What follows is an amended version of an email exchange I had with someone over the merits of automation vs genuine communication for a business via social networks.
I have permission to do this, and I’ve changed names and altered other numbers to protect the innocent.
The thrust of the point remains the same.
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I want to lay out some numbers for you to compare, and let me make this clear I’m not doing this to disparage the competition.
This is an honest assessment of two people different people who work in this space.
CASE 1 – JENNY
Jenny has 3 accounts that have a Follower base totaling 29,321.
These accounts are all automated (via services like Hootsuite and twitterfeed) in terms of content, posting random quotes and links to articles and websites. I’m not sure why they all exist other than gathering as many followers as possible.
A total of TEN people interacted with those three accounts over the past WEEK. Of those ten interactions, Jenny responded to none of them.
Jenny’s blog at her company site has been updated 4 times this calendar year. The blog on her personal site has been updated 5 times in this same period.
As far as I can tell Jenny just started these blogs in January.
Neither site gives any clue as to who is actually writing this material, and there’s no evidence anyone is reading it.
NOTE: Jenny follows a good deal more people than follow her.
What this means is she is just adding random people (also via automation) and trying to gather numbers.
CASE 2 – BRIAN
Brian has 1 account with a Follower base totaling a meager (compared to Jenny) 6089.
This account is run by a real person and this is clear through the amount of personality and conversation with other people.
There are also links to his website, which is similarly active, and has links to other places you can find him. With an easy bit of reading, one can know what Brian is all about.
A total of FORTY-NINE people interacted with Brian YESTERDAY.
Brian’s current personal blog has been updated 29 times this year, and 455 times since late 2008.
It has an active base of commenters. His company blog has been updated 12 times this year, not including email newsletters, which would add another 7 updates.
NOTE: Brian has about 2500 more people following him than he follows on Twitter – this tells you that what Brian says carries some value.
CONCLUSIONS
Social media is about numbers – obviously any marketing program is.
BUT it’s also not about numbers – it’s about making real connections with real people. This is why it’s called “social” media.
Jenny is not communicating with anyone. Sure, it appears as if she’s “doing social media”, but I can tell you based on this she’s not.
Would you rather be connected with 1000 people who all care about and listen to what you say and take an interest in the things you’re offering, or 10,000 people, none of whom pay any attention?
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I went on to tear apart Jenny’s website, but that’s irrelevant.
My entire point was this stuff isn’t rocket science, which is what I tell everyone.
Yes, having genuine social media channels inserted into your communication and marketing is extra work, but having an automated system installed is equal to putting a robot at the front door to your business, and that robot ignores anyone coming through the door or walking by.
Is that something you want?
