We talk a lot about the conversation.
But one question a lot of business owners have is, “How do I join?” That makes sense. Business owners usually sell things to the people they’re talking to.
Or at least, they did. Now, it’s not up to the business owners to sell as much as it’s up to the consumer who to buy from. I can buy a $200 import guitar from anywhere. Everyone has a sale, everyone can ship to my door. What makes you so special?
What makes you special is I know you. You came to where I was and introduced yourself.
There are more than a few good ways to find conversations about what you do. But once you find them, it’s best to spend some time reading up on what people are talking about there.
If it’s a message board, read the notes from the moderators. Check out the people who post a lot. If it’s a comments section on a blog, read past entries. Try to get an idea of the audience. Take some time to hear what people are saying.
Why? Because it’s possible you’ll be stepping all over the conversation if you don’t.
You’ve been listening, so you should get an idea of how to best introduce yourself. It doesn’t have to be a formal “Hello”. And this isn’t a post about etiquette, necessarily. But there should be a few cues you can take from the people already taking part in the conversation.
And if you can’t, it might not be somewhere that’s worth your time. In general, places online where the conversation is “noisy” isn’t a good place to make a suggestion, say hi, offer something, etc.
It’s a rule that the more anonymous a conversation is, the less helpful it tends to be. In other words, stick to conversations where people are who they say they are.
That’s who you want as a customer.
Also, be humble. Acknowledge that people have been contributing to the conversation for a while before you showed up.
Along that same line, be honest. Tell people who you are, and what interest you have in being there. One caveat: Don’t sell. Ever. Almost. We hammer this point here pretty regularly, so I won’t go over the finer points in this post. But instead of selling, just be helpful. Okay? Great.
That’s what you showed up to do in the first place, right?
Tags: content, getting started in social media, relatonships, Social Media