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Focus on ‘Being’ Social, Not Just ‘Doing’ Social

Authors: Jay Baer Jay Baer
Posted Under: Social Media
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It’s more about the social, than it is about the media.

It’s easy to forget that when we’re besieged by technology and tools inventions and announcements every single day. But the fact that your company has a Twitter account, or a Facebook page, or uses CoTweet (client), or has a blog doesn’t mean a damn thing, inherently.

Just showing up to the party and treating social media like something else for you to check off your corporate to-do list doesn’t humanize your company. It doesn’t create kinship. It doesn’t drive purchase intent.

You have to focus on how to “be” social, not just on how to “do” social media. And that requires your organization to adopt a more casual, open, tongue-in-cheek, self-aware, and often humorous tone. There is fun and personality inside every company. Stop hiding it. Be transparent and embrace the human, fun side of your company – because that’s the dimension of your corporate personality in which your customers are interested. It’s also the only side of your business that has any chance of being spread and shared virally.

Companies like ThinkGeek, Kadient, Moosejaw, and Sweet Leaf Tea (all profiled in The NOW Revolution) understand this dynamic. And so does the Boston Bruins NHL franchise.

Today’s Darwin Award Nominee

Last Thursday night, a drunk and idiotic Bruins “fan” and her friend/accomplice shot and uploaded to Viddler a video showing her vandalizing a restroom at TD Garden, where the team plays its home games. Reminiscent of the Domino’s employees incident from a while back, this lady is going to be someone’s Mom someday (shudder).

Humanization in an Instant

Certainly, the Bruins have a pretty spectacular social listening and response program, with a minimum of internal obstacles, because within 18 HOURS they had this spectacular response video posted, which ties in to their awesome Bruins Hockey Rules campaign:

Sometimes, serious results come from being less than serious.

(big thanks to my friend and hockey nut Derrick Widmark from Diablo Burger – named AZ’s best burger by USA Today – for the tip-off on this story)

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