cartoon by @gapingvoid
I am as big an advocate of fully engaging on the social web as anyone…
By this, I mean that you should blog. You should read other blogs via your RSS reader, and be a part of conversations on those blogs. And you should be active on all those other social web tools such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Flickr, YouTube, Foursquare, etc. etc…
But you know as well as I do that if you are not careful, you can lose control. And your activity on the social web will be ALL CONSUMING. And you can spend HOURS playing in the sandbox and not advance your business goals.
It has happened to me. And I am working hard to figure out ways to simplify my presence and activity there. Without sacrificing the benefits.
Here is my best advice to you in terms of how you should view the social web as a marketing strategy for your business:
FOCUS ONLY ON ENGAGING AND SERVING PEOPLE.
If you only do this, you will be on the right path to getting the results you want on the social web. Here are some tips to apply minimalist principles to your social web strategy:
Keep Connections Relevant. It really is quality over quantity. Who cares if you have 100,000 followers if none of them care what you say? Don’t focus time and energy on just racking up hollow follower counts (and do the things listed below, and your list will grow naturally).
Look out for a few key words. If you help authors, you should be searching for messages that contain the word “authors.” You will find someone who needs your help – if you are looking and listening.
Strike up sincere conversation. Don’t just send out one-way sales messages. Find people you can help or want to know, and talk to them. It is these conversations that will lead to business opportunities.
Share with your community. If you are not trying to generate a meaningful conversation, then you should be focused on sharing meaningful content. This helps your network, and can lead to conversations too…
That’s it. Your time on the social web really should be kept that simple. Make it a goal to connect in a meaningful way with ONE person a day. Before long, you have quite a powerful network.
Too often, we get distracted and just lose our way. We get caught up artificially growing our followers, or playing with shiny new tools, or focused on self-promotion.
So keep it minimal. Keep it simple. It is easy to lose sight of your real business purpose on the social web. Keep your goals, and the activity you do on the social web, simple. Follow only the right people. Read only the blogs that help you advance your cause. Do this, and you’re on the right path!
What do you think?
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