Social Media: Are You A Tortoise Or A Hare?

October 12, 2009 No comments

When it comes to effectively using social media to market yourself and/or your brand, are you falling prey to a “Hare Syndrome” and losing site of the end goal?

Does this sound familiar?

You discover a new social media outlet, (insert your favorite choice of Facebook, Twitter, FriendFeed, StumbleUpon, or a high authority forum in your industry), and enthusiastically create a profile on the site.

Within the first day, you’ve made 10 postings/updates and check the site every couple of hours for updates. You might even have one or two highly energetic “chat conversions” with other enthusiastic members or the community. You might even find yourself in a “meeting of the minds” type conversation over instant messenger with community members.

If there was a definition of the social media “honeymoon” effect, this is probably it.

Unfortunately, things are not meant to last, and within a period of 10-14 days, you’re going through stages of social media burnout, exhibiting symptoms like restlessness, fatigue, and maybe even an inability to fully focus on your regular work. That is, until you plug yourself cold turkey from the site.

What happened?

Plugging in and going “deep” into a social network can be addictive and all-encompassing.

Given the volume of data and conversations that a well-tuned community can pump out, it might be tempting to spend way too much time:
* Trawling your friends networks to see who else you know (and can invite to be your friend)
* Following links, recommendations, viewing recommended videos and spending a big chunk of time on news sites, YouTube and content aggregators
* Sending out friend invites, getting invited/pulled into group chats

…to the detriment of hours of otherwise productive time.

While we all could potentially fall prey to the Hare syndrome and probably more than a few of us will admit to having been there and done that, you might also consider the “Tortoise” approach.

Here are some tips to ensure a longer term approach to using social media effectively:

Look before you leap.
Just like in Aesop’s fable, the tortoise isn’t always the first to rush into a new social media outlet.
There’s no hurry to rush into the “new thing”. Instead, calmer heads prevail and one might even hold back for a couple of months until there are signs that the community might be around for a while, rather than being another flash in the pan.

Can you find what you’re looking for?
Can the community help you achieve your long term goals? Given that internet marketing is frequently a solo endeavor, the prospect of connecting, communicating and exchanging ideas with someone in a different town, state or continent has a degree of newness that breaks the routine of running a business.

Taking part in community conversations can do more than just provide a “connection to the outer world” fix. Going into it with goal-oriented clarity with objectives you want to achieve will give you a concrete return on your socialising efforts.

Confidant to a few or social butterfly to all?
While there are some benefits to being a friend to many and being known to most users in a community, the greatest dividends come from a few intimate relationships within the community. By “intimate” I am refering to peeling away the social shields to share information and establishing joint ventures with potential partners. You’re more likely to do business with people you know and trust.

Plan and stagger the time you spend in a community.
Managing your time effectively and limiting yourself to a daily allocated block of 15 or 30 minutes can help increase your effectiveness. Some will see a time limit as restricting what you’re able to do. I see it as motivating yourself to prioritize the most important activities and getting those done.

While following the tips listed here will not make you a social media superstar, it can however gain you traction in the community and ultimately, like the tortoise, help you win the race.