I went to your Social Media Training and all I got was this stupid T-Shirt

You turbo tweet, post like mad on Facebook, G+ ad infinitum, myspace the song in your heart, and Foursquare your little stalker-heart out and I watch you spread the good word of Engagement.

So, impressed by your enthusiasm for connection,  I follow you and friend you. I watch you with the hope of gaining some enlightenment around how to utilize engagement in social media, trusting that you’ll elucidate on how to build “The Brand”. Yet, all I seem to experience is tired, overgeneralized, and unimaginative rhetoric.

First, let’s stipulate that a social media expert you are NOT if you have 7 Twitter followers and 9 friends on Facebook.  You are what you eat and if you’re  proclaiming yourself a social media expert with those numbers then you must eating a steamy pile o’… well, that is a meal you must eat alone.

I’m talking about the real pundits. Those with tens (or hundreds) of thousands of followers, likes, circles, and connections. Those who publish well-respected and oft-perused books; those speaking on panels about social media; those who are charging people a lot of money to hear what they have to say on this New Media.

Those pundits who know that ROI is nearly impossible to define in Social Media yet know that the Unicorn for Marketing Executives is to be able to create a return, or at least some substantive gain, from the social efforts.

With that said, allow me to be the first to raise my hand and say I want more from the leaders of the Social Media Revolution.

Considering the reality that Social Media is becoming, and will ultimately be, “The Way” to reach people 24/7 for both business and personal, I’m going to go out on a limb and say that this new media is pretty darn important.

When I hear from the real thought leaders that Social Media is the same as real life, I think: “Engagement”.  I think: “Branching out and extending your network”.  I want to really learn about making meaningful connections with people to translate those relationships into something reciprocally beneficial.

“Engagement”

“Branching out and extending your network”

These are goals toward which I aim everyday that I spend in the social media landscape. I work to connect with new people and to appreciate, more significantly, the people with whom I have already connected. I want to build something meaningful and I understand that every relationship is unique. I’m no Social Media Rockstar, I’m just Dan.

For the pundits, the legends, the authors, and the influential; I guess I’m trying to figure out what you mean by social engagement? It’s an genuine curiosity; when I watch you do social media most of you just talk to each other. It seems that you make very little effort to connect outside your circle of elite and, for me, that doesn’t pass the sniff test.

If Engagement is the perfume of social media, then why do so many of you stink so badly? Pun Intended …

It seems lately there has been a tremendous amount of discussion on auto-curation and whether or not it is a genuine form of Social Media.

I decided that, as an admitted non-expert in the realm of Social Media, it is important for me to chime in on this debate because I have an opinion and therefore it must be shared (Sensing my sarcasm?).

Before I share my personal thoughts on the matter, I want to provide a bit of background about the root from which this debate sprouted.  At this point, there seem to be two sides to the conversation and, I suppose you could say, a third side of indifference.

Side 1 – Free Choice:  On this side of the argument, the premise is that your online presence is yours to do with  what you choose.  If you want to auto tweet content and curate content, even when you are not there, then that is fine.  If people don’t like it, the beauty is they can choose to not follow or pay attention to what you are sharing.  This side tends to be comprised of busy executive and entrepreneurs who understand the value of Social Media but, unfortunately, lack the time to be as active as required to fully engage, personally.

Side 2 – Social Purity:  This side of the argument declares that Social Media must be done in the present and nothing should ever be shared unless you are sharing it in real time. Therefore, scheduled tweets, blog tribes, or other methods of “Absentee Sharing” must be avoided, at all costs.  If you commit the faux paux of auto sharing then you are deemed “Unpure” and you must repent your sins or be forever relegated to the role of Social Media Spinster/Novice/Butcher or other name to be determined.  This particular side of the argument seems to be made up of a small community of Social Media users who believe in high level of engagement and generally a very small audience because time needs to be spent on each and every item shared.

As I said, there is a large group that doesn’t care whatsoever so, by default, probably lend themselves to the first group.

The Answer: Okay, it isn’t an answer, rather an opinion, but if you can’t tell from the above, I choose free choice.  The caveat is that I don’t really care if you are for social purity; I just care if you invest energy in judging, berating, or brow beating those that don’t agree with you (by the way, this applies no matter what side of the argument you are on).

The fact here is that Social Media is very much brand marketing.  In many cases it is “Your” brand and you should have the choice how to manage it.  If your method is direct selling (small and closely held engagement) then great!  If you are a TV advertisement or Billboard (Broad sharing and promoting) then that is great too.  I think there is room for all types in the world of social media.  I will friend, connect, follow, and add those that I choose; others are welcome to do the same.

Bottom line: There is no right or wrong way to do Social Media.  Only your way.  But just remember, when you choose “The Way” you have to live with the consequences for better or for worse.

So what is your way?

In short, the premise behind tips one and two was to focus on building a reference group, and to gain understanding of the right content to share to establish yourself as a thought leader within the appropriate subsets of the massive social media community.

This week, I want to touch on what I believe is a (perhaps the) game changer for any Senior level professional wishing to generate successful outcomes using Social Media.

This experience enhancing activity is what I call “Engagement”

The idea of Social Media Engagement is to generate an active dialogue that takes place between individuals, within communities, on blogs and other conversational activities that can take place on the Social Web.

Some examples of doing this could be commenting on a blog, responding to a post/question on Linked in or Twitter, or perhaps joining a Twitter Chat within your area of expertise. (I will further discuss chats in a later edition of this blog)

While engagement is something many attempt to do, only a small percentage of them (in my experience) do it well.

While doing it well isn’t always critical, it does improve outcomes (More ahead).  When engaging, you want to focus on jumping in where you add value and/or bring meaningful insight to the conversation.  Often people jump into conversations and dilute the quality or digress the subject which can sometimes appear as spam (Not good).

Proper engagement is often focused around the aforementioned value add.  (I’ve also found that in some forums like Twitter, sometimes just saying hello and making small talk is well received)

Think of it this way.  Join the conversation much like you would in real life.  If you were at a local networking event you wouldn’t walk into an active conversation and just start talking.  You would listen, make a proper introduction, and then chime in if and when it made sense. (If you approach Social Media this way you will be just fine!)

Proper engagement has huge upside.  It will drive loyalty, reciprocity, and serve as the impetus of relationship building that spans well beyond the realm of the digital universe.

In the six months that I have been active in the Social Media community, I have made contact with countless executives and driven relationships with a wide variety of Business Owners, C-Level Executives, and Influential Journalists and Media outlet that have helped drive our company brand.

Additionally, successful interaction has led to positive press for our organization (i.e Chicago Tribune, New York Times, Industry Trade Magazines) that has translated into excellent visibility for some of the initiatives of our company.

The take away here should be to focus on selectively engaging with others in your communities.  It is a great way to meet others as well as expand your horizons.  If you engage genuinely, and don’t come across as someone trying to immediately solicit for new business, people within the social media community are incredibly willing to help ( That is definitely my experience).

So, now that you have paid attention a bit and familiarized yourself with what is happening in the stream, look for opportunities and jump in.  With a little elbow grease and good use of those networking skills, (You know, the one’s that got you into the big office!) the upside is virtually limitless.

Happy Tweeting!

Many of these tips will be driven from personal experience. Hopefully this shortens the learning curve for senior level managers looking to maximize the Social Media Experience.

Tip #1: Listen – This is a fundamental that probably helped you reach the level you are at in business today.  Many C – Level executives are used to being listened to and immediately respected.  Places like Twitter are have hundreds of millions of users, many of whom have figured out how to use the medium very successfully.  By listening, especially to those who have become most successful in the Social Media space, you can quickly learn how to use it as a conduit for networking and brand development.

A specific recommendation I have for listening is to search for counterparts, competitors, and supply chain partners and watch/listen to how they are using Social Media.

Tip #2: Share – Please note that Sharing is not “Broadcasting.”  I strongly discourage broadcasting in Social Media unless you have a tremendous audience of highly engaged followers whom are hanging on your every word.  When I suggest sharing, I am talking about industry best practices, relevant articles, blogs you have written, or other content that helps others interested in your business type/industry.  If people find the content that you provide to be meaningful and interesting, you will quickly grow your following.

One way to share to your target audience is to create content.  My recommendation is writing a blog or creating video blogs that establish you as a thought leader in your respective industry.

More tips to follow next week.  In the meantime, good luck increasing the value of your Social Media Experience.