Social media has given us ways to connect and network in ways that are just incredible. Social media marketing is on the rise, and more and more people are connecting with businesses through social media. However, sometimes with social media, you can lose your human element. The human element is what makes people want to do business with you in the first place. People don’t do business with businesses, they do business with people! Let’s look at a few examples of not having the human element.
I am reminded of a lady at a Facebook seminar I attended telling us that she didn’t want a personal profile – she just wanted a business page where she could post her specials. She didn’t want to have to interact with anyone, and she didn’t want anyone to get to know her personally. She really misses the whole point of social media. She actually saw the value of Facebook and it’s potential for reaching a lot of people, she just didn’t want them to know who she was.
Recently, I commented to a business owner about something that I had posted on my Facebook wall that he might find interesting. He told me that he never looks at anyone else’s profile or even his own news feed – he just looks at his own profile and his own business page. He will interact if someone interacts with him first, but he doesn’t actively go out and show interest in them. He is also missing the point of social media. It’s all about him.
One business man uses his Facebook profile and page to broadcast all about his business. When you look at his profile, you don’t see anything about him just his business. Everything revolves around business. I happen to know this man personally and know that he is an avid gardener and loves cooking. Even though I understand that he is a business owner, adding a little bit of personal information would really help people connect to him as a person.
All of the people in the examples are very nice people who are friendly people to do business with. They actually are interested in other people and care about their customers. I know that about them because I know them personally. They don’t show what great people they are on Facebook. They just haven’t transferred their human element to social media.
Facebook is a great marketing tool because it gives you the opportunity to reach more people. The important thing to keep in mind is not that you just reach them but that you actively interact as someone who is interested them. You have to interact as someone who is human.
