Need inspiration? Take 2 pills of social media guru pain relief & swallow…then focus and become great

20th Tuesday, 2010  |   All we got, comment, MOO: Cowbell Blog, My Views & Thoughts, opinion  |  8 comments

I’m carrying on a theme from an earlier post but I don’t think it’s just me that sees companies and individuals across social media going through plenty of self-analysis and soul searching lately.

The reasons for this to me are relatively clear.

1. Many so called experts and gurus(??) are slightly bemused as to why the promised land hasn’t led them to fields of gold, and the billionaires haven’t materialised quite as quickly as was meant to happen – written out in the prophecy’s of many before them

2. Organisations, companies, industry commentators, SME’s, traditional media and even government don’t know what to do with what’s supposed to be the new holy grail of  the marketing and communications arena

I could write about the problems and analyse the reasons why but I’m not going to. Instead the focus will be on how to improve the situation. Not just for you reading this, but for me. Yes – I need to improve my own communications, my own approach & strategy, and above all improve the way I spend my time in all areas of social media.

I’ve been in boardrooms and I’ve had meetings with some very smart people about how to take social media forward. Some of the frustrations in these meetings are the same. It was only last week that two potential clients came back at me with statements like:

All I see from Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn is people slapping each others backs and saying how great you all are

or

That’s great and I hear what you say, but where’s the evidence for the small B2B companies and how am I going to position myself when all I see is social media experts using Twitter

Difficult arguments to fight against.

And so I’ve decided to change. I’ve decided to create a methodology and a framework for my working day and life
1.    Only engage with those who want to be engaged
2.    Ensure that every action has a potential outcome that takes you forward (personally & professionally)
3.    Don’t play out the day in front of the screen. Try & facilitate meetings or phone calls from your online connections
4.    Push the people you want to work with to see your true value to their business and not to their ego
5.    Give as much as your time allows to those who give you it you back (make people feel good)
6.    Ensure there are times across the day when you are offline. (go feed the ducks in the stream, or eat some lunch instead of staring at the twitter stream)

This has started to work for me.

It always was crucial, but now more than ever as the networks become saturated with ‘experts’, it’s as important as ever that we ensure everything we do has real value. Value to others, value to ourselves and value to a community. A friend of mine (@stuartwitts) posted a blog article a few days ago. In it included a video clip I hadn’t seen before.

It’s had a profound affect on me and is part of the inspiration for this post. But in truth these thoughts had been mulling around my mind for a while. I just needed to find the clarity and direction to put them down.

So make some decisions. Think about making change for the right reasons. Realise you can really do something with social media.

Twitter is great! I can’t get enough of it. I can catch up with over 50 people in a few hours with some quick 140 character messages. Wow!…But wait. I CAN get enough of it. I don’t need to spend time saying ‘Hi’ to people I said hello to yesterday. I need to engage with influencers, brands, companies and individuals who will help me – personally & professionally.

Facebook status’ are fun. But isn’t it more important to research the changes Facebook is undergoing in order to ensure I’m ahead of the game for my clients.

Adding people to my vast network in Linkedin is crucial to the success of my business isn’t it? The answer is No! It’s much better for your business to create a discussion group (click here for an example) which engages in a debate about an issue surrounding your sector, your client or your research.

In the words from of the video ‘Be Great, Powerful Beyond Measure’. If we just stop and think, realise the potential of what we have at our fingertips, then we will do the medium proud with what we can achieve.

Don’t perspire..Inspire.

What are your thoughts?

  • http://iheartsocialmedia.net princess_misia

    Chris, yet again a great post with great reflections! It's funny how I try to follow a similar framework, it's important to get ‘organized’ and set your goals when it comes to social media because it's so easy to get lost and waste a great amount of time without even realizing (time that I usually lack anyway;). And thanks for sharing the video; I think it’s a great reminder for everyone not to forget what their dreams are!

  • Name

    You seem to be addressing some of the main reasons why I avoid using any social media. The day I'm convinced I can use things like Facebook and Twitter the way you suggest, and keep them from using me, I'll sign up at warp speed. Till then, it's easier to walk round the tiger pit than climb out.

    But thanks for this. You've started me thinking about it for the first time since I decided to avoid them like a bad dose of the clap. :-)

  • mollyflatt

    Chris, I love your honesty and vulnerability here – I think social media can easily become a snake eating its tail, and we all need to remind ourselves to get some perspective and define what we are using it FOR not how we are using it.

    It's a tool (God, have I heard that a few times before). But I so look forward to the conversations in the space moving on, beyond the '5 ways to have a kick-ass corporate blog' or 'how not to engage like a PR.' I want to learn about the PEOPLE out there, how the relationships and collective effort and creativity social media showcases are making a difference (for individuals and the wider world as well as brands).

    I'm totally bored of the blah, and I've certainly been guilty of adding to it myself sometimes. Lets be brave, fight our egos, and question ourselves.

  • Chris Hall

    Thanks for your comments Molly. You already know we agree so much on this issue. I love your line “Lets be brave, fight our egos, and question ourselves”. I hope we all do that every day.

  • GabrielleNYC

    Odd how we were talking about this & are of “LikeMinds” before I even knew about the post.

    I have been trying to put a framework into place for my clients & explain to them that they have to know what they want to get from Social Media & set goals not just jump on the bandwagon. Apply the same due diligence to finding a Social Media “advisor” as you would to any other business professional.

    ps: I fight to live my dreams everyday… some you lose – many you win!!!

  • Chris Hall

    That's a great response Gabrielle. If we want our clients to understand and join the social media world then we have a responsibility to demonstrate what it can actually do rather than talk about it amongst ourselves, which is what many seem to do right now.

    If the social media professionals start to show how this changes business and that it's not just a platform for the “guru's” to slap each others backs then we it will facilitate a real change for any business or organisation.

  • getsweetie

    The beauty and power of 140 writing for me is to be able to instantaneously connect with a conversation that is already in place. As a Creative Strategist, almost 80% of my work has come directly from Twitter. My background in Education has led me to truly study how language and conversations create community, my work in inner cities, rural America, and urban settings have often required me to seek out specialist and EDU support for projects and grants. Twitter has allowed me to harvest a plethora of responsive, experienced professional support and resources regardless of the subject it seems. For the authors, speakers, and product launches I am responsible for there has been no greater immediate responsive voices than those who can be reached via 140 characters to share the conversation.
    Twitter as a marketing tool is dependent upon developing trustworthy relationships, building commerce only after community is established…you're going where it is, not bringing them to yours…yet the goal is ever growing your own community, brand, reputation….
    While I am simply a drop in the puddle of those who work with Social Media, I am delighted to have found reliable resources for my own conversations and clients and have been able to become one for others as well.
    Great post!

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