Pop, hiss, can you hear the air escaping from the media bubble as more and more people remember that media is of little use without being social.
Like many people, Twitter is an easy dip-the-toe into the world of Social Media. It’s quick to get on board, easy to follow, tweet, retweet and have a conversation with your best friend and their friend and before you know it you’re engaging with the twitterati. We then jump on the chase-the-large-following bandwagon and revel in the likes and hearts; we’re only human after all and they polish our ever-growing ego.
It’s not long before we discover bright new shiny tools of automation and soon we are fueling a media craze, polluting our follower’s feeds with endless clutter. Even when people don’t engage with your tweets, you’re not put off and buoyed by the advice of some social media gurus, you tweet twice as much, as that’ll double the chances of someone seeing your tweet in the sea of noise. In reality, it doubles the chances of people getting annoyed with your incessant tweeting. But hey, this automation stuff is real cool and now you’re thanking all of those precious followers for following you with an auto DM; thanks for following now buy my stuff! It’s OK, count to 10 . . . . relax.
As our following count rises and we follow more Tweeps the rush of excitement engenders an ambition to conquer the other social media platforms. More likes, more hearts, feel the love as you spread your wings and fly beyond the flight path of what the twitter bird has to offer.
An ever ambitious dream chaser seeking out more and more of the social media’s ego boosters; more follows, more and more so-called friends and more connections. But it’s still not enough. We need more engagement, for what is a like without a conversation, without digitally talking to someone. Can you imagine visiting your local hostelry or coffee shop and everyone just giving you a thumbs up when you hand them a sales prospecting leaflet. No, we want to connect and engage with people, real people, just like you.
We want to feel warmth in our hearts and expand the purpose of our soul.
When did you realise that you’ve been far too wrapped up in building a media mountain, so mountainous, that you can’t see the light of day? You’re living in the the shadows and pumping up your media bubble.
Have you yet to experience an overwhelming desire to be social, to connect and engage with people, not profiles, real people, not another friend request from someone you’ve never met and have little clue who they are? Ask yourself how many people can you actually engage with on a daily basis, 10, 100, 1000, 10,000?
OK, I hear you, just being social without any media may not be the solution to escaping from your bubble. Yes, I get that, you still want to sell stuff, you still want to make money, you still want to pay bills.
Here are a few things to consider.
Be a Radical Unfollower
Burst that bubble and clear the decks, unfollow everyone and start all over again with the people who make a difference to your life and those who you can reciprocate.
Be a spring cleaner
Reduce who you follow, eliminate the inactive, fake accounts. There are tools such as Statusbrew, ManageFlitter that can help manage your unfollowing process.
Be an eco friendly socialite
Stop polluting social media platforms. Have you ever considered your content to consumption ratio? What percentage of your content is consumed? Are you posting too much for your followers to consume, resulting in them being switched off from you prolific ramblings? Water your garden a little each day and plants will thrive, drown it in a tidal wave and your plants may get washed away. There is a sweet spot which may take time to find, however, nurture your garden and beauty will grow.
Be an integrity builder
Connect with people who are seeking mutual growth. For you to sell your stuff, there will need to be someone who wants to buy your stuff. Buying and selling are two sides of the same coin and it is more fulfilling to see both sides benefiting from a business exchange rather than only focusing on a sale. Having spent 20 years in a purchasing career, I have come across far too many short-term self-focused sales people just chasing a sale with no integrity or long-term ambition.
Be part of a sustainable future
Building solid, long term business relationships is one of the best investments you could make and it is a mindset which should be integral to your business strategy. And what better place are we privileged to be able to employ to start building those relationships than social media.
Stop pumping up your bubble and start building a sustainable future.
