Follow (Or Unfollow) the Leader

I signed up for Twitter in early 2007, about a year after the platform launched. In those days, I was interested in social media and how it worked, but had yet to enter the fray.

So I sat back and gawked. Both fascinated and a little frightened by the newsfeed and its breakneck pace.

I really wanted to participate, but for some reason, I just couldn't. Something was holding me back.

You see, I hadn't posted one single tweet and yet I had followers. As in people I didn't know.

Honestly, I wasn't quite sure why the heck they were there. And their very presence started to bother me.

I mean, I hadn't written a word. But I sensed they were ... waiting. And for what?

In a bizarre way, I felt responsible to those people. I didn't want to let them down and I needed to figure out what were they expecting.

I realize this sounds ridiculous today, but back then I was taking the whole notion of followers on social way too literally.

Line, Please. Can Someone Give Me My Line?

So I continued to lurk.

And I tried to come up with an idea about what my scintillating entry line might be.

It had to be momentous.

Something to shout to the world (and my followers) that I was here to stay!

But nothing I came up with seemed right. Everyone on the platform seemed much more eloquent than me.

Till one day, I got up the courage and wrote this ?? (18 months after I joined!):

Not exactly Shakespeare. And as you'll notice, there wasn't a single response from anyone at all.

Which reinforced how little I understood about the concept of followers.

But at least I was in the show.

Follower, Friend --> Connection

This experience got me thinking about the language we use on social media. And the importance of ensuring that what we say and mean makes sense to the people we're trying to reach.

Which is why whenever you communicate, you need to put yourself in your reader's shoes and reflect on whether or not they'll grasp the context you're trying to convey.

Here are three tips to on how to do that:

1. Color. Consider your tone, personality and the language you use and keep them consistent. Are you going to be funny, snarky, serious, instructive or some combination? Familiarity is the first step in helping people recognize who you are and how you think and to start building a relationship.
2. Buff. Social media is fast, but creativity takes time. Always step back to sharpen your writing. Make it flow. I spend between five and 10 minutes crafting each tweet or post on LinkedIn (and five or six hours on this newsletter). And I always agonize over my words and rewrite, rewrite, rewrite.
3. Try Not to Step on Too Many Toes. We tend to think of communications as talking, but listening and understanding are also key. So when you do post, step back, let people have their say and then pause and try to interpret their comments not from your own ego, but from their perspective and intent. That doesn't mean you have to agree. But you always need to show respect.

Ultimately, words matter.

And if you want people to follow, you need to give them a great reason to hang round for the ride. (I sure hope I do that here!)

Imagine the Twitter Bird in a Cape

Which brings me to this week's Digital Marketing Trends video. It's one of our tech news roundups and I talk about Twitter's Superfollow or subscribe feature, where creators can charge people for access to exclusive content and tweets.

I also discuss synthetic voice generation, new ecommerce payment options on Facebook and Instagram and TikTok's "BookTok".

Check it out and let me know what you think.

Optimize Your Agency or Consultancy Skills

Before you go, I wanted to remind you I'll be speaking about "Four AI Trends Transforming Marketing and PR" at the free Agorapulse Agency Summit on June 23.

The one-day online event features top marketing thought-leaders including Jay Baer on "How to Gain and Keep Clients With the Two Types of Customer Experience", Christopher Penn on "How to Deliver Reports and Demonstrate ROI" and Kate Bradley Chernis, founder of Lately, on "How to Leverage Powerful Audio for Your Clients".

You can also take part in virtual networking sessions and get product demos from vendors. Hope to see you there!

Disclosure: I'm using a complimentary version of Agorapulse for my social media marketing, and in exchange I'm sharing a referral link to the event.

Connect with Martin

And with that, it's time to wrap up issue #32.

What makes you want to follow someone on social media? And conversely, what turns you off? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

Be sure to reach out if you have questions about any of the videos in Digital Marketing Trends, or my other LinkedIn Learning courses.

And if you want to find me, follow me on LinkedIn or Twitter. (And yes, I finally understand what means ??.)

Or visit my website and send a message or a question.

Till next time, enjoy this oldie from Carole King!