“This happened once before, when I came to your door,
No reply.”
- The Beatles, “No Reply” from Beatles ‘65
When asked to define social media, here is one way I have done it: “Social media is about effectively using online media to enable and/or create conversation.” Of course, the next question is usually “How do I generate conversation?”
It’s really no big secret. The answer is astonishingly simple and easy: say “thank you.”
I remember being taught at an early age that it was important to always say “thank you” after receiving anything. I know many others were taught this as well, but sometimes I think people must have deleted these words from their vocabulary somewhere along the way. How many times have you left a comment or Tweet for someone and they never replied or said thank you?
When it comes to social media, it’s as if people sometimes forget that there is another living, breathing human being on the other end of the screen. Being polite is the easiest way to start a conversation, because it builds empathy and connection between you and the other person. In a subtle way, it communicates, “You can trust this person.”
But this is about more than just being polite. It’s also about courtesy. We’re all very busy these days, but taking ten seconds to fire off a quick “Thank you” to someone who leaves a comment or sends you a compliment via e-mail is not going to add an undue burden to your day. If it is, then you seriously need to rethink your priorities.
My friend and fellow blogger, the amazing Marianne Richmond, wrote a terrific piece on this earlier this year. What she so eloquently said nails it in a nutshell: “Say thank you, write thank you notes; be appreciative and don’t scrimp on expressing appreciation and gratitude.”
Tips for Social Media Success
Say Thank You
Take the time to reply and you open the door to creating a conversation, a relationship, and positive word of mouth. More than anything, you will make yourself feel better as you create a feeling of gratitude that becomes habitual.
Learn More:
Marianne Richmond’s terrific post on saying thank you
Sesame Street clip where Ernie sings about “thank you”
Garth from Wayne’s World says it best: “Just say thank you.”
“If a customer leaves a note about your company, service, or product on a message board, send a note via e-mail saying, “Thank you.” If the commentary is negative, say “We heard you” and offer to help fix the problem.”
And the same thing goes for blogs. Leave a comment saying thanks, email the blogger to say thanks, and then add the blog to your feedreader. For extra points, add the blog to your company blog’s sidebar.
Great post, simple courtesy still goes a long way.
Great Post! Social media is a great way to get feedback on your company, product or service. For someone to actually take the time to commend or even criticize your service/product is extremely valuable. So saying thank you whether it’s positive or negative shows that you are at least paying attention.
“No reply” was in fact the opening track of “Beatles for sale”. “Beatles ‘65″ is not in the official UK discography, i believe.
P.S. : great post, anyway!
great post Michael!
I’ve met a lot of great people, including you by engaging in conversation after they left a comment on my blog or socnet.
@Mack — Exactly. I couldn’t agree with you more. Thanks!
@z — Yep, totally agreed. I think that’s what people want more than anything — attention, or at least, acknowledgment. Thanks!
@Federico Grazie mille!
@B.L. — *nods* You’re exactly right. We’ve never met in person, but thanks to comments and e-mails, we’ve been able to exchange thoughts and opinions many times over. Thanks!
Thank you to you all for taking the time to comment. I appreciate it!
Taking a page out of permission marketing, asking and saying please work too. I had a client a couple of years ago who was having trouble building decent backlinks into their site. The problem they said was that no one was responding to their automated email. I told them to do 3 things: One, write a personalized email detailing why it would be a good thing and asking for the link. 2) Stressing the words please, and possessing an attitude of gratitude and 3) If the first 2 fail, call them.
I am pleased to announce that through those efforts, they have a natural ranking of 3 or higher in all of the SE’s, and and a PR of 6. The moral of the story is that sometimes we automate so much that we are not human anymore, or we forget the human aspect of what we do or what we are trying to achive with social networks. Social networks need to be more social and less ephemeral. I know that that is the goal, but sometimes the widgets crowd the space and push the people out. Just my take..Thanks for allowing me to take the soap box.
Michael… Have I thanked you for this post yet? Thank you!
Hey Michael,
Great post! And thanks for the mention.
I will have to practice a bit for a sincere “good luck” to the Cubs but I am working on it.
Marianne
Thank you! Btw, I enjoyed your post so much that I’m adding your feed to the “Latest Marketing Headlines” feed roll on http://www.theportonlocation.com.
It community is scheduled to go live at OMMA NY (Sept 24)
Thank you, thank you, thank you for this post! It goes for the offline world also. It’s amazing how please, thank you, and a smile make everyone’s lives so much more pleasant. Telemarketers are told to smile when they talk. Maybe we should smile while we type : )
@Marc …. Terrific strategy. No doubt about it, saying “please” is just as important as saying thanks. It’s amazing how picking up the phone can do wonders sometimes, isn’t it? *grin* Thanks!
@Ann …. Aw, garsh. Thanks (and you’re welcome!)
@Marianne …. You’re very welcome. You said it best, so I wanted to make sure you get some link-love. Folks, if you get a chance, you should run (don’t walk) to read her post. Oh, and Marianne, don’t worry. It gets easier the more times you say it. Trust me. *grin* Thanks!
@Jacqui …. That’s awesome! I’m sorry I won’t be able to be at OMMA this year, but I definitely appreciate the link. Thanks!
@Theresa …. I like that. Smile as you type. Like Mr. Chaplin wrote way back when, “Light up your face with gladness / Hide every trace of sadness / Although a tear may be ever so near / That’s the time you must keep on trying / Smile, what’s the use of crying? / You’ll find that life is still worthwhile / If you just smile.” Thanks, Theresa, for the comment, and for continuing to provide a fantastic resource. For anyone in Chicago, you should subscribe to Theresa’s e-newsletter at The Local Tourist. It’s invaluable!
Thanks again to everyone for taking the time to write and respond to the post. I am grateful and appreciate it.
Cheers,
Michael
great post!