Micheal Savoie writes, teaches and speaks about blogging and social networking for small business. He lives in Beverly Hills, FL with his family. Follow Micheal on Twitter.
If a blogger writes on the web and nobody sees it, did they actually write anything? You have to look at the way bloggers communicate to really get a feel for what I mean.
I just read a unique blog post from a good friend of mine. She sent me a direct message (DM) from twitter to alert me about it. The title intrigued me, so I went to her blog, read it and commented on it.
Social Networks are a very potent force in communication. People hear more about MySpace, Facebook and Twitter from their sitcoms, because those platforms reached a critical mass, where people can no longer ignore them unless they want to continue being completely anonymous.
But posting on social networks just for the sake of posting is like writing just to fill lines on page. If you are not providing value of some kind, nobody will read you. In many cases, people who do not provide good content become lost in the sea of information.
What is content?
Content falls into 3 major categories:
- Information
- Help
- Entertainment
Some people on the social networks are information junkies who just need to consume facts, figures and trivia. They need a steady diet of these to keep their active minds filled with new data.
Others on the social networks have a problem that they need solved, and they look to the social community for their assistance. They might ask where something is located, they might need to find a particular person or maybe they just need to connect with someone who has a specific talent. In all of these cases, the distressed networkers can quickly sift through the responses to find the nugget that they were looking for to solve their problem.
Finally, the group of social networkers who are looking to be entertained are looking for laughter, music and videos that keep them filled with joy! So if you are a provider of entertainment value, you are going to build a large following by being entertaining.
With that said, your presence on the social networks should give people a sense that they know you. If you are using my favorite social network, Twitter, you might be telling people who you met at the latest seminar, or how you and your family are going to see a movie. While those seem like insignificant things to talk about, they are defining you to the outside world.
Being yourself is what draws people into your circle. If you try to be someone you aren’t eventually the facade will come off when people are around you and you will lose them. Much better to be yourself all the time and only attract those that like you for being you.
So when you update people on Twitter, you are giving them a slice of your day, make it count by giving your slant on the topic. Say you are ready to try out the new restaurant in town, make it an event!
“I took a chance on the new Asian Restaurant in town and was rewarded with great service!”
This tells people what you did while providing information to the info junkies. The fact that you took a chance tells people that you usually do not go to new restaurants. People who are used to staying within their established routines will look at you as a daring adventurer and may actually venture out on your recommendation.
If you just say, “I had Pork LoMein For Dinner.” You aren’t telling anyone much, and probably irritated a bunch of people with growling stomachs! Think of each of your updates as a part of your autobiography. You are writing each sentence of it with the updates you choose to post!
If all you want the world to remember about you is that you ate Pork LoMein, you will blend into the scenery with all the other meal updates the world has to offer.
Remember that your followers, friends or acquaintences in the social networks around the world have more than just you to read about. Make each update count toward them developing a relationship with you that means something. While you are reading this, your next million dollar partner or client could be looking over your tweet-stream deciding whether or not they want to press the “follow” button on your profile right now.
Make your story be the one which makes them anticipate each chapter daily. Once you start to examine what you find is important to you, your updates will show it… The life you change may be your own as you write your story one update at a time!
