Ok, I am going to go out on a limb today. Normally, I really try to keep things clean and professional. You’ll see that I rarely infuse personal stuff and much less inappropriate stuff on my Twitter or Facebook accounts. But, today, to prove a point, I think my example might push into a slightly more personal or inappropriate space in hopes that the information given will help better understand online social media as it relates to offline socializing, giving two case study scenarios.
I have been asked lately a lot about how certain things around online social media can work and relate to one’s website. For today’s discussion, the online social media channels I will relate to are Twitter, Facebook and a website’s blog. All of these three are really best used as a “voice” in the online world.
How, you ask?? Well that’s the question of the day. So, with that, my examples, both a Best Case Scenario and a Worst Case Scenario, will take on analogous ones by using an offline, real-world example to best describe how to formulate these online social media elements to be effective (or not) and to help your website (or not).
Best Case Scenario:
1) Say, you are a guy, healthy, happy and good-looking! You go to a bar one evening to check things out. You’re feeling a little lonely. There’s a cute girl at the bar who looks healthy and happy too with an empty stool beside her.
= Get Online – sign into your accounts.
2) You gotta think of something cool, interesting and attention grabbing to say. = Twitter
3) If you are lucky, she noticed and at least looks at you, maybe even responds because your initial opening line allowed for all of that! – Your words required attention, were cute or interesting enough to give them attention, and hopefully got the engagement you wanted back – look and/or response from the girl. – So now, you can go a step further and either elaborate on that opening line to require further engagement, meaning conversation.
= Facebook and/or Twitter again.
4) Ahh, she’s now spoken to you. You’ve managed to sit yourself down on that empty stool and she’s actually turned toward and facing you. She obviously is ok with your presence. Your next step, start a proper and slightly more engaging and effective conversation. You can tell her a story, show her a picture, describe something that you think she might like, whether it makes her laugh, cry or just gives her a topic she can further discuss with you then all is good.
= Blog
5) With all that is established, this makes it much easier for your end goal (this is where I am hoping that no one under age or easily offended is reading right now) which is to take her home for the evening. (that was gentle, not too offensive, right? – and you get my drift too, right?)
= get them to your Website
Worst Case Scenario:
note: these are the steps I see way too often being used online – and if you do these offline, I am really sorry for you!
1) Same scenario here – You are a guy, health, happy and good-looking! You go to a bar one evening to check things out. You’re feeling a little lonely. There’s a cute girl at the bar who looks healthy and happy too with an empty stool beside her.
= Get Online – sign into your accounts.
2) You don’t think ahead about what you are going to say, you just walk up to her and say something, anything, whatever popped into your mind.
= noise on Twitter
3) She doesn’t notice you or even look at you because you didn’t say anything that required attention, was cute or of interest. So now, you go a step further and say whatever else comes to mind without much thought as to why you are there or what your goal might be.
= more noise and wasted space on Facebook and/or Twitter
4) Oh boy, she’s still not spoken to you. She has either decided to get up and leave or completely turns away from you. However, if you are really lucky because you happened to say something witty or intelligent then maybe she is paying you a little attention. Let’s hope! So, now your next step is to try to start up a conversation by telling her a story or showing her a picture.
= Blog
5) But this is your next mistake, your conversation (blog) is infused with nothing more than “let’s go home together”, “I want to sleep with you”, in case you didn’t get it the first time “I want to get physical with you”. This is the blog that is infused with nothing but sales talk or a pitch for your services, over and over again.
You still didn’t manage to say anything worth hearing – or reading in the case of a blog. Why would she now want to go home with you, really?! Well, some might. I know I sure wouldn’t! And any time I saw you again, I’d avoid you at all costs.
= Never going to your Website again.
Got it?! Does that make some sense. Set things up socially, online or offline so that you can intelligently, with some fore-thought, participate and actively engage those around you. If you do that, then they will take the next step, and one way or another, if you really set things up correctly can intertwine things to have the end result of getting them home with you, to your Website and do what you want them to do there, like buy your products or services, call you, sign-up for email, whatever.
Learning how to have a positive Presence, be intelligently Engaging and have a decent Call-to-Action will get you far online – and offline too!
It’s funny that so many really think that Twitter only started this year. It was actually founded back in 2006 and most professional internet marketers, search enthusiasts and regular bloggers were playing with it from the start.
As an 