Post date: Dec 05, 2010 8:51:20 PM
Twitter followers. Ashton Kutcher has 5.4 million of them.Shaquille O'Neal has 3 million of them. Felicia Day has 1.7million of them. Wait, who was that last one? Unless you areplugged into all manner of things nerdy you may have neverheard of Felicia Day. But millions of people around theworld have. They admire her and her work. A self-proclaimedgeek hit the mother lode of niche markets by being honestwith who she was and what she loves. And the nerds of theworld loved her for it.A young woman who loves videos games, science fiction, andproduces her own web series is a shining example of someonewho used social media properly. And how being honest abouther passions helped get here there.It's easy for someone to tell you how many Facebook friendsor fans they have, how deep their LinkedIn network goes, orhow many Twitter followers they have. But the true measureof that success isn't just a number, it's about the quality
of your followers and friends and why the decided to support
your social media endeavors in the first place.
Many people still don't quite grasp the true power of
Twitter. It isn't just another medium for advertising. It's
not a tool for talking "at" people. It's talking to people,
and them talking back. It's not a private instant messaging
service but it is not a chat room.
On any given day, I will receive at least a few more
up-to-date news headlines from the people I follow on
Twitter than I do from news sites. Those people then might
share with me photos from the set of the movie they are
filming, ask about what web hosting you might recommend, or
give you additional information about their latest web comic.
Twitter is about engaging the populace. And unfortunately it
is not a tool that is meant to be used to make a single
tweet and then log off without a second thought until you
feel like you want to tweet again. If individuals wanted
that kind of interaction they would stick with your blog or
website.
It's important to remember that people know whether you are
truly looking to interact with them or if you are merely
using them as a vessel for advertising. The more your
followers feel like there is a real person on the other end
of your account the more likely they are to share your
tweets with their other friends and followers. And that is
the best kind of social media influence. People who are
openly engaging with you and your content as opposed to
blind accounts who have never actually sent out a tweet or
solely created an account because someone told them to one
time.
This extends beyond Twitter as well. Responding to comments
on Facebook, posting on industry-related forums, and
leaving blog comments are all methods you can use to engage
with your readers and extend your influence within the
community.
Too often people forget that part of using Social Media is
actually being social. No matter how great your service or
product might be, there are not people just waiting out in
the magic world of the Internet to read about it our buy
it. They need to be sold, convinced, and friendshipped.
Imagine a conference related to your field of expertise.
Having the best product and sitting in a corner of the room
is no way to generate leads or sales. You would engage with
people, shake their hands, learn their names, and find out
what they do. The same is true online, although you can
avoid the sweaty and clammy handshakes you were guaranteed
to receive from some people.
Just remember, the old adage "Quality over Quantity"
translates beautifully over to social media. You want
people engaged and interested in you and what you do.
Felicia Day may have 1.7 million people following her on
Twitter, but if none of them ever actually used Twitter
they would be worth less than one follower who used the
service daily.
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