We first connected with Dave Parsons, today’s guest contributor, through our work with @cbusmarathon. Since then, he’s become a good friend of Geben (and we’ve worked together on several projects!). Today, Dave is sharing his strategy for using Twitter to build online and offline relationships:
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Post by: @DPontheGo
For me, life is all about relationships and the people that you meet along the journey through life. And what better way to meet new people and expand your horizons in today’s fast-paced world than through social media.
Whether it is interacting with brands or celebrities, participating in Twitter chats, journaling my running exploits on DailyMile.com, or sharing pictures on Instagram, I’ve found that it really is possible to turn online introductions into real life friendships.
Anyone with any success in social media knows that your accounts are your personal brands with the potential for amazing reach if harnessed properly. There are also many different philosophies with how you grow that brand, but here is what I’ve done with mine.
First of all, it’s not just about the numbers for me. While some people get caught up in trying to really grow their follower list, I’m more focused on making sure that I have engaged followers who want to interact with me. My goal for any person that I follow on Twitter is to cross paths with them in real life at some point and continue the conversation that has started online in person. I also want to make sure that I’m doing my part to keep the interaction going.
That leads me to the three P’s for how I handle my social media channels – passionate, patience, and playful.
A big thing for me is to find out what someone is passionate about and to also share the things that I am passionate about. It is really easy to interact with people and develop an immediate connection if you can find common ground that you both enjoy. Read their Twitter bio. Really listen to the messages that they are sending out. Discover their sense of humor and tone. Be vulnerable yourself and share your own experiences. You might be surprised at the people just waiting to also find a way to connect with you.
Sharing your passion can also translate well into interactions with brands. I have found that by following and tweeting with brands that I believe in can really allow relationships to bloom. So many people use Twitter as their way to vent about bad experiences. However, by sharing why you love a brand, you might just be surprised by the fun that can ensue. Whether it’s a 40th birthday surprise adventure thanks to Outback Steakhouse, cases of Chobani Yogurt (@Chobani) or dozens of Krispy Kreme donuts (@KrispyKreme) showing up at your door, or all of a sudden finding yourself sharing delicious Turkey Hill Dairy All-Natural ice cream (@TurkeyHillDairy) with everyone you come in contact with as a “Fan-bassador,” there are brands just waiting to surprise and delight you. And as you develop a reputation as a positive voice with engaged followers, the opportunities just continue to grow.
Patience is also a key in developing an online interaction. Admit it…we all have a celebrity or two that we would love to have respond to us on Twitter. Or a leader in the industry that we work in or wish we worked in. Or how cool would it be if a Fortune 500 company retweeted something you said. While sometimes you can get lucky, most of those interactions don’t happen overnight. In most instances, it is about timing.
One recent example of being patient with developing online relationships happened in my new job. Over the last two years, I had interacted with one of my Twitter followers, Rebecca Black (@PrettyLilCeliac), numerous times. She lived less than an hour from me and we had numerous mutual friends in real life, but we never crossed paths despite several attempts. She ended up moving away and I figured that my opportunity to meet up with her had passed.
Then, about a month ago, I was headed on a business trip to visit one of our franchise partners in the Washington DC area. I remembered that Rebecca lived in the area and on a whim I reached out to her via Twitter. To my surprise, she was actually familiar with where I was going to be and was willing to stop by and say hello. Then, the story got even better when it turns out she is passionate about one of our products and gave an impromptu pitch that made my business meeting a success and in turn started some of our company-wide marketing efforts down a new path. It took us two years and 400 miles, but because of an online connection a real-life relationship happened and made a difference.
When it comes to being playful, that is where I have the most fun with social media and developing relationships. Through the course of my online interactions with Outback Steakhouse (@Outback), I was able to have some fun give-and-take interactions with Debbie Gibson (@DebbieGibson), the 80’s teen pop sensation who moved to Broadway and has more recently made appearances on shows such as Celebrity Apprentice. Yes, I’ll admit, Debbie was my celebrity crush when I was in high school. But c’mon…I never thought I would actually meet her.
Well, it turns out Debbie is also passionate about Outback Steakhouse and is also great at interacting with her fans. Thanks to Twitter, some help from her publicist, Elizabeth, and just Debbie being Debbie I ended up first with a video greeting from her from the dressing room of the Tonight Show and then later a backstage invite to one of her concerts.
I have found more and more these days that anything is possible with social media. However, for me at least, the key has been about being genuine and also knowing when to pull back. I try really hard to not ask for things for myself from brands. When they do share with me, I make sure to get their products into the hands of as many of my friends as possible. And it’s the same with interpersonal relationships. I try to make sure that I’m contributing at least as much to the conversation as the other person and also not crossing any lines.
We all have something to contribute to others whether it is the knowledge we possess, perks of a job that we can share, or just the opportunity to be an encouraging, positive friend to those we come in contact with. I encourage each of you today to reach out to at least one of your followers and get to know them better. Take a chance with a celebrity you like and treat them like any other person and ask them normal questions and see if you can connect on that basis. And tweet a brand something positive involving one of their services or products. I would love to hear what happens.
Everyone has a story. They are just waiting for someone to tell it to who genuinely wants to listen.
Dave Parsons is a lifelong Central Ohio resident who recently made a career shift by joining the Donatos Pizza home office staff as a field marketing manager after 20 years as the sports information director at Mount Vernon Nazarene University. You can connect with Dave on Twitter (@DPontheGo) or Instagram (@dp_on_the_go).