You’re Lazy and You Look Fat in Those Pants
November 9, 2009
Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, FriendFeed, Identica, Ning, Plurk. Today we have an amazing array of social media tools that allow us to connect with others for business and pleasure. The ease of push button publishing and multiple platform connectivity has significantly altered the way we communicate. Open access and ease of use, however, still require an investment that some are not willing to make.
It’s easy but that is no excuse to be lazy. There is a pervasive lack of effort with many self-anointed marketers. Generic messages are prepared and blasted to thousands of people, and the cycle is repeated. It is a numbers game right? Social media makes it easy to reach thousands and eventually your message will connect with the right person, or so you reason.
As a sales manager, my team took great pains to get to know prospective clients before pitching. At the time, there was no Google search, Facebook or even LinkedIn. We had to invest time and effort in uncovering wants, needs and preferences. When invited to a prospect’s inner sanctum, we respected their time and invitation by discussing relevant problems and solutions. This meant an understanding of not only who we were and what we had to offer but a keen understanding of the problems and opportunities of that prospect.
Information was and still is power. The investment to gain that information paid off in actual sales. My job was based on numbers and my efforts were appropriately directed to the right people with a precise, and highly relevant message.
Today, information is much easier to uncover. There are profiles and websites that provide a huge amount of information. Yet, the majority of “business” people fail to review, let alone leverage that information. Your hit and run approach may actually result in a few sales but you have missed the bigger opportunity to create a solid, sustainable business that produces a higher ROI on your investment.
You can continue to be lazy or you could be smart. If you connect with someone on Facebook, before sending a completely irrelevant pitch via their inbox, take a moment to review their profile, and news feed. Visit their website or blog, read their wall postings. Connect with them on something real rather than immediately pushing your own agenda.
Your irrelevant hit and run messages are more than annoying; they can be downright offensive. An off-topic pitch is akin to reviewing my head shot and telling me I look fat in my pants.
My twitter stream and Facebook page is not your personal playground. I let you in and expect you to treat it just as you would if you were a guest in my home. Respect that you are a guest and that means abiding by my house rules.
Has your approach to creating connections changed for the social web? In what ways?
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18 Responses to “You’re Lazy and You Look Fat in Those Pants”
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Karen, This is such an important point. Introducing sloppy marketing practices to a larger medium only means failure on a larger level. In some cases, the spam and assorted trash communication on Twitter is driving people right into the arms of sellers with authentic messages. In that respect, maybe we should be thankful for these marketing clods. However, all the noise is turning off people to social media altogether, which is a real shame all the way around.
Brad Shorr´s last blog ..How to Use Twitter Lists
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Karen Swim
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November 9th, 2009 at 9:13 am
Brad, you raise some great points (as always). I know that my own personal use of social media has changed as a result of the practices. I would also hate for people to believe that this type of marketing represents the whole. I also feel for those who are new to business filled with good intentions and led astray by bad advice.
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Brad Shorr
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November 9th, 2009 at 11:19 am
All true. Some people are looking for any excuse to stay away from Twitter – spam and trivial Tweets are two easy reasons. People shouldn’t dwell on the negatives, but, alas, they often do.
Brad Shorr´s last blog ..How to Use Twitter Lists
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Karen Swim
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November 9th, 2009 at 12:34 pm
Brad, you’re right, if you’re a busy professional teetering on overwhelm, you might avoid “one more place” where you have to filter through the bad to get to the gems. I still find value in the larger platforms but also seek out smaller ways to interact and have real conversations.
That lack of connection is exactly why I’m working at making my site more interactive so that I can get to know people who come by the Someday Syndrome site – without having to do so in front of the whole world (ie via comments).
Alex Fayle | Someday Syndrome´s last blog ..Break Out Your Creativity: Pop Music Positivity with Swing Out Sister
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Karen Swim
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November 9th, 2009 at 12:33 pm
Alex, I think yours is a smart decision. I think many of us are not abandoning the larger platforms but finding ways to create intimacy with smaller groups – for example, membership communities, specialized groups on Ning, even Twitter lists. As a business, there is tremendous value in cultivating true relationship with a smaller group of champions. You can still interact with the masses but that small group can drive bigger results.
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karen…you raise several good points. And I agree.
Sometimes I think there needs to be one more for sure money making tip for all those people on Twitter who bombard us daily. That is, a fer sure money making tip: Turn it off and get back to work.
There, I feel better.
keep em coming…
best, GL
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Karen Swim
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November 9th, 2009 at 12:35 pm
ROFL! GL, one of things I most enjoy about you is your forthright nature! Well said, turn it off and get back to work! LOL!
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[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by bradshorr and Janet Buck, George Angus. George Angus said: Reading: "You’re Lazy and You Look Fat in Those Pants | Words For Hire" ( http://bit.ly/44BIUZ ) [...]
Fabulous! I wish that I could auto DM your line, “My twitter stream and Facebook page are not your personal playground” to every auto DM spam message that I get.
Jeanne Male´s last blog ..Are You Normal? Fitting-in vs Being Authentic
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Karen Swim
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November 9th, 2009 at 12:37 pm
Jeanne, thank you! Loved your post today, it really addresses a deep and timeless issue. Grrr..the auto dm spam is definitely annoying. I rarely check dm these days for that very reason. I wish there was a way to close access to DM and only give it to certain users, like the real people you know.
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Karen,
I LOVE the title of your post today, I was laughing my head off before I read a single word and was wondering…hey how does she KNOW I look fat in my pants????
And isn’t that part of it? They don’t know. I don’t feel “known” at all by my 300 followers who claim to follow the very few tweets I ever twitter that I think..why are you out there mr “I sell great cars”
I am one who has gotten so jaded by those that have jumped on twitter and other sites to flood it with white noise that I hardly even go there anymore. Facebook has become the social place for me to catch up with friends as I can control who I see or don’t see and there is no white noise. If I don’t like what is being promoted I hide it. The backlash for marketing is that they aren’t taking into consideration that today’s public has a lot of control over what they see and listen to and all that kind of marketing does is turn people away.
There will never be any substitute for building honest, caring, trustworthy relationships and products that you can stand behind. Period. The rest is just building houses in quicksand.
Wendi Kelly-Life’s Little Inspirations´s last blog ..November Hope
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Karen Swim
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November 9th, 2009 at 12:41 pm
Miss Wendi, making you laugh makes my day!
“There will never be any substitute for building honest, caring, trustworthy relationships and products that you can stand behind. Period. The rest is just building houses in quicksand.”This is such a beautiful and articulate summation Wendi. I agree with you 100% and have also found myself gravitating more to Facebook for the exact reasons you stated. You can have actual conversation even when they’re quick little convos about ice cream flavors or traffic.
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Social comments and analytics for this post…
This post was mentioned on Twitter by bradshorr: Old school marketing still works for new social media! Great point, @karenswim – http://ow.ly/AFNG...
Hi Karen. You make great points. I have gotten to the point where I try to determine what a stream is like before accepting new friends. Deleting people who spam, DM excessively and such doesn’t make me feel so guilty after the sheer volume of the junk I’ve gotten from a few tweeters.
Shari Smothers´s last blog ..november writing fun 2009
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Karen Swim
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November 12th, 2009 at 1:42 pm
Hi Shari, I hear you! I am backed up on accepting FB invitations for that very reason. I hate being picky because I really do want to engage with people who hold different perspectives but the junk factor has gotten way too high.
Karen Swim´s last blog ..Leadership Moments
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[...] week: 11/13/09 Posted by Heather Villa, CMA, MBA, MSM on November 13, 2009 in: Weekend Reading You’re Lazy and You Look Fat in Those Pants – You’ll read this one just because of the title. I know I [...]
The good news is that the cost of lazy is going up as tools to filter out the unwanted get better and more aggressive. Poorly targeted approaches can poison a brand in a way that rapidly decreases its ability to penetrate and pushes most legitimate efforts to follow your advice.
Fred H Schlegel´s last blog ..Creative Launch Pad | The Little House
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