Forget everything you know about spelling. As this post’s headline suggests, there really is no “I” in community.
What do I mean? I mean building an online gathering place through the use of social media tools like blogging, Twitter and Facebook isn’t about you. It’s about the community you are targeting, and if it is done properly, you can create a legion of engaged users who like your company and what you can offer them. If done wrong, you’ll have an empty husk of a site where only the tumbleweeds comment.
The third video from Inbound Marketing University discusses how to avoid those pitfalls. You can basically boil it down to two points.
1. Don’t Make It About You
Chris Brogan is a well-known expert on social media, and he advises companies not to make it all about them. A successful online community nurtures its users, making them feel wanted by providing content they enjoy, engaging them directly and, when they deliver good ideas for posts or links to articles, making use of them.
“People hate to be at a party or an event or anything and listen to you talk about your damn self,” Brogan said. “We need to celebrate the people around us.”
It’s really pretty simple. You need to promote your company online, but if you make every post about your products, your firm or your sales results, you’re going to bore readers to death. Offer them something useful. If you own a clothing company, you’ll want to have posts about fashion, the right clothes to wear to work, and seasonal lineups as much or more than you talk about your own company’s sales.
While it may be tempting to put your social media efforts in the hands of interns, Brogan strongly recommends you don’t do it. Your customers are valuable, and deserve the attention of a staff member who has the time and the inclination to engage them. Keep in mind the platforms you’re using, too. Your company may love Twitter, but if your community doesn’t care for it, you’re shouting into a vacuum.
2. Don’t Make Constant Sales Pitches
It may seem counter-intuitive at first blush, but you’ll have better success online without hammering the community with your sales message.
As Brogan notes, when readers are first joining your site, the last thing they want to hear is “a stupid ad for your dumb business.” They want “personable and human” interactions that don’t come off like an attempt to squeeze money and time from them, especially in an environment where many are reining in spending. Once you make a lasting connection, you’re able to have conversations about your company and your products that will seem natural and friendly to your consumers.
The cliché of being yourself applies here, as both Brogan and I can attest from our experiences with social media. If you’re someone who cracks jokes all the time in your daily life, don’t try to be somber online. You’ll come across as artificial. You’ll find it much easier to write and talk with users when you’re not pretending to be someone you’re not.
Weigh in on building community in the comments.
Photo credit to www.valerieherskowitz.com
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