This week I had the most intriguing question, asked by a movie producer from Hollywood. He said, "I want millions of people following me on Twitter, but I don't want to follow anyone." I asked, "Why don't you want to follow anyone back?" He replied, "Isn't that what celebrities do?"
While I laughed at the suggestion, he's somewhat right, most celebrities on Twitter definitely have millions of followers but don't take the time to follow even their top influencers. I sincerely believe that is a huge mistake - too often brands and celebrities feel that they're too valuable to follow their true customers back, and I think this is due to not having enough support on their social networking.
I truly believe that social networking is all about personal, one-on-one communication. I know most businesses and brands aren't spending enough time building up the value and loyalty with their followers or customers. In the next ten years, I believe more brands will take social media seriously and think beyond just posting content that gets comments and likes. It's what you do with that engagement that truly matters.
One tip that I feel every brand should do is "BE REAL." I say this as I feel most social content is being edited and re-edited and turned into corporate-speak. Instead, put yourself in the shoes of the brand and your products, talk as if your product or service is talking, instead of your corporate management.
Taking this approach, you'll see engagement and perspective from your fans will move beyond your expectations. Take the time, starting one day a week, to have fun with your content on social media and talk from the brand's point of view.
I believe this one strategy can truly change your social networking FOREVER.
Photo Credits - brandingpersonality.com, yourcoffeebreak.co.uk, krusecontrolinc.com