Social Media and You

You may have heard the observation that the web’s divided between content-producers, commenters, and lurkers. Relatively few people want to spend any of their time producing content; not many are willing even to compose a comment.

Therefore, although inbound marketing and social media are key strategies for every business, it is not to be assumed that the business owner is the Voice of their online presence.

If you run a business but don’t wish to be a content producer for the internet, what are your choices? I’ll offer just a few basic solutions here.

1. Get a digital voice recorder and talk into it. Let your virtual assistant transcribe and upload.
2. Identify someone in your company who can be trusted to take on the role.
3. Organize your company so that all workers share in the demands of online responsiveness.
4. Work with a social media assistant who can help you devise the best solutions for your specific situation.

Generous sharing of knowledge is what you are doing online, demonstrating sufficient personal investment to win your visitors’ trust.

Your internet Voice has to be real and honest, but it does not have to be your own Voice or nothing.

Social media gurus make a big deal about being authentic, as the best way to create your most effective online presence.

There’s a general consensus that you should be as You as possible, liberally sharing your personality. Gary Vaynerchuk-style.  Or Hugh MacLeod.

Many stand firmly behind the notion that all updates must be your own expressions, that anything ghost- or staff-written on the internet is bogus.

The relative raw immediacy of social media may be one reason why people want online exchanges to be transparent.  Relationships formed online are vulnerable to suspicion and mistrust. You have to overdo it in the transparency department if you’re going to be believed.

But if we relegate the web only to those who are capable of regularly expressing themselves there, it won’t be of much use. The internet is truly for everyone; businesses of all kinds have to be able to use it profitably. It’s not just for coaches and authors and marketers: it’s not only for language-oriented types.

So the voice of your business online becomes a critical question. If it is not to be your voice, whose voice can it authentically, transparently, and powerfully be? Next post, we’ll look at some possibilities.