Stepford Wife Social Networking: Turn Off the Canned Replies Already!

If you think that getting 1000 friends on Facebook (or the new Holy Grail, 10,000 followers on Twitter) will somehow make your life better, your teeth shinier, and your wallet fatter….

…then think again.

I love social networking too much to stand by and be silent any longer.

For some reason, a myth is circulating that you’ll make tons of money if you have whopper numbers of followers. But has anyone actually gone into their follower list and studied who their connections are? I mean REALLY gone in there?

Very few people have a solid grasp on the quality of their followers because the obsession is on numbers.

(I’m hosting a free teleseminar series on the topic, “I’ve Got 1000 Friends on Facebook” is NOT a Visibility Plan March 19 & 25, CLICK HERE to sign up and hear me speak the truth!)

Like Direct Mail…

I think of direct mail and it’s 1% success rate, which is considered good and 2% which is considered awesome.

The direct mail industry doesn’t seem to mind, since they send things out to massive amounts of people and 2% of 500,000 is 10,000.

But I’m sitting here in the 98-99% of the non-responsive population who see junk mail as a landfill clogging annoyance.

Flotsam and Jetsom in the Twitter Stream…

I keep getting requests to help people reach 10,000 or 20,000 followers. I have no idea who most of the people are or how they’re going to make the world a better place by having that many followers.

Like direct mail, they probably don’t care that I will delete, toss out, or unfollow because 1-2% of you out there just might click and buy whatever they’re pitching.

I’m Not Against Making Money With Social Media…

I’d be a hypocrite to say I’m against making money with social media when I fill my business with people I’ve connected with on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, etc. But I really hate to see the integrity of social media compromised when numbers become the sole focal point.

You can have 10,000 followers on Twitter or 1000 friends on Facebook, but if you’re not a good match and if they’re not primed to hear your message and greet you with a loving embrace… then why waste the effort?

It is truly a WASTED effort not to have some set of criteria outlined for who an ideal contact is and how you can assure that the majority of your followers are in your target market.

By understanding who an ideal contact is, you don’t have to burden 98-99% of your followers with messages they don’t want to hear.With a clear idea of your ideal contact, you’ll be able to rest assured that your message is met with open arms, open hearts, and if you’re here to do business, open wallets.

I welcome your thoughts on the topic, please drop your comments below. Better yet, click here to join me on March 19 and 25 and find out how to win at social media with your dignity intact.

Share and Enjoy:

Karen

Hi Nancy

Thanks for the helpful post. I am currently trying very hard to get the message over to friends/members on my network. One of the things I have started to discuss is about adding value to a social network and for starters I have focussed on uploading photos.

As a very useful resource on any network I feel that it's just been a wasted effort if the photo doesn't have a title and a description to draw in the viewer on whatever level you want them to be drawn in and dependant on what you want to achieve.
I presume most people post photos to generate a response. The simplest response being to view it and move on. The most effective response being to relate to it:title, picture, and description and to connect with you forming a relationship... ultimately becoming a loyal friend and consumer of your products and serives.

Often the connection is mutual and both can utilise the services of each other....and then refer others and so on.This I believe to be the art of social networking.

With respect to numbers then...yes we can have thousands view and move on from your carefully uploaded photo or you can make extra effort in a title ,and description inviting the quality few in as your close friend or business connections. Does that make sense?

I was actually prompted by a wonderful blog post on my network to ask of my members what it is they actually want to achieve. When I can get some answers to this I can then move forward and help them achieve it.

If I may post the blog post (link) I made that would be great. However I do appreciate if you want to delete it.

http://www.pledgingforchange.com/profiles/blogs/what-do-want-to-achieve-on

I will be share your blog with others.

Thanks again
Karen

<abbr>Karens last blog post..What do want to achieve on Pledging for Change?</abbr>

Nancy Marmolejo

thanks for your input Karen! Pictures speak volumes, and your tips are great.

Roslyn Rajasingam

Hi Nancy! I liked the teleseminar you gave a few weeks ago. For online marketers, there is always that temptation to "monetize" the Social Media. However, being new to Twitter, I am so thrilled to read tweets of interesting people -celebrities and non-celebrities alike. Each one is so unique and I feel so priviledged to meet people this way ... knowing what they are doing, thinking or planning even if they are on the other side of the globe. This is still so magical for me!

Teresa

Fabulous post!

Sorry I missed your live call.
Look forward to more great articles from you.
Thanks again for the great info.

Christopher Flores

A seminar like this is a gift from the God of anyone just coming into the social media. I've always said to experts and budding bloggers that this new territory people are moving into is going to be SO easily twisted.

So I support this 1000% because it sets people straight so they can move forward to quality social media education. I'm going to make sure I catch one of the dates for the webinar. I love Nancy. We're on the same wavelength on this stuff.

Here's my numbers. I have less than a hundred friends and a few hundred followers on twitter. Let's breakdown that figure.

Some of those people got there via autocontacters or people who randomly add people for exposure. Some of them got there because they randomly see you on other people's profiles. Some saw me at common webinars people commonly friend each other the way conference people switch business cards.

A couple of people actually recommended me. And the few remaining were genuinely interested in me and vice versa.

<abbr>Christopher Floress last blog post..Is Money On Your Mind? The Answer Might Surprise You</abbr>

Sandra Martini

Hi Nancy,

I agree with you and Rob...the killer combo is definitely quality, quantity and trust all rolled into one happy family.

That said, the focus FOR ME is on a quality with my Twitter, Facebook and ezine "friends" and "quality" for me isn't defined as someone who wants to spend money (although that's nice!), it's on whether or not I'd be happy to sit down for a cup of tea with someone and simply connect as two people.

This approach to my business has had me firmly in six figures for years with a list under 4500. And I'm VERY proud, not ashamed of that list size.

Fabulous post yet again!

Thanks for being you and not only will I be on the call, I'm IN the program (or at least my app is on your desk and I'm setting a positive intention)! :-)

Sandy :-)

<abbr>Sandra Martinis last blog post..Strategic Implementation: A direct path to your goals</abbr>

Rob Schultz

Intriguing as usual Nancy. And I get the point on the obsession with numbers for their own sake. I have to say I only half agree with you.

Its kind of like the old saw, "Money never makes you happy, but I sure do like my weekend house in the Hamptons."

Size for size's sake will never get you anywhere. Size with quality will. Example: I know only one fellow entrepreneur who makes six figures with a mailing list of less than 1,000. And she doesn't have a clue how she does it.

However I know a ton making six figures or more who have large lists. And reap the benefits of that list daily. And very few of them - especially the ones who say "Its not the size of the list, its the quality" are willing to trade their 25,000 subscribers for 2,500 "quality subscribers" anytime soon.

Scale does have certain advantages. But scale + quality + trust is a killer combination you can take to the bank.

As that insurance commercial says, "Both is better!" Quality and size are not mutually exclusive.

Thanks again,

Rob

<abbr>Rob Schultzs last blog post..The Eighth Secret: Why your info products aren’t as profitable as you’d like</abbr>

TheMarketSage (Terry Sagedy)

Nancy, I am as proud of my 295 followers as anyone with 10,000. They've come to me "organically" I think. Because I am approaching Twitter with a reality-based approach. I know the payoff is down the road. I wanted to establish my true voice not become a broadcaster. Cheers to you and I hope your getting some of those messages we've been chatting about. Terry

linda m lopeke

You're so right, Nancy! The numbers are insignificant; it's the relationships that matter. Social media is about being part of a conversation. "Buy my stuff" is not a conversation.

People who feel compelled to let you know their "grade", their follower numbers, their whatever are not shouting out their popularity or engaging in social validation, they are shouting the depth of their professional insecurity.

Those who are confident and assured feel no need to prove how well situated they are any more than those who are comfortable with being wealthy need to make sure you know at all times how much money they have -- especially compared to you.

The irony of social media is it provides the illusion of connection while simultaneously amplifying our isolation.

What I particularly like about social media is the opportunity to connect with folks I might not otherwise meet. Not having to dress up, put the makeup on to do it and drive off to who knows where is a real bonus too.

Linda M. Lopeke
The SMARTSTART Coach