Social media can help you connect to people in remote locations. But one of the most powerful features of social media is its ability to connect you with people in your neighborhood. Whether your business needs local customers, or whether you need to find your peers in your geography, you can use social media to connect with people in real life.
- Before You Start: You have one or more social media accounts.
- Learning level: 4 | Creating Solutions
- Article Last Updated: Thursday, April 4, 2013
It’s All About Interaction
I’ve been online for a very long time. I don’t mean just today. I was using Prodigy back in 1991 and I got my first internet service provider (ISP) account in 1992. I’ve watched the internet grow, and sometimes I wax lyrical about the old days of the internet.
The Unsocial Web
One thing about the old internet that I don’t miss is the way it isolated people. Geeks and techies all over the world started hunkering down behind their monitors for long hours, reaching out to other kindred souls located in distant and remote locations around the world. It was a time when we started to realize just how small the world really was.
The Social Web
When I jumped into the social media swimming pool a few years back, I was surprised, pleasantly surprised, to find out that the people I was talking to in the Phoenix metro area knew each other. In real life! Not as avatars on Twitter. Or through their blogs. They hung out together frequently. They went to the same events. They really knew each other.
When I attended my first tweetup at a local coffee shop and started putting faces with the Twitter handles, I had a revelation. Social media is what people use to stay in touch between real life conversations.
Social Media Is Social
I suspect that many of the small business people above a certain age have the wrong idea about social media because they have outdated ideas about the internet. They remember the days when it was full of anonymous people lurking behind computers. But social media isn’t like that. Social media is overflowing with exciting, diverse people who may live down the street or across the country, but who have things in common with you. And they want to talk to you about these things.
One of the most engaging things your business can do it schedule events where you meet your social media community in real life. If you want to get people excited about your business, you need to meet them, in real life when possible. Schedule events to make this happen. Take advantage of tweetups when you travel. In other words, don’t overlook the social of social media. You might just be surprised at how big the world really is.
Your turn: How social has your experience of social media been so far? Are you involved in tweetups or other social media events in your community? Share your experience here.
Related Articles:
- Organize A Tweet-Up!
- 10 Ways To Build Your Local Twitter Community
- Create A Facebook Event
- The Mobile Revolution Is Coming
- Social Networking Check-In Services
- Splashing In The Social Media Swimming Pool
Article categories: Articles • Events • Level 4
Article tags: Community • Newsletter Archive • Social Networking
Charlene Kingston is the small business person behind the Social Media DIY Workshop.
4 Responses to “Keeping The “Social” In Social Media”
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I'm Charlene Kingston.
I teach small business people how to build a thriving online business presence.
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Oh I remember those days too! I was online late 1992 – early 1993, with my first ISP being very clunky and slow. It was such a novelty, but I was addicted and have been ever since, although I have t admit we have come along, long way since then.
I am an out and out twitterholic these days, although in recent months have found that it has taken my life over and have had to reign it in a little, sad but true.
I sometimes get a little overwhelmed by the amount of data and also by my desire to spend as much time as I can online reading, researching and finding great information for myself and for others, there is infinite resource “out there” and I love “meeting” and talking to people I would never have met if I hadn’t got online..
I spend a lot of time connecting and then attending networking events to actually meet face to face which is great, it opens up so many possibilities.
There are a number of tweetups and Facebook arranged events so a great time is had by all.
You know what they say, Sarah. The first step toward the solution is to admit that you have a problem. [wink]
I like to spend some of my free time online, too. You would think that after using all day for work I’d do something offline. But I, too, love the hunt and discovering amazing bits of information, interesting people, new ideas, etc.
I have always been a social spirit. Attending every seminar, workshops, events, community activities within my local area. It wasn’t until I caught the internet bug in 1995 that I too, became hooked!
I still did a lot of offline marketing as I wasn’t sure how to ‘market online’ back in those days. Over the past few years I have come to respect what a powerful tool we really have — social media. The platforms are becoming more effective for my business – and maybe that is because I have brought into it the marketing experience I have from ‘back in the day’.
I wonder about the new business professionals trying to figure and sort out all the hype. Because I see way too many up-coming business professionals ‘selling’ instead of cultivating, growing connections and really building a social base.
I think articles like yours Charlene are very helpful and really bring perspective to those folks. This is the type of information I enjoy and am proud to share with others. Thank you!
Lynn Brown recently posted “My 3 Easy Tips In Overcoming Linkedin Shyness.”
Thanks so much, Lynn. I do appreciate your kind feedback.
Every month I do a free conference call. Actually, it’s a full blown webinar. At the end, there is time for questions and answers about any social media topic.
My topic for January is “How To Sell On Social Media” and I know you will love my take on this. My topic for February is “I’m Self-Employed. Why Should I Use LinkedIn?”
The calls are the second Wednesday of each month. I’ve got a signup here (http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/products/jumpstart-monthly-call/).