YEARS AGO, in an advanced public speaking course, my professor discussed the effectiveness of the whisper. Often, we make the mistake thinking that the louder we are the more our audience will pay attention to us. While a louder voice might well be heard more than soft dialog, it is not necessarily listened to as attentively. Expressive points can be very effectively made by lowering, rather than amplifying your voice.
The same is true in social media environments like Twitter and Facebook. The loud sales guy who tells all the funny jokes, comments on the best places to eat and generally has an opinion on everything being discussed does little but annoy people in social media circles. The loud salesman act has become very transparent and so obviously artificial in a space where people are searching for authentic conversations and/or solutions. The loud sales guy over-pitches his product or service and pushes his solutions on anyone within screen-shot.
Tooting your own horn in a self-promotional manner in social media environments can actually have a counterproductive effect. Such approaches are often met with distrust and skepticism — and it takes a long time to regain trust after losing it. Sure, you might get noticed if you stand on top of a chair in the middle of a party and start waving your hands in the air. But most of the people at the party will find you annoying.
One way to effectively participate in social media is to contribute relevant industry expertise to a discussion rather than preaching to the community about your products and services. By serving the community in a self-less manner, your reputation and credibility will be strengthened. Over time, there will be a more natural and lasting link between your personal reputation as an industry expert and the brand that you represent. A person shouting from a soap box about the latest and greatest widget or opportunity usually reeks of opportunism and insincerity. Contributing to conversations online can be a very effective method to promote your brand. But it will only be effective if it is done consistently, over time in a contributory fashion.
That doesn’t mean that you should avoid talking about your products or services. It does mean that your mention of them should be relevant to the discussion at hand and in hopes that it might genuinely respond to another persons need at that time.
Now excuse me, I’m going to get a drink.
I see Twitter as a virtual multi-industry conference with a few million in attendance and multiple break-out sessions and myriad conversations going on. Sponsors of conferences pay for making their brand visible at the event(s), but the real value of conferences for marketers is the opportunity to make connections with the people (and particularly influencers) who attend. People may or may not remember who sponsored the event, but they will remember the people they met who made a good impression.
Monetizing social media spaces is a difficult task. The success of a social media platform is hinged on the number of users that participate. By commercializing that space, you run the risk of upsetting the people in that environment. The commercial value of social networks like Twitter and Facebook is the influence that its users yield in pockets on that platform. The challenge for marketers is to somehow reach the influencers in those pockets by somehow participating in not intrusive ways.
If I knew the answer, I’d be a rich man. My thought is that the marketing strategy in Twitter (at the moment anyway) involves starting and engaging in conversations that are relevant to your products and services and by strengthening your personal brand that is linked to those products and services.
I have no idea why Twitter doesn’t want to make money while anyone else is trying to make money on Twitter? Will they put the ads when people are addicted to it?