It is so ironic that so many of us that want to get involved in social media are actually scared of being social! I mean, people know that they need to get involved, but often find it challenging to open up their life to the world. But then again, you have those on the other end of the spectrum. These are the people who are actually involved with social media, but virtually do everything except “be social.” These are the people that you see online constantly posting their own content with little to no collaboration. For names sake, they call it social media for a reason! Social media should be social! So, whether it is a shyness about you or whether you just have no idea on how to be social on social media, have no fear. Help is here.
People are Seeing Your Representative, Not the Real You
Wow, is that saying above ever so true! The thing about social media is that people are thirsting for transparency. Fortunately, and sometimes not, the internet has made transparency so evident. Now is that one heck of an oxymoron!? You just cannot hide these days, whether you are an individual or a company. Regulations (like those in the financial and medical industry) have forced many to disclose information to the public that beforehand was locked up tight behind closed doors. Unless you are a hermit and have kept any and all transactions devoid of the internet, your information, and persona, is out there too. All of this transparency puts the public, and your prospective customers, in a position of power. They no longer want to see your representative, but the real you! People want to feel as if they connect with the business owner or the company with whom they do business. That is why so many big brands are reaching out to social media influencers to push their brands…. because these “influencers” know how to connect with people. Here is my story.
Usually, in my home and with my closest friends, I am a real joker. I love to have fun. Yet most people that I come in contact with at functions have no idea about this side of me. As an employee in corporate America for twenty-something odd years, I was always in a suit and discussing serious matters with doctors. Additionally, I suppose my years at West Point and the military put a certain cloak of seriousness about me. When it came to social media, especially Periscope (the live video streaming app), I had the same outward appearance. My “scopes” were serious and about serious matters. Virtually nobody was watching my “Scopes”. And yes, it hurt my feelings…lol. But one day I decided to “scope” my family trick or treating. Yes, you read it right, trick or treating. Who would have thought that I would have an audience of over 80 people watching me and my kids go from door to door asking for candy? Hmm…perhaps I was on to something? Could it be that people wanted to see the real Franklin Rivera and what he deemed so near and dear to his heart, his family? You betcha I was on to something! The next time that I “scoped” it was of myself leaving a meeting in downtown Chicago to catch the train. That day I had over 60 viewers in less than 20 minutes!
Now, the point is not whether this translated into measurable business for me, but rather that people wanted to connect with my world and not my representative. I now apply this same approach to my writing and my video seminars. The last two weeks I averaged over 100 viewers per live stream! And guess what? We were discussing serious business matters, yet in a not so serious way!
So please do not be afraid to be yourself. It will make you feel good and most likely bring the results you have been looking for.
It’s Not All About You
Do we really need to go there? I mean, really? How many times have you gone to a brand’s Facebook, Twitter or Instagram page and it is all about them? I mean, their sales, their promotions and here is the kicker, their selfies (I guess it would be their selfies, hmmm) is all that you see? Instagram is famous for this. Here is a picture of me at 1240 pm starting my workout routine. Now here is another one of me at 130 pm finishing my workout routine. By the way, I wouldn’t want you to miss this selfie of me flexing my “soon-to-be” six pack on my way to the car! Click…unfollow. Ok, it is fine to give people an inside look at your passions. But you have to also embrace the passions of others. This is really the key to establishing yourself as an influencer and thought leader in your field. You may be thinking, “Huh? How does that work?” Let me explain it to you as if we all are 5th graders.
Nowadays, it is all about who you know, right? Let’s say that you are trying to get yourself established as an attorney who practices, let’ say, Divorce Law. Now, there are a lot of attorneys that practice divorce law. So you know that you need to differentiate yourself. You also need to gain more exposure in the marketplace, right? Therefore, you need to connect with those attorneys who are already making a name for themselves. They are already doing seminars and talks and teaching and much, much more. So you go to your Twitter account (and I love Twitter for establishing yourself as a thought leader) and decide to share a white paper or article that they wrote. And you share another, and another and so on and so on. You start to share the content of some of the greatest attorneys out there. Eventually you connect with them via social media. Next, you reach out to them for a bit of advice. Next thing you know; they are sharing your content across their networks because they are so enamored about you actually asking them for advice. The next step may be a phone call asking you to be a guest speaker or panel member for divorce law.
Now here is converse. You post all of your whitepapers, articles, deals, promos and more and do not share or interact with anyone else in the “attorney-sphere”. Here is the result.
Do you hear the crickets, the pin drop, the sound of outer-space or the result of nothing from nothing? My point exactly.
You Have Got to Interact with Other People!
Now, this is one of the coolest pictures that I have ever had taken! That is the actor Anthony Anderson with me and my family. That’s my lovely wife Liset, my little one Adrael and my teenage son Noel. Had I not gotten out of the house that day and had not my little guy Adrael approached Anthony Anderson to ask for a picture, I never would have met this amazingly nice actor. My point is this. Get out and meet people! And getting out to meet people does not have to mean leaving the house. Now of course, I am a huge proponent of networking and meeting people face to face. However, the internet has so many tools at your disposal to help you interact with people around the world. There are live streaming apps like Periscope and Blab as well as real time interactive chats such as Twitter chats. I particularly love the Blabs and Twitter Chats because they allow me to interact with thought leaders and influencers around the world in real time. I have met so many great people and potential strategic partners through these mediums. A Twitter chat is a chat using Twitter. Blab.im is a live streaming video service that allows you to chat via video with people from around the world. Both Twitter chats and Blabs have a plethora of subjects, so you will most likely find one to your liking. Think of it this way. Who is going to know just how good you are, if no one knows just who you are?
So there you have it. Those are three ways to tell if you are being anti-social on social media. If you can heed my advice and step outside of your comfort zone, you will find an exciting world out there for you, both personally and professionally! Good socializing!
Franklin D. Rivera II is a 1987 graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, a decorated Gulf War Veteran Captain and the recipient of numerous sales and marketing awards with Fortune 100 and Fortune 500 companies. He founded V2M2 or Viral Visual Marketing and Management a month after receiving his MBA with a Finance concentration and is now one of the most well-connected social media and digital marketers in the Chicago area. Since starting his company, Franklin has built an impressive list of connected thought leaders in the social media world who follow and interact with his content.
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