I am following a certain someone on Twitter. I retweet her comments, throwing in the odd question to stimulate dialogue. I am a fan of her Facebook page, and a friend. I read her blog and submit comments. I am also one of her customers, passionate about her industry and her business. I've even sent her testimonials and photos from my experience with her service.
Yet she doesn't engage. Not at the personal level, or as a representative of her business. Any response or question I post is a dead end. She's a one-way street on the information superhighway, a passive voice in an interactive world.
Doesn't she know that this social media thing is all about engaging with others? You engage your customers and contacts to build a sphere of influence. You take an interest in their interests and their interest in you grows. Subsequently their own followers and contacts may also take an interest in you, creating overlapping spheres of influence. Perhaps they also will engage you in dialogue. And so on, and so on. Eventually, someone needs the service you provide, and they engage you on that. Congratulations, you've just generated business from social media.
But she doesn't follow this path. She just posts and stops there. If you build it, they will come. Nice theory.
I would shout about her from the top of the tallest tree to anyone who would listen. If she engaged me, anyone in my sphere who shares my passion would likely engage her, too. But she's leaving my reach on the table. Too bad for her, even if my reach isn't the biggest.
Still, I don't need her to engage me. I'll continue to spread her message to my own little corner of the virtual world. I am happy to do it because I believe in what she does, not because I expect something in return. Engagement sometimes means giving unconditionally. I have to believe sooner or later she'll see the light.
Originally posted at www.gopherfiles.com on 5/18/10
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