This post isn’t for everyone. In fact it’s for a very defined group of people. This is for middle aged ‘male brained’ business owners/managers that need to create engagement on social media. In particular it is for those who may be a little bit introverted, maybe a bit rational, and whose writing style is a bit academic. If this describes you then this is the post you have been looking for. For everyone else I have insulted with my provocative blog title I am sorry.
I am in the same position as the above, and have been writing a large number of blogs with accompanying tweets that have done ok, but nothing has taken off. I have been advised you need a more ‘feminine’ and ‘younger’ voice online. I can see that a lot of popular posts are more chatty and conversational. Because of the type of brain I have, I need a set of tools or instructions to help me fake being fun online. I hope you find this useful.
Creating online small talk
In the real world people say ‘Hello,’ ‘Nice day,’ ‘shame about the weather,’ when they pass in the street. A lot of this small talk does not contain any real meaning, instead it has a social function. Its social purpose is to acknowledge each other’s existence and get them to see you as a real human being. It creates connections and builds community. Small talk is being neighbourly and friendly. It gets people used to saying hi when you see them. This is exactly what we want to do online. Create an online community that gets people used to dropping by to say ‘hi’.
Not everyone will react to online small talk but many will. Everybody’s different. In different cultures people respond differently to this small talk. Danish people often ignore it and shut the conversation down, while an Australian is quite likely to want to open the conversation up. Similarly more introverted people will listen but not respond.
Online dog/ third person/ object
In the real world it is easier to have conversations with strangers in the street if you have a dog. It becomes socially acceptable for them to stop and talk because they like your dog, not you. You need to create a pack of equivalent ‘online dogs’ that people stop to chat to you about.
An online equivalent of a dog is a post which it is socially acceptable for people to stop and chat to you about. This could be photos, quotes, videos, offers, questions, statements, requests. Something for people to stop and chat to you about.
Amazing post. Listening to others and showing a bit of love is everything. So true!!
Rules of engagement for people you don’t know yet
You need to push yourself to talk to strangers online that you wouldn’t normally talk to. You can treat others as you would like to be treated yourself. If you put up post on your favorite topic, you would like people to respond by saying they liked it, that it has influenced them in some way, and it would be great to know what behaviour change you have created or not. So give others the enthusiastic feedback that you would like. Here’s how.
1 – Understand and listen - You need to have a close look at someone else’s post, and listen to what they are saying.
In the street we may notice something about a person. That they are wearing nice shoes or have had their hair cut. You need to notice them, acknowledge them as a human being, and hear what they are saying. Once you have listened to people’s news you need to feedback to them that you have noticed.
2 – Respect - Once you have noticed something about your interactor you need to compliment it. Address what someone else has spoken about rather than switch the topic of conversation to something you would rather be talking about. Compliment them on their metaphorical ‘new shoes’. Put them first and treat all interactors as customers, put them first and give them great service.
Your normal response to someone else’s post might be to help them with a critique or suggestion. Remember to save that till later or not at all. Simple small talk and kind questions come first. Don’t assume – ask.
3 State the obvious - When we are with our loved ones we assume they know what we are talking about. With strangers you need to state the obvious and never assume. If in doubt about their point ask. You don’t need to be big and clever in your commentary, you need to engage on the basics.
4 Show enthusiasm - Act like someone’s perfect reader. Be kind, positive, grateful and celebratory. Say what you loved it and show an interest. Start the small talk and see how long you can keep the conversation going.
If you act like you like them, they will feel liking towards you. It is once they become interested in you that they will check out what you do online, and it is more likely that they will like and share your posts and join in with conversations.
4 Disclosure – If you want others to open up you need to open up yourself. Share the things about yourself that ‘girlfriends’ would talk to each other about. This creates reciprocity, if you disclose, others will too.
5 Forgiveness – People may be rude to you online. When people misinterpret what you say don’t get defensive. If people are angry with you respond politely or not at all. You may want to state your case again but this might not change anything. Others are entitled to their opinion. If someone is out of line, let one of your other neighbours point it out.
What you should be talking about online
Most social media guru’s tell you to not talk about yourself. This means that even though you are online to talk about your product or service, you should not be talking about your product or service. Instead you should identify what your brand cares about and talk about those brand themes. Your themes should be the reason ‘why’ you are interested in business. You need to identify these themes and then consistently talk about them to reach out to your tribe/audience/market.
In addition to only talking about these product related themes you should also restrict your educational and sales content. Most of your posts should be designed to give your readers what they are interested in. You need to entertain your audience to pull them towards you.
Here is the rulebook:
- 50% of your content should be inspirational
- 30% of your content should be educational
- 20% of your content should be to convert your audience into your customers
What is inspirational content? This is all about shareability. The stuff that people share is the stuff that moves them emotionally. When people see a quote that speaks to them, they share it because they are telling the world about themselves. When they share a picture of a cute kitten, it’s because they felt lovely seeing the post, and they want to let their friends feel this too.
To be inspirational your content needs to be stunning, shocking or thought provoking. All of these have to connect with people on an emotional level so that it becomes their content, which they want to share, because of what it did to them. For each type of inspirational content think about the emotional response you are trying to achieve: Ooooh I love it, OMG don’t you just hate that, and wow that’s amazing.
Your educational and conversion content should also be inspirational.
What is educational content? This is educating the customer about why they need your product. It is also providing them with interesting facts about your themes.
What is conversion content? This is anything where you are asking your reader to do something. From liking and sharing your posts, taking part in a poll, responding to your offer, or buying your product.
Creating a lighter tone
You need to establish the right tone of voice for your product or service. Many people will encourage you to be yourself online and that you should avoid being fake. When your natural tone of voice is long winded and academic then to be real is to create little engagement online. Often it is better for a post to be short and chatty rather than long and deep. Less can be more.
You may want to develop an alter ego, and role play this character to create your lighter tone. Why not try a range of props, prompts or nudges to get you in the mood!! Choose a soundtrack to go with your new tone of voice and play that to feel the vibe. Actors have always used props for role plays. Find an item of clothing that fits your new voice, or other prop, and get this out when you need to role play the new you and find your voice. Similarly you could select a piece of art that captures the mood – with a world of online art at your fingertips building your brands persona can be quick, easy and fun.
Use writerly exercises to develop your tone. Write the long piece you want to post and then highlight the key points. Now cover the same points in a 50 word micro blog. Try and fit it into a tweet. Cut out the wordage completely by replacing it with a picture that represents your theme, and add slogan. There are loads of templates n Canva to turn images into adverts for different types of posts.
It’s not good enough just to be brief. It still has to be content that people want to read. You have to decide who your reader is, and how you are going to pamper them with content they’ll love.
Actually ...
I have to be honest with you. While I love the theory of all this, I am not great at doing it. This is the kind of article I like writing: long and wordy with lots of headings. I am still on the journey of creating brief content that instantly connects with my target market.
Please share this post - I could do with some followers.
Please let me know what works for you. All comments welcome.