Wherever I’m on social media as a person I use the same picture, a photograph of me, taken by my husband on Christmas day. 2008 I think it was – there’s one down side!

Today I was asked for a photo of me for use with an article I have going out in Building magazine shortly. We’re going to use the image I use online, and it made me think about why that is.

1. You can be Recognised In Real Life

The advantage of using a photo of my face on social media platforms is that people tend to recognise me when they meet me, and likewise if I’ve seen their photo. Real-life business and social relationships are what I’m into social media for, so that makes sense to me.

2. Differentiate Your Brand from Your Company

If someone has a brand as their avatar I usually see this as meaning that they are representing the brand – they are a brand ambassador but not as an individual might be, more as an employee or representative. I expect them to behave in accordance with that brand.

Many people I know who use twitter (I did a survey in 2010 of over 150 users in or related to the construction industry) start with a personal twitter account, often using a photo of themselves once they gain confidence. Then they may set up a business only account for their firm. This account acts as the official face of their company. It becomes the account you follow for business only, on-topic only content. People follow @BarefootGilles which is me for just the firm and has a picture of the firm’s brand.

3. Choose what works for You

I have a couple of other twitter accounts. People can follow @ArchitectLeague for news of what architects from all around the world are sharing on twitter, and there I use a stereotypical image of an architects drawing. This drawing is a kind of metaphor for the ‘every-architect’ rather than a photo of me, as the account is largely sharing material by others for the benefit of everyone.

My Just Professionals twitter account uses a ‘Mad Men’ style cartoon avatar of me – this image has is becoming my ‘brand image’ for @JustProfs, but it is still evolving as this site is.

4. Be Consistent

I use the same image all over the net wherever I am asked for an avatar. This way people get that recognition whatever platform they are on. I feel when other people do this, it helps me remember them and recognize them as a person I already know about.

5. Be Human

What matters to me in an avatar is that it is a shorthand for the whole experience of the person. Behind this when you click on it, is their whole profile – their links, their tweets, their discussions on a linkedin group – their entire social media footprint. If a person doesn’t bother to replace the standard avatar I’m less likely to click, and for that reason alone I’m less likely to take them seriously.

6. And another (bonus) Reason:

Andy Marshall, whom I first met on twitter and then two years later commissioned to photograph one of our projects, tells me my red shirt shines out amongst other avatars on tweetdeck, so I’m unable to change it now…

What image do you use, and why?

Great to hear on twitter yesterday that the marketing manager for Flagship Housing who runs their twitter and Facebook accounts has set up a blog to help other RSLs and Local Authorities start using social tools to engage with their customers.

Housing Associations are really good candidates for social media use, and this fact has recently been pointed to in the national and trade press, though the latter article from Inside Housing is lacking a little content. Lets hope ventures like the Flagship blog will help get the discussion quality up a bit.

Liam has written a very good post about Twitter vs Facebook here – I recommend you take a look.

(disclosure – Flagship Housing Group are one of my employers’ clients, one reason why I noticed their new venture into WordPress!)

I’m grateful to Sarah Arrow who runs a Linkedin group for Essex businesses, for alerting me to this problem, which I’m sure is of concern to many of you who use the Groups feature on Linkedin. Groups have become a very important feature of Linkedin with some real potential, but many are going astray.

Groups are New

A few years ago Linkedin didn’t have twitter integration, it didn’t have groups and it was purely focused on connections, which is what made it attractive to the rather conservative professional market. Now that Linkedin has introduced some of these features from other platforms it is important not to let the bad aspects of them damage what we have and put off the core, very special Linkedin audience.

Linkedin Groups are in essence a type of online community of interest. A group of people get together in a group to focus their networking in a common subject – in the case of Sarah’s group, “those that wish to network and do business with Essex Business people.” It is this common interest that should always be the focus of any postings to a Linkedin group.

Focus on Shared Interest

I defined Push and Pull marketing here when I said,

“Push marketing is when the customer doesn’t want your product or service. Pull marketing is when the customer does want your product or service.”

A special interest group can be a good thing for marketing because it narrows the field of people you network with to a smaller group with a shared interest, and if that shared interest is related to your business you’re in benefit.

For example if you run a guesthouse in Essex, people interested in getting a recommendation for a guest house in Essex might ask someone they know in Essex, and they might get that recommendation from someone in the Essex network, so it makes sense to join the network and get to know the people there. The important thing is that you are getting to know them because they may become your advocates, in the same way as they are getting to know you because you may become an advocate for them. Don’t sell to them – you are then a spammer.

Sales masquerading as shared interest

The problem with groups is that the opportunity exists (as it does with your status updates) to post marketing messages as if they were discussions. For example, I recently saw this on a property networking group on Linkedin:

“CHEAP LONDON BUILDERS
We are a building contracting company operating in London, having expanded vastly due to recommendations and clients satisfaction – We have grown in size, quality and ability
WE ARE ABLE TO DO ALL TYPES OF BUILDING WORK including: Extensions (Rear, Side, Single or Double…”

This is not a discussion, it is an advert.

The reason why these messages don’t work on Linkedin Groups is what happens next.

The Damage Sales Messages Do to Linkedin Groups

Linkedin Group discussions are not indexed by Google, so this plea for help isn’t shared with the world. Instead it is emailed directly, or in digest form, to everyone in that group who has chosen to receive updates.

Those people have volunteered to get involved in the activity of the group, and one thing they offer up gladly is their email address. It is clear that the majority of people who receive an ad like ‘CHEAP LONDON BUILDERS’ are going to be rather cheesed off if it arrives in their inbox masquerading as valuable contact from their Linkedin group. A less charitable person would say the ‘CHEAP LONDON BUILDERS’ are hijacking linkedin to do their direct mail campaigns.

Of course this type of behaviour is very bad for your brand image. But worse for all of us, it also damages the group – I have left numerous groups where this type of activity is unchecked, and turned off updates from others. Those groups don’t get much of my attention any more.

What you should do instead

So instead of spamming a Linkedin group with your content, what can you do to generate some genuine good value leads for your business? Here are some suggestions.

1. Get in the shoes of your audience

A linkedin group is relatively closed, so your audience is the people in the group. What do they care about? What issues have they identified? How can what you know and who you know help the situation?

2. Join a conversation

Look at what other people are discussing and see what useful contribution you can make. If you comment on other people’s discussions others may respond, and you may find they contact you privately as well to start building a relationship. This is how you get genuine advocates.

3. Demonstrate your expertise

Remember no-one has your specific knowledge and experience, so share information and opinion which shows you know your stuff.

4. Join the Community

When people start truly participating in a Linkedin group like this, things really take off. In fact, the group really stands out from the crowd and you’ll find more joining. And more people means more people reading your useful, interactive content, which is specifically targeted to them as members of a special interest group.

It is in your interest that a Linkedin group works – or why bother? So stop spamming people on Linkeding groups and join a conversation instead.

Image: Hackney the Old Hospital by L-Plate Big Cheese (creative commons>

What is Sharing Online? Wherever you are on the internet, there are a myriad of sites and platforms which are all in essence a means of publishing material (or ‘content’) for other people to read, comment upon and share onward. Some of these platforms are illustrated in the Conversation Prism by Brian Solis and JESS3.

But why do people do this?

1. Because You Have Something To Say

Firstly because they have something to say. According to Technorati the blog search engine there are over 120,000 blogs around the world, regularly updated with things we just must share. Here is just one example of the excellent Brian Green offering his usual cutting remarks on construction economics on his blog, Brickonomics. A must read for the construction industry.

2. Because You Have a Problem.

Then of course people share their problems. It is much easier to find things if you can ask questions of your network. For example is a friend of mine film maker Neil Fairbrother asked on twitter about CO2 emissions from wind turbines, we had a conversation on Twitter and Linkedin as I put him in touch with a couple of people who could help him.

3. Be Useful to Your Own Advantage Too

People share to be useful, but they also have other motives. The premium sanitaryware manufacturer Grohe tackles a bottleneck in their sales funnel by targeting installers direct with their ‘active’ site to show not only that installing their products doesn’t have to be difficult, but also that learning how to do it can give you a competitive advantage.

4. To Be Beautiful

Or for the other side of the William Morris quotation,

Have nothing in your houses which you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.

People share the stuff they love. I live on the Essex Coast and James Dodds is one of my favourite artists. His paintings and prints of boats and Essex coastal towns are an inspiration. This one (which he’s given me permission to share with you here) is one of 100s on his website. The painting will be exhibited in Maine in August.

5. To Make Productive Conversations

Why do we share this stuff? The new internet is no longer about broadcasting, its about conversations. By discussing things we care about, we can create and develop ideas, and it helps us learn if we could work together.

6. Huddle Together with People You Agree With

Some people like to find people who agree with them and collectivise to take action. Here’s a campaign aiming to get construction people to lobby their MP about how every £1 invested in construction produces £2.84 of GDP. Together we can make a bigger noise!

7. To Swim the Other Way

But some people actively collect the mavericks. Every day TED publishes a short talk by a thought leader – like John Kasonaa who has helped turn the poachers of Namibia, including his father, into conservationists, giving them “ownership in the wildlife.” Every day, another thought leader to listen to, for free in your inbox.

8. To Be Remarkable

And why are thought leaders so important? They teach us how to be remarkable – literally. When you’re doing something amazing people remark upon it. They share it with others. Seth Godin wrote a book about this called ‘Purple Cow’.

9. Because People are Searching for Us

Before the internet, being remarkable didn’t always work – you might just have found yourself yelling in a bucket. But now we have Googlewhack. The more obscure your remarkability is, the better. It just makes it easier for people who are looking to find you via google. Want to know what a GoogleWhack is? Check the definition here.

Being remarkable is no longer a disadvantage. It doesn’t stop Amazon stocking your book. It doesn’t stop the local cafe competing locally with McDonalds. The Mass Market no longer lords it over the Niche Market. We might be in ‘The Long Tail’ but now we can be found by whoever is interested.

10 So Be Specific

So be Specific about what you have to share. My company, a firm of business minded architects, recently rebuilt the services section of our website to speak directly to the people we can help most with their concerns about buildings and property [in London, Essex and Suffolk, for example]. We are the best architects (at what we do) and you can be the best too, online 24/7.

11 To Be Sticky and Get Stickier

If you are specific and remarkable then you’ll be memorable. Your contribution sticks not only in people’s minds but it sticks onto the internet, building up a footprint of your remarkableness.

12 Because People Will Come To You

This means that instead of having to shove your stuff in people’s faces, people will break down your door for it. Sharing helps them know you, and if they need your help, they’ll come to you. 38,000 fans on facebook for a blender company? Now that’s sticky.

13 Because it is Pull Marketing

You don’t have to sell blenders to identify what makes you remarkable. The new BlackPool regeneration agency just set up a photoblog to share images of Blackpool as it is now, rather than as how many of us remember it.
To quote from the Seth Godin’s book ‘All Marketers are Liars’;

There are only two things that separate success from failure in most organisations today:
1. Invent stuff worth talking about, and
2. Tell Stories about what you’ve invented

14 Don’t Worry!

And lastly, just in case you were, please heed the advice of David Meerman Scott (who wrote ‘The new Rules of Marketing and PR’.

Don’t worry about sharing your best information online. Your competitino already knows what you’re doing, and People like leaders, not followers.

That was August 19th 2008 by the way. He was ahead even then.

So there’s your homework:

Say something, something you care about.

Ask for help because a problem shared with 13,000 people is…

Be useful and be beautiful too. You can always get a designer to help you with both.

Create Conversation, be part of the conversation, either with people you agree with, or people you don’t

Either way, remember to be remarkable, then you’ll be searchable. And if you’re specific about what you have to say then you’ll be much stickier online and off.

And don’t worry, because we’re listening, and if we like what we’re saying we’ll share it too.

Please Share this Post:

]]> http://www.justprofessionals.net/2010/06/14-reasons-why-people-are-sharing-stuff-online-and-why-you-should-too/feed/ 2 http://www.justprofessionals.net/2010/03/the-most-difficult-hurdle-is-people-answering-back/ http://www.justprofessionals.net/2010/03/the-most-difficult-hurdle-is-people-answering-back/#comments Mon, 01 Mar 2010 22:28:35 +0000 Su http://www.justprofessionals.net/?p=259

If you’re an enthusiast for the new social media tools it will be obvious that social media is about conversations. Of course it is, and isn’t it great?
But the conversation is the very thing which frighten many organisations and businesses.

Conversations are scary.

If you write a critical or inflammatory journalistic piece, you may be held to account by thousands of twitter users.

If you write a blog as a CEO, you may get challenging comments from members of the public.

If you set up a company twitter account, other users will ask you about stuff, and if something goes wrong they’ll want you to reply.

If you’re used to making pronouncements, whether it be through press releases, published articles, statements or broadcasts, you’re used to being heard. But you aren’t used to being replied to.

The special thing about social media is the conversation – and from these organisations’ point of view this can be a sticking point.

One thing to remember if you’re suggesting that someone use social media, for example as a marketing tool, is that it only works if you are willing, able and accepting of the fact that there will be a conversation. This is no monologue.

Image: Confrontation by Neitherfanboy