Social Media Conversation Prism by B D Solis
BuzzBuilderz is dedicated facilitating the ongoing conversations generated by Social Media, which begs the question, “What makes a good conversationalist?”.
In his post Three Steps to Becoming A Web Conversationalist , John Battelle of SearchBlog suggests that there are three question to answer to determine how effectively you are engaged in the world of Web 2.0;
- Are you consuming the web? Are you actively reading and listening? Are you using a feed reader to keep up with the flow of information relevant to your field of expertise?
- Are you actively using communications tools like instant messenger, Facebook, Linked In, and Twitter? If you don’t get Twitter, see my earlier post (which should also help you if you just asked “What’s Twitter?”)
- Are you adding value back into the web on a regular basis? Here I part company with Mr. Battelle, who considers Blogging the most important part of the conversation. While I agree with him that Blogging can be an important component of your participation, I believe that a consistent presence on microblogging sites, can make up (through sheer volume ) an even more important component of establishing your reputation in the on-line conversation.
The answers to the three questions will help determine your effectiveness in this new marketing environment. By listening, you understand the issues of the day and the passions of the participants. And, you have a position to react from if you wish. Additionally, the comments you make (and actions you take) generate a valuable impact to your reputation.
By using communications tools like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Plurk, etc. you create a stream of impressions that help the other people active in your community create an impression of who you are. Each photo you post, each joke you make, each comment on someone else’s wall create a virtual portrait for others in your community to use in visualizing your persona.
Finally, by contributing to the conversation, you establish your value. Your website maybe a reflection of your company, but your Blog is a reflection of your personality and passions. The cumulative repository of posts show what you care about and provides substance for your readers. And the success of your effort will hinge to some degree upon the consistency of your writing. You don;t have to write every day, but you should be posting something a few times a week, be it a video you enjoyed, or a photo you took, or a more in depth analysis of something that is interesting to you. Don’t give a sales pitch, be conversational. Talk about what you know, just as you would if your reader were in front of you. (Just don’t forget to either compose your post in Firefox, or run spell check – you do want to look literate!)
Remember, People want to engage informally, or they would be choosing a different place to do their reading. Be yourself – there’s certainly someone out there who will love you for it!
Tags: conversation, Facebook, LinkedIn, Plurk, Social Media, social networking, Twitter
