For Deeper (#SocialMedia) Penetration Try These (Awkward) Positions

cowbite /Foter
This image has nothing to do with anything. I’m only including it because when I searched for “couples yoga fail”, this had the funniest caption:
Partner yoga on the platform fails to impress a passerby

Yes.  I’m aware of the completely inappropriate way this title may be taken. But it’s Saturday, it’s not early enough to get drunk, and everyone knows the I’m two sandwiches short of a picnic basket.

If it makes you giggle, feel free to share it with the original title: “For Deeper Penetration, Try These Positions.”

Current one seems dirtier somehow, right?

To business:

We should cut through as many layers of BS as we can at once, agreed? We’re all busy people and there are Angry Birds to launch, or as was once said on The Office, mines aren’t going to sweep themselves.

So here’s the question: how do I get more people to share my social media stories?

The answer: create better stuff, have deeper interactions, and make it so easy that even your friends could do it.

Let’s break it down.

And to that one person who got up and started dancing, I salute you.

Awkward Position #1: Challenging Your Team to Create Better Stuff

Any time I slice off a little piece of my soul and share it in the form of audio, video, images, text or some mixture, and no one tells anyone else about it, I die inside. And it’s just my opinion, but if you or someone in your company isn’t creating at that level of pain, you need to make better stuff.

You need to make things that move you, that would move people who like you, get you, may have never met you.

If you can’t write, talk. People love audio, someone had to invent a way for people to subscribe to series of audios, commonly called podcasts. Though technically any media enclo— never mind. Not important.

If you get nervous talking, get a camera and point it at someone else.

If you haven’t got a creative bone in your body, get someone in your company who does and empower them to publish on the group’s behalf. Encourage everyone to comment, share, like, tweet, whatever.

And make sure there are resources you trust to teach them how if they don’t know the basics.

In the end it doesn’t matter what you create. It matters that it matters to you and the people who you want to serve. And if THEY create something great, share your audience with them. You’ll get much farther showing off the creations of people inspired by your products and services, Trust Me.

Awkward Position #2: Intentionally Striving for Deeper Interactions

Here’s where I’m supposed to say all kinds of marketing jargon and/or nonsense and wow you with some metrics or statistical analysis.

Whatever. We all know I’m smart. So are you. So what. What we need are practical tips we can apply. Right now.

I’ll give you one and since we’ve agreed that we’re all smart, just at different things, I’ll presume that you’ll be able to apply the basic logic of this. Then later on in the week I’ll brainstorm some other specifics.

Deal?

Okay.

Whatever level of interaction you’re normally having in social media, for one week, take the best ones to the next level for peers and potential customers.

If you’re sending out links and not having conversations, COMPLETELY stop sending any links about you or your company and just talk to people. If you can’t answer their questions online, get on the phone.

If you’re already talking to people, ask them questions.

If you’re already having dialogue in public, take it to private instant message.

Go from instant message to phone, phone to meeting in person, shaking hands to coffee or cocktails, and so on.

Why? I’ll tell you next week. For now I’ll just say, deeper interactions yield higher results. And yes, higher sales, IF you can manage to spend most of your time listening.

Awkward Position #3: Helping Friends Who Aren’t Savvy Enough to Share

Earlier I said something like “make it so stupid your friends could do it”.

That’s meant with total respect for your friends, but you know the ones I’m talking about. Some of the people we adore are not so great with the web.

You know what I’ve noticed though? Those people are like 100 times less socially awkward than I am, and because of that, they reach more people, online and off. They know what to say, they know how to say it, and not with fingertips tickling keyboards.

(I’m SO much quieter in person, you just don’t KNOW.)

Now, these folks need some extra help from us in sharing our stuff on the web.

They want to.

They really do.

But we have made it so, so hard for them.

I mean, really. Isn’t it our responsibility to make it easier for the people we want favors from to do us the favor in question?

We put up Twitter buttons that don’t have our @ handles. This is SO important. I hate tweeting links without crediting the person on Twitter, almost as much as not knowing who content came from.

Quick, what’s the name of the company that sells Girl Scout Cookies?

I don’t know either.

I’ve got more of these tidbits but I hadn’t planned on going on and on until 1000 words had been said, so we’ll save those tips for next week.

It’s Saturday. Go be great with your family and friends, and save this somewhere that you’ll remember it on Monday.

Have a Happy Weekend.