The Pandora's Box of Social Media

For me it all started with AOL Chat. I set up a profile and started finding my friends on there. They started finding me and we had conversations on the Internet because it was so much cooler than talking on the phone. Then I got a MySpace page and I felt like the coolest guy on the planet (along with all the other 100 million users--literally). After that came Facebook and I sort of plateaued. I was happy with Facebook, knew how to use Facebook and I, unlike many other users, did not get all bent out of shape every time Facebook changed a little. I was home and was happy with my social media outlet. I also had a Linked In account but rarely used it.

Then my wife found Twitter and Pinterest and Instagram and FourSquare and on and on. She told me that those were platforms I needed to be on and I agreed with her. In the past year I have started tweeting regularly, pinning regularly, checking in on FourSquare and I started a Yelp profile. Two years ago I set up a YouTube account to post home tours. I even started a few Facebook pages this year! My wife helps me with managing it all. Come to find out, social media is a lot of work!

Social media helps small businesses grow without spending a ton of money. It gives you unprecedented access to people like no traditional advertising can. It allows you to reach people when they want to be reached. TV commercials blast in your ear when you are trying to watch a show. We have technology in place that lets you skip them. Social media puts the message out there and lets people discover it. There are a few keys if you are going to get into social media as a part of your business plan.

1) Know the platform and how the majority of users use it. Moderation and self-control is the key in some (Linkedin and Facebook), quantity, catchiness and uniqueness are the keys in others (Twitter and Pinterest)
2) Have a game plan--know why you are on each platform, what you want your overall message to be, who you want to reach and what you want to accomplish. Understand why you are on each platform. I did not understand why I needed to be on Pinterest until my wife explained it to me. Pinterest is a wonderful platform for sharing ideas and dreams. American males where very, very slow to the party.
3) Be ever vigilant about what you say AND what people say on your profiles. It is so easy to destroy your carefully groomed image by allowing one poorly worded quote from a guy you knew in 8th grade to stay on your Facebook post too long.
4) Pay attention to the unintended messages you send with your social media posts/offers. I will never buy something at full price at Joseph A Bank. Why? Because the message they send out with their gazillion emails and radio commercials is that their stuff is really only worth buy 1 get 2 or 3 free. Maybe that is their intention, I don't know. If it is NOT their intention, then they have ignored this rule.
5) Have fun with it, but not too much. Again, this is choosing messages that are appropriate for the given platform. If you are a service provider of some type that wants to advertise on Facebook, I STRONGLY recommend creating a separate page for your business. Be very cautious about alienating your friends by putting a bunch of business stuff on your personal Facebook page. I only jumped on this bandwagon about a year ago. I realized I was busy enough and was putting enough business content on my personal page that I was becoming "that guy" on Facebook. Not cool.
6) Remember, its permanent, even if you delete it. Someone will take a screenshot, someone will share or retweet it. Once its out there, its out there.

This is how I approach social media. I am definitely not an expert. I have seen it impact my business tremendously, however. It is a great outlet for small business. Just be careful. For every profile you set up, there are 20 more you could. Stick to your plan and do it on purpose. That is my mantra for the year!

Changing the World One Rude Comment at a Time

I know you have all seen them or maybe even participated in one--a Facebook argument. Is it just me or does it seem Facebook has reduced the tactfulness of  your friends? It also seems to embolden people to get into "discussions" that they would never get into face to face. Why is that?

My theory is that people assume some level of anonymity online--even if it is Facebook and has their pictures, name, etc. People will type things into a comment box they would never say out loud and would definitely never say to someone's face where they get instantaneous feedback with all the non-verbal parts--emotion, tone, body language, etc. The comment box has taken away a lot of the consequences that have typically kept free speech civil.

See, the First Amendment says the government will not punish you for things you say or ideas you express (and even that is somewhat limited). It does not guarantee speech with no repercussions from society, individuals, businesses, etc. The digital environment gives us freedom from a lot of the uncomfortable situations that have typically kept people nice in their discourse. You don't have to see the person start to cry when you say something that hurts their feelings. You don't have to see their face turn bright red when you embarrass them. You don't have to feel the angry tension in the air when you say something just to get someone riled up. You just type it and walk away from the computer or set your phone down or whatever. It almost seems like the old adage has changed to "if you can't say anything nice, then just post it on Facebook."

I read comment after comment after post after comment from my "friends" that are just downright mean. Sometimes you might think they are being playful mean or just joking with someone. The problem is that the same loss of non-verbal cues that embolden you to make the comment also make the tone of the comment flat so it is impossible to know if it is a joke or not. The scary part is that I am starting to notice this online phenomenon creep into the non-online society at large. People seem to be forgetting how to have a discussion civilly. Maybe I am too sensitive but I don't think so. There doesn't seem to be as high of a value on "niceness" anymore. Is this a symptom of an online culture--de-sensitized to rudeness?

Would love to know your opinion on this, and don't hold back! Does the online environment (and not just Facebook either--it's just an easy target) contribute to an erosion of manners and "niceness"? If it is worth reversing, how does one go about doing it? Am I making a big deal about something that is not really a problem?

Social Media

It has been a while since I last posted. I promised myself when I started the blog that I would be diligent. Well, I guess I lied to myself. Bad Harmon!!! Anyway, today we had our annual Weichert Sales Rally. It was really cool. I rode to Huntsville with two very cool people, Jessica Harrison and Tony Torres. I truly am blessed to have such cool colleagues at my office. We had great conversation the whole car trip there and back.

So the focus of the sales rally seemed to be on use of technology and social media. It got me thinking--from a non-realtor perspective, how effective is social media as part of a marketing strategy? In other words, when you see me post a new listing on my Facebook, what is your knee jerk response? Where is the line between posting things about my business as part of my life and posting things about my business as just part of my business? I never want to be the guy that people can't stand because all I talk about is business. I want my business to just be a natural part of my life and I NEVER want to be "that guy" that is always trying to sell something. So, if all this rambling makes sense to you, I would love to read your thoughts. What is good and proper use of social media for business, rate me on my use of social media, and just generally weigh in on the topic.