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Birds of a feather...
What do your friends and those you follow say about who you are?
If, in life, we are all judged by the company we keep, then what might who you friend and who you follow say about who you are?
For now, we might not care. We can say: I am just “experimenting” with social media since it is so new; don’t judge me by who I follow. However, if you a consumer you may ask yourself, “How will this information be used?” If you are a marketer, your wheels may already be spinning.
So, one thing you should know before you move on is that I don’t auto-follow. I know that some people feel that you should reciprocate a follow from anyone; there are some people who I don’t want to represent me.
I actually want to listen to the people who I follow (it is hard, I admit, because I follow more than 1,000 people, though I have set up some pretty good filters to help me keep some semblance of order to my streams). If people’s ratios are exactly even, this is a good sign that they auto-follow (my numbers are close and I reciprocate a lot of follows, however definitely not all).
Marketers listen up! Here is what my social media footprint might say about me:
· I care about a connection to those I went to high school with. I befriend everyone from my high school who friends me via Facebook. Why? Not completely sure, but it has been fun keeping up on the lives and directions that many of those folks took.
· I like to listen to those who I find inspiring. I may not share the same philosophy, but I want the ideas to keep coming. In my list, you may find Richard Branson, Jack Welch, Guru Singh, Tony Hsieh among others.
· I care about San Diego. I follow a number of news sources, destinations, political figures and people who simply reside here. While we are living in an increasingly globally connected world, trending topics still differ market by market. At least, that is what I have found by following various news sources like SDNN (@SDNewsNetwork), The Daily Transcript (@SDDT), @sdtips, @scottlewisVOSD, @MayorSanders and individuals too numerous to count.
· I care about my industry. I follow trade media, industry thought leaders, competitors and peers. I want to know what people are talking about.
· I interact with Red Door partners as well as products I actively use. I want to keep up on news, updates and tips to help me work more effectively with our partners and with the tools I use to do my job.
· I care about the people at Red Door. I want to hear their chatter and interact just like I do inside the four walls of our office (or 8, if you consider our office in Denver). (@reddoor)
· I want to keep track of brands I like. It is tough for someone to understand why I may like them, it might be because I like their ads. I can’t help but follow The Most Interesting Man in the World (@dos_equis_guy) and Jack from Jack in the Box (@jackbox).
· I like funny people. Dane Cook, Eddie Izzard and other sources of entertainment to keep me fresh.
· If you were to dig into my LinkedIn friends, which I keep private, you’d learn a whole host of other elements, as well. But, I will stop for now, because we have plenty of background to illustrate my point.
So, marketers, what were you thinking while you read that (besides, “enough already”)?
Reid Carr is a social media expert.
Marketers likely will want to connect with people who fit certain “profiles.” So, for example, if you want to work at Red Door, you might follow and engage with other folks who work here. You might follow them to know a bit more about the culture.
If you perhaps sell inspirational content, you might want to friend me in the hope that I may discover you and friend you back; that will give you access to me and others like me.
If you’re a performer similar to the comedians that I listed above, you might friend me, as well.
Or, if you have a tool to serve my industry, you might friend me and listen to me to learn more about how to sell to people like me. Social media is an incredible focus group.
If you’re a consumer, you might be spooked; I am pretty comfortable with it for now. However, perhaps all of you can see a business model in what Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and all the other social media platforms have on you.
They know it is not just about what you say of the photos you post. A big part of the value is in the birds in your flock, since we all know the adage that “birds of a feather flock together.” It is just a matter of time before we put it together.
Reid Carr is president of Red Door Interactive, which specializes in Internet presence management. Follow him on LinkedIn or Twitter.
Tags: dane cook, eddie izzard, Facebook, followers, guru singh, Jack In the Box, jack welch, linkedin, mayorsanders, most interesting man in the world, red door interactive, reid carr, richard branson, scottlewis, sddt, SDNN, sdtips, social media, tony hsieh, Twitter, Uncategorized
Comment by: Jan Rieger Posted: August 10, 2009, 11:00 am
Reid, I don’t automatically follow either. See ya!