If social media engagement levels arrived on your doorstep as people, they’d present themselves as Veruca Salt, Violet Beauregarde, Charlie Bucket and Grandpa Joe from Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory—too much, too narrow, just right, and the last-minute revelation.
Veruca Salt—Too Much
Veruca Salt wanted everything . This is the social media engagement model that involves being all over the place, all the time—having it all. It is also the model that requires a HUGE team for implementation. But even after her father had his factory workers open Wonka Bars until they found a Golden Ticket for her, in the end, Veruca didn’t last long once she arrived at Willy Wonka’s factory.
Even if she had been a nice little girl, whose changing demands weren’t as constant as breathing is to the rest of us, her style just wouldn’t work. With all his help and money, Veruca’s dad was still stretched thin. Yes, Veruca could have helped, but not enough to matter. In the end, outreach requires a personal touch. And if you have a team of people behind you, to ensure you are everywhere, all the time, personal touch is next to impossible.
Violet Beauregarde—Too Narrow
Violet Beauregarde’s focus was too narrow. She wanted the gum. And, you know, that’s really ok—if being just about the gum involved more than an attempt to get attention. Certainly, one of the reasons we reach out to other people is to share information about our projects and work, but the outreach can’t be one sided. Violet needed to give back. Instead of just focusing on breaking a gum-chewing record, Violet could have shared “secrets” for keeping the gum fresh when she slept, ways to relax a tired gum-chewing jaw, and so on. . . . Her experiences made her an expert, but rather than sharing in return, she was all about the attention. ( “Hi Cornelia, sweetie!”)
I like blogs like A List Apart because they tell you how they did something. They share their knowledge, and you learn in return. It is a mutually beneficial relationship. By providing engaging content, they share their work with others—and others learn from them. One example: Here’s a great article on creating and marketing audience-engaging content. The talents behind the article are experts in this field. They didn’t have to share, but they did. Think Karma. Although you don’t necessarily help others because you want to receive something in return, what ends up happening is: You help others, and you receive something in return. (Full disclaimer: The company, About Face Media, is one of my clients. )
Charlie Bucket—Just Right
Then there’s Charlie Bucket, who was just there. He didn’t have the money to have a huge team of people reaching out for him, and he wasn’t close-minded, only focusing on himself. Sure he made some mistakes along the way, but overall, the outreach he did was always the right kind. He didn’t do a lot, but what he did, he did REALLY well.
In one of his recent posts, Jonathan Fields included a quote from psychology professor Martin Seligman. “Rather than”, as Jonathan wrote, “focusing all of your energy on fixing what’s wrong with your life,” Seligman suggested we all try to answer the question:
“What might happen if you focused instead on the sole quest to identify, then grow what was right?”
That’s what Charlie did. He didn’t have a lot, but what he did, he did well. He focused on what was right:
He was nice.
He was conscious of others.
He cared enough to learn about the people around him.
He wanted to give back.
Though he made mistakes, he was always honest—even when it hurt.
If Charlie was diving into social media engagement, he’d find out about the people and organizations of interest to him. He’d learn about them, to make sure he understood them.
And when he contacted them, he wouldn’t start like Violet, who would begin by pitching herself, without as much as a nice “hello.”
And he wouldn’t start like Veruca, who would jump in, telling you what she wanted from you.
He’d start by telling you what he liked about what you are doing. And he’d be genuine about it.
Nothing fake with Charlie. He’d tell you because he really cared and wanted you to know. And if he did ask something of you, he’d ask if there was something he could do in return—something that might help you.
Charlie would keep it real.
Grandpa Joe—Last-Minute Revelation
Grandpa Joe is an interesting guy. He’s the guy who doesn’t want to dive in. He’s curious, but he’s not about to get on his own two feet to do anything. If something is going to happen, it will happen on its own. But then Charlie found that Golden ticket, and Grandpa Joe was faced with an opportunity. And all of a sudden he’s rejuvenated—young and kicking up his heels.
Earlier this year, Justine Musk wrote a great piece on her blog about audience engagement. The writer she mentions in the first paragraph of her blog reminds me of Grandpa Joe—sort of:
In her blog, one writer urges other aspiring writers not to worry about establishing an online presence or building an author platform until they actually have a book to sell.
Jane Friedman, who is the “community director” for the Writer’s Digest brand (the online community, the magazine, the books), thought it was so important to contradict this advice that she dedicated an entire blog post to it.
Read both Justine’s and Jane’s articles—in full, and check out all the links.
Now here’s the reasoning behind the above “sort-of” Grandpa Joe comment: Grandpa Joe “got it” at the last moment, went into action, and things worked out. That’s rare. It takes much—emphasis here on MUCH—longer. Please read about Jonathan Field’s launch of his own book for more background.
One personal example: In the past year, I’ve had the honor of working with Steven Pressfield, helping with outreach for his blog. And even though he’s a known and respected author, when he stepped into blogging, no one knew he was there. It took time to get in touch with readers, to learn about them, to talk and e-mail with them, and—above all— thank them. This past year has been like moving to a new town and holding a dinner party. You reach out to meet new people, hoping they’ll see that you are interested in getting to know them (and don’t just want something from them), and invite them to visit. You get to know them. You learn about their work, and perhaps something about their families. And at the end of the evening, you are no longer the new person in town. You have friends. People know where you live—and they want to visit with you again. And, of course, the feeling is mutual.
And all of that is, well, the Charlie Bucket model—just trying to do what you can, do it well, and do it with a smile, a genuine caring nature and a positive attitude.
