Have character. Be round. By that I don’t mean start eating all the ice cream you want. I mean be “dynamic, complex, and unpredictable. Surprise us in a convincing way” (Great Courses Series on Artful Reading).
For example, Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream. Their Facebook page offers fun with flipped out Fridays,inspiration by supporting social causes, and photos of their finalists at a fair trade cocoa farm. People want to become a fan because you never know what they are up-to. What they are involved in. And they just seem to be full of life—all the things a character should be—dynamic, complex, and unpredictable.
On the other hand, flat characters in social media might try to surprise us with their unpredictability, but they are unconvincing so the conversation runs dry. One example of that is Quaker Oatmeal Facebook page. Every morning there is the same question: How did you eat your oatmeal this morning? It might be worded differently, but it is the same question. It is like a bad marriage. It lacks passion, intrigue, and spontaneity.
“How do we get more friends on Facebook,” said the communication manager. However, the question that should really be asked is, “Have I taken my friends to a place where they can’t go on their own?” Yep, that’s right. Your Facebook status and page should tell a story and fill a void in your friends mind—much like a good book or movie. This of course will take a concerted effort and a strong story matrix, but it will be worth it to include your friends on your journey.
From the book
What’s Your Story? By Mathews and Wacker. Stories usually do the following:
1. Convey ethical or moral positions
2. Develop some sort of relationship ideal between an individual and authority
3. Show us the appropriate responses to life and model behavior
4. Help us remember the past, interpret the present, and dream about the future
Well, these are some good ideas to help us get started in developing an effective story matrix that will take your friends to a place they can’t go on their own.
If you are over the age of 18 years old, you might have laced-up a pair of Nike Air Jordans and effortlessly made a jump shot—or at least you thought it was effortless. Or maybe you are over the age of 25 and you remember how Mother Theresa cared for the poor. Both Nike and Mother Theresa are icons. They created a story that elevated the tension between reality and ideals. Simply put, icons promise people a better life. They offer ideals to live by and answers to life’s most troublesome questions.
However, today, people don’t just want to hear the brand story. They want to be the brand story. They want a place to connect with people and a place to rejuvenate—or in other words, they want to be authentic. Hart, Greenfield, and Johnston assert that branding today should be people-centered, passionate, and humane. That’s why strategic social media mustn’t just follow pop culture; the strategy must focus on being an active and responsive listener, all the while, keeping a unified voice.
As I was researching Web sites for a friend,
I asked the following question: How can a Web site bring forth authentic and genuine communication?
With that question in mind, I picked-up Shel Holtz and John C. Havens book Tactical Transparency (2008). They define transparency as trustworthy communication that continually demonstrates an organizations desire to serve and build relationships with their customers (p. 60). They offer the following ideas as ways to develop a transparent Web site.
- Get Specific
The first tactic to transparency is to get specific. Getting specific requires researching your potential client, or in other words know and understand your audience.
- Make Small Talk Big
Now that the conversation has been focused on building a connection, the next step is to pay attention to the details in order to create an authentic moment.
- Make Your Pitch Interactive
The first two steps set the stage for relationship development, but what makes an interactive presentation is giving the audience an opportunity to ask questions and make comments. This type of bid signals to the audience that this endeavor is a partnership, not a dictatorship. This can be done online by offering a place for people to post questions or comments.
- Give a Call to Action
A call to action can appear to be a sales technique but it sets a frame for a second point of contact. This type of action can be translated in the digital world by creating a reason for people to become frequent visitors to your Web site.
- Write Down a Connection Point
This point is about showing the audience you are listening to them on a deeper level by trying to help them out. This can be done by offering solutions beyond your own product or service.
- Practice Good Timing
Good timing is being sensitive to your audience’s situation—personally and professionally. Holtz and Havens (2008) state that, “one ill-timed communication can sour a relationship you’ve been working on for months to create” (p. 62).
- Follow-up
Follow-up is really about continuing the conversation with new ideas or fresh insights. It is important to follow-up on a conversational bid in some way that validates the time spent by the communicator—it must not seem as though the communicator’s message fell into the black hole of a digital file.
- Partnering Versus Closing
In the sales cycle, closing should be an “exciting point of the process” (Holtz & Havens, 2008, p. 63) and the culmination of developing a transparent relationship built on trust.
Conclusion
This seems to be a great way to communicate with other people on the Internet and in coffee shops.
References
Holtz, S. & Havens, J.C. (2008). Tactical transparency. San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
