! My client had the tools in place…the system was built, but she wasn’t asking anyone to come. Sure, I was posting status updates in Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter for new blog articles and videos I just uploaded, but she wasn’t taking any initiative to help move it along.

Why wasn’t she reaching out to his online community? I explained to her that she needed to post updates, comment on the posts of her ‘friends’, confirm new connections and search for new ones? I explained to her that social media is a two-way street? A street which requires each driver to communicate with each other often so trust could be built? Or did she think that because she had some tools in place that business would just happen?

What if you opened up a new shop? You stocked the shelves with your products, and opened the doors for business. Then you left. You walked away from your shop. People knocked on the door and came in, but you weren’t there. They were ready and willing to see what you offered, but you were gone. What do you think will happen next? Come on, you know just as well as I – they will leave.

This same scenario applies to the social media landscape. If you are not active, if you don’t follow the rules, if you ignore everyone, then you’re not going to get anything out of it. Why would you turn on the social media lights and then walk away?

Social media networking is based on building relationships. You must be willing to put yourself out there and work the system. Everyone knows that people buy from those they know, like and trust. By being actively social online you allow others to get to know who you are. It’s the same when you are networking face-to-face. You must first build relationships and then the business will come once people see you as someone they can trust.

And again, please don’t believe that success will happen overnight. If you do then you will be greatly disappointed. You must be willing to commit your time and be an active community member.

The lights are on, but are you open for business?