During a recent consultation with a client, we took a good look at her social networking pages. This person, a very successful internet entrepreneur, chose to delegate a large portion of her social networking to a team. She knew she had to stay visible on sites like Facebook, but for many reasons wasn’t personally attending to it.
Together we looked at her pages, and immediately were struck by the sheer dullness of everything. Nothing sounded like her, nothing felt like her, and overall it was generic and tedious.
I can only compare her reaction to someone who sees an unflattering reflection of herself in a storefront window. “Oh no, is that what people are seeing?” she lamented.
“Yes…. sorry to break the news to you”, I honestly replied.
In the world of social marketing, a dull public presence will sabotage your efforts and send potential clients running for the hills. This doesn’t mean you have to put on a fake persona or try to re-invent yourself for the spotlight. It’s about authentically being yourself and tapping into what attracts people to you and your brand.
Here are 3 strategies to use so you don’t come across as BORING. Remember: you want to stand out as the voice that people remember, not just the voice people hear.
1. Add Some Sizzle to Your Status updates
Your status updates on Facebook or Twitter are great places to get people interested in learning more about you. You don’t have to only write about your upcoming seminar or book launch to get people hooked into following you.
When I Tweeted that I had to get an outfit for my high school reunion, a whole High School Reunion thread began with people sharing about their reunions, why they liked them, why they hated them, I even got links to dresses people suggested I wear. This chit-chat approach allows you to interact with people on a different level, and also lowers the guard that people put up when they know your primary focus is on sales and promotions. Learn to mix up your professional updates with some snazzy personal info!
2. Battle Boredom with Great Photos
Changing your profile photo often is a great strategy for being more visible. On Facebook, you come up in the feed every time you switch profile pictures, and on Twitter your followers instantly see the change.
When I “Warholized” my profile photo, suddenly a whole bunch of my “Tweeple” followed in the fun with new spins on old photos. This not only shows that you don’t fear change, it also reveals a creative side that clients and prospects enjoy seeing.
3. Don’t Let Delegation Lead You Into Dullsville
Delegation is great and frees us up to get more done. However, if you choose to delegate the majority of your social networking, then you run the risk of becoming bland.
Go ahead and delegate out things that don’t require too much of your personal stamp (such as event invites, blog posts which can be imported, or wishing people Happy Birthday). But when it comes to communicating heart to heart, such as on people’s walls or posting your status updates, then make sure it’s you coming up with the words. When you’re not doing this, people can tell!
With so many entrepreneurs marketing themselves in the world of Web 2.0, you need to find interesting ways to stand out. No need to change everything about yourself, just look within and come up with ways to get people interested in you. Whether you use pictures or words, remember that every bit counts to build relationships and boost credibility.
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What do you think? How do you stay “interesting” online? Is it even important to you? Or better yet, have you had any tangible results (like a new client) due to ramping up your Sizzibility factor? Drop a comment and chime in.
About Nancy Marmolejo
