The Bustling Town Of Social Media!

Do you think you could do me a favor? Close your eyes for just a moment and envision the internet as a busy town where people are constantly bustling to get to the next mtg, after the mtg you run to catch your friend for lunch followed by a  pitch for a client then off to that yoga class you recently joined. Now think of social media as the way individuals interact on blogs, forums and other social networking sites as a coffee shop or your local pub. The analogy of viewing the web as a bustling town, demonstrates the concept of social media being a place where people congregate to get enlightenment; this shows how entrepreneurs today can utilize social media tools to its maximum potential.

Think about your actions during a social gathering:

-    Do you go in to a group filled with a minimal amount of acquaintances?

-    Do you go amongst a group of people and gruffly shout “purchase my product!” or

     “my company is the best!”

-    Do you have a few memorable conversations or do you meet every person at the gathering?

From my experience I find these questions to be very helpful, especially to those who are new to social media as well as those who fail to see the reinforcement that social media can provided to your product or company in terms of communication and marketing. Envisioning the web as a busy town where social media spots are used for individuals who join together to socialize, allows us to make sense of how marketers can utilize social media tools to its maximum potential, in order to gain success for their company or product.

Of course you can attend social gatherings and blab about how brilliant your company or product is, but will this make you popular? Probably not. It would be wiser to make friends and acquaintances that like conducting business with people they like.The same concept is applied in the world of social media.It is good to join and participate in advancing networking sites such as forums and blogs and social network sites i.e. (Twitter, Facebook, MySpace) etc. but be aware to give more than you get. Do not overwhelm people with your product or company, be able to part take in other things that are going on in the sites that you are taking part in, such as: discussions, commenting on other material, participating in survey’s etc.this will allow other members to view you as a more approachable individual as you are not overwhelming or making them feel obligated to your business or product. As an entrepreneur you want to “reel in the bass and fish out the tuna.”  This means start small simple conversation and take part in social activities in the sites you are involved in as I mentioned earlier, can help build your personal reputation making yourself feel more approachable to people. Try to create a sense of comfort between you and  the person, this will allow an opening to be formed for you to “reel in the tuna” or in other words, discuss your business or product.  Conduct business as you would in a social setting, not as you would in a bank. Meaning, do not approach people by discussing purely your company or product, make sure you are embracing “small talk” as well.  People do not like to feel as if they are being corner attacked or overwhelmed by something. A little conversation will go a far way. You will be able to create an opening for you to discuss your business product or company. I can guarantee you will slowly start to notice your valuable interactions will lead to more promising business opportunities.