What’s your best chance of success on social media networking sites?  Is it being “interesting� Or is it being “interested�  If you think there is no difference in these two models, read this post.  Enjoy and prosper.
Being Interesting!
On social media sites, you compete for attention with millions of other people. Â To get noticed, you need to find ways of standing out from the crowd.
Today, “being interesting†means being different or being unusual.  Right or wrong, most people reject the same old, the ordinary, the bland, the vanilla flavor.  They want something different and unusual.
To be different you can be better than others, you can offer more than others, more helpful, more insightful.  You can be nicer than others.  Your difference needed to be valued by the other person.  Green hair would make you different but most people don’t care about the color of your hair.
Being interesting also involved being you!  There is only one you in the world, so you are automatically different.  On social media sites you are expected to show some of the “youâ€.  Social media sites are not the place for the corporate persona or slick marketing pieces.  They are places where people get to know you and like you and trust you.
Bottom line, there are many creative ways you can be interesting social media sites. Â These ways help you stand out from the noisy crowds.
Being Interested
When you are “being interestedâ€, you focus on the other person.  You are curious about them.  You ask questions.  You compliment them.  You listen.  Being interested means putting aside your own agenda and making room for the other person’s story.
Several years ago, I attended a party where I conducted an experiment. Â I made it my goal at the party to focus on the people at the party rather than talk about myself. Â I spend the entire evening learning about other people. Â I asked them questions. Â I was curious about them. Â I fostered their conversations. Â I listened. Â I hardly said a word about myself the entire evening.
Several days later the host called to tell me that several of the guests had commented how interesting they had found me. Â I was noticed because I listened and encouraged others to tell their stories.
The same principle applied to social networking sites. Â You get noticed when you value the other person, listen to them and engage in their conversation rather than your own conversation. Â When we find people who are interested in us, we want to become their friend, their follower, their connection.
Conclusion
When two people are conversing on the phone, it’s never the one doing all the talking that hangs up first!
To be continued, your comments are welcomed..
Al Hanzal
Maybe because we are all in the marketing business, it is a challenge to actively listen. The more we can do so, the more we learn so many great insights from others. Actively drawing out others is a fun process!
This is hard for me to do because I am naturally a talker. But when I keep my mouth shut and my eyes and ears wide open, not only do people seem to respond more positively to me but I come away from the interaction pumped!
Kat
Hello Al,
You are so right. I am busy marketing my book, Becoming Alice, and have quite a bit of experience doing presentations, meeting with book clubs, libraries, temples, etc. I also sell at Book Festivals whenever possible. I know that I connect with my audience when they respond with stories of their own brought to mind by the my description of some character or historical event in my book. When they tell my they know someone or are related to someone just like a character in my story, or when they tell me their family lived through the same period of time in history that I write about, I know that I have made a sale. Of course, I must be as interested in their stories as i expect them to be interested in mine.
You’ve brought out a very important point. Thank you.
Thanks for the great comments. I think it would great if someone who had personal experience with the “being interested” approach to social media marketing would develop a tips article they could share with readers.
Every now and then we all need a shot of refocus. Gotta love the bland, the vanilla flavor and how about focusing on the other person. This post of thoughts is social media coaching at its best.
LaRon | @laroncarter
Great conclusion Al, and I totally agree!
I really respect the ‘interesting’ among the people I pay attention to, but being a ‘rock star’ isn’t going to work for any but a very few people.
It’s also a lot less effort to be ‘interested’ IMHO.
Very interesting! I just couldn’t resist :~) But seriously folks, I especially like you point about showing interest in others. I apply your party approach to live networking events all the time with similar results.
People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care!
Thank you for this article. It makes a lot of sense, and I’ll be putting this into practice.