In the many, many years before social media, the Internet, and the written word, humans were communicating face to face. You know, speaking with their mouths. The pace of business now requires those words be to be transmitted second hand, either by sealed letter or tweet, but all along, we remind ourselves of the importance of meeting in person to grow a business (or personal) relationship
And, some recent posts from some of my favorite people underscore the importance of “being there” to grow relationships. Peter Kim talks about the imprtance of Being There, and Christine Perkett hosted a lively discussion of the pro’s and con’s of offline vs. online networking. Recently, the Curbside Marketer posted about the paradox of strengthening online relationships: you need to have a face-to-face relationship to maintain a strong online relationship. The author, Jackie Adkins, cited a story from the NYT that said a “physical touch, whether it be a high five, a pat on the back, or a nice big hug, can communicate a wider range of emotions than words ever can and communicate these emotions more accurately.” ”
Sure, handshakes, hugs, and pats on the back are great at solidifying our relationships, but these physical gestures are proving to be less and less necessary. Humans are biologically programmed to crave physical contact, but I argue that the feeling of “belonging” isn’t weakened by a community of individuals scattered around the world. It’s not that you NEED to shake someone’s hand and sit at the same table in order to have a truly meaningful relationship with that person, it’s just a plus.
I’d like to suggest that as time passes, an electronic touch will be enough for your customers. It’s nice to talk about fostering in-person, close relationships with your clients, but that’s only feasible to a certain degree. Your goal as a business is to provide high quality products and services, to be accessible to your customers, and to provide the best possible consumer experience for them.
Don’t get too caught up worrying if your clients see enough of you -just make sure you’re giving them something to talk about.
Bill and I finally met face to face at this year’s SXSW AllHat Party (thanks to Armano and the good people at Dell). Bill is one of those lucky social media/community evangelists that get to call Sonoma, California home. Imagine that. While he’s not managing communities, building social media strategies for clients, and running great conferences, he’s basking in wine country.
So, on to interview #28 in the 7 Habits of Highly Effective Social Marketers Series.
About Bill
He’s JUST about to join the Dell Social Media/Community team down in Austin, TX. (I’ll let him fill you in with more details)
7. Habit you want to form for 2010
Becoming a better (and smarter) information consumer, curator and producer. Specifically, this means being more discerning about the content streams I pay attention to, being more systematic about how I save and share “the good stuff” and become more disciplined about producing content (specifically: blogging).
Well, maybe. But I hope this title caught your attention…Yesterday, just hours after the passage of the new healthcare bill, my Facebook update said “wish there was a dislike button”. Minutes later, the first comment was added, the healthcare topic was brought up, and the fireworks began….
For the record, I’m not for the healthcare bill, but most of my friends were. Over the course of the day, each of them made their argument- and good ones- in favor of the this monumental piece of legislation. And you know what? It was a terrific discussion. Since, I don’t know enough about the healthcare bill, each of them explained it to me in their own, well thought out language. I got more out of this discussion with my friends, than I ever would reading the NYT, WSJ or any other news source.
So what does this tell us?
- Facebook is still a terrific platform for a lively discussion with friends. There’s no way we would have had this same discussion on a blog. Facebook brought us together, and will keep us together. Bottom line, we’re more comfortable on Facebook because it’s our own network of vetted friends and acquaintances.
- More and more of us are getting our news, and forming our own opinions, through social networks. According to a well publicized statistic, 80% of original news content is consumed away from its original source. If it’s shared on Facebook (and we’re really comfortable on Facebook) we’re more likely to chime in and voice our opinion.
- The “Obama-Effect” is still in play here. We all know how Obama used Social Media to win the hearts and minds of America. It’s spilling over into every nook and cranny of social media. People feel more empowered to voice their opinion, speak their mind, and (hopefully) engage in a useful dialogue.
Engagement is on Fire..
Around the internet, user-engagement is increasing at a break-neck pace. We’re not just consuming content. We’re talking about it- a lot. We’ve all become experts/critics and more.A recent blog post from Brian Solis reflects some startling new changes in human behavior online, based on some fresh new research from Josh Bernoff and Forrester.
Simply compare the top chart (2007) with the bottom chart (2010). We’re creating more content, commenting on more content, and being conversationists (updating our status) on a regular basis.
Does this mean that we’re going to change the face of Healthcare? Well, at the very least, we’ll be talking about it online every single day. And with open discussion comes a more educated and enlightened audience. An audience that will help move and shape healthcare, in whatever direction we go in…
