Getting Into Social Media Shape for 2010
Posted on Sun, Dec 13, 2009
I finally took the time this week to get my left hip replaced. I had been putting the inevitable off for the last several years, always finding an excuse to delay it. So why now? There are the standard answers for this time of the year. Business slows down and I will not be missing much. I will be home during recovery, alowing me to spend more time with my family, especially, my 10-year old daughter during the holidays. However, there is a bigger reason that gets to the core of who I am as a professional, a mom, a daughter, a sister and a friend. As a professional, I advise businesses that they need to get their house in order to take their business to the next level. As a mom, I emphasize with my daughter the need to focus on the things that will make her a better, healthier and wiser young woman. I felt I couldn’t continue to perform those key roles in my life without taking a bit of my own advice! Getting in s”hip” shape for 2010 meant getting the hip replaced.
As I began the rehab journey from my hospital room at the Hospital for Special Surgery in NYC [an amazing facility, I might add], I saw parallels between my physical rehab and businesses entering into the social media arena:
Search: Initially when I made the decision to get my hip replaced, I scheduled it with an amazing surgeon through a referral. I used the web to research him and felt I had the right guy. Then I met him and he was even more convinced. Unfortunately, my insurance company was not going to give me much credit if I were to use him [so much for Preferred Provider Plans enabling you to choose your own doctor.] Regardless of this hiccup, I leveraged the doctor’s office to get a recommendation on a surgeon that he would recommend. Then I researched the doctor online and found out that he was very accomplished in replacing hips for younger people like myself. He also has given talks and written papers, which further interested me in his services. Then I met the doctor and I knew I was in the right hands!
PARALLEL TO SOCIAL MEDIA FOR BUSINESS IN 2010: The web provides us with so many resources to research potential business partners and relationships. We can check out someone’s LinkedIn profile, their Twitter presence, their website and blog if they have one. We can also find the common points of connection that can help us in our decision process. Also, while we may initially go down one path, we realize as I did that we need to go another path. The web and its resources are there to help you adapt and change course quickly and effectively. As you move into 2010:
- establish a Google Reader account where you can custom create your syndication list of blogs and articles relevant to your business
- use Tweetdeck or Seesmic applications which will help you track real time tweets on topics you need to be up on as well people mentioning your own business
- take advantage of Google’s new real time search capabilities announced this past week. For more information on this development, I recommend reading this post from Hubspot, an internet marketing software company on “What Google’s Launch of Real Time Streaming Means for Marketers”
- check out curated search services relevant to your business that will help you find the information you need
Giving: As a recovering patient, you really need to rely on others – nurses, nurse assistants, physician’s assistants, physical therapists, amongst others to help you. It is somewhat overwhelming to be in a position where everyone is helping you. In order to deal with the overwhelm factor, I have focused on talking with the great support team and getting to know them. It has been fun and more importantly terrific to see how they respond when they feel my genuine appreciation. They work very hard, long hours and deal with humanity at all of its best and worst. Honoring them and their contributions gives them a rush and makes the whole process of being helped all that much easier.
PARALLEL TO SOCIAL MEDIA FOR BUSINESS IN 2010: The best way to develop relationships in the social media world is to honor the people participating and their contributions. Inside most of us, we want our lives to matter. Acknowledging others’ contributions help validate that meaning. It can also help us forge business relationships that can be helpful to our own longer-term journey. Yet these are just by-products of being a good social media citizen. They are not the calculated goals, rather they are recognition that everything goes better when we celebrate each other’s humanity. So as you go into 2010, here are a few pointers:
- make a daily effort to genuinely recognize the people in your networks. Let them know you care and validate their efforts. And don’t be surprised by some unexpected returns!
- utilize your participation in social networks to get to know other business professionals better whose thoughts and insights you express.
- subscribe to some great blogs like Dan Zarella’s and Chris Brogan’s and get regular updates and insights as to how to improve your interaction in the social media universe.
Listening: Listening is critical to recovery. What do I mean by listening? Of course, it is listening carefully to all the health care providers I interact with. They have worked with thousands of patients through the years and know what they are talking about. Yet, there is another type of listening that is critical – listening to your own body. Last night, I was very determined to get this blog post done. I did everything I could do to stay awake to finish it. My body was not agreeing with me. It was telling me that I had had a lot of visitors that day and had done rigorous therapy and it was now time to sleep. As a Type A personality, this is a challenge for me, but I know that if I don’t listen to my body, I will not recover in the way I need to.
PARALLEL TO SOCIAL MEDIA FOR BUSINESS IN 2010: A lot of colleagues and friends like to tell me that they have no time for Twitter, podcasts, facebook, audible downloads or reading books. Then I ask them how much time do they spend traveling into the city every day, how much time do they typically spend in a week
Business success with social media is very different than traditional marketing where businesses broadcast messages to consumers. Social media requires engaging with customers, here are some pointers for 2010:
- start listening to what people are saying about your products in blogs, ratings services, Facebook, MySpace and Twitter
- access tools from companies like Radian6 that allow you to monitor these conversations.
- don’t foget your gut. There is a measure of intuition that to bring to social media to get a real sense of what your customers are thinking.
Use Downtime: In the hospital, there is a lot of downtime in between seeing healthcare specialists and waiting for visitors. Also some time you don’t have the energy to read a book. My ipod has been downtime companion. I am a long time subscriber to Audible and have used much of my time here to listen to Trust Agents, co-written by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith and regarded as one of the top ten business books of 2009. i had already read much of the book before coming here, but was able to continue reading it through great listening on audible! Plus it is read by both Chris and Julien which makes it even more compelling. I have also used the time to catch up on tweets from my friends and colleagues. It has also been fun to receive tweet wishes for my speedy recovery.
PARALLEL TO SOCIAL MEDIA FOR BUSINESS IN 2010: A lot of friends and colleagues tell me they don’t have time to tweet, read and comment on blogs, download podcasts or Audble books, or use Facebook regularly. I ask them if they own PDA devices that enable them to do all these things not tied to a desktop. Most of the time, they own an enabled device. Then I ask them how much time do they spend traveling into the city every day, how much time do they spend driving, how much time during the week do they typically find themselves waiting for someone before a meeting starts, how much time do they spend in the subway or taxis. When they cumulate the time, there is a lot more time for them to do the things they have “no time” to do! So as you get in ship shape for 2010, learn to leverage your time. Here are some ideas:
- subscribe to some great podcasts on topics relevant to your business. They can be very helpful to providing insights on how you can do your business better.
- get an Audible account. Try out a few audio books. I even like to give Audible as a business gift. Once people start using Audible, they find themselves so much “better read” and informed.
- set up a Twitter or Facebook interface on your iPhone, blackberry or other mobile device and use it
- make sure Google Reader is working on your devices.
- read this recent post from Chris Brogan on what to do “if you have an extra half hour“. It was very helpful and the comments add more thoughts about how you can leverage this time.
No Overnite Success: I have a restless attitude. I got the hip replaced and I am ready to go. I sometimes even go to the bathroom on my own here, which is a no-no. I keep asking people how many weeks it will take before I am back to normal? Will I be able to ski this winter? When can I dance again? Mark Cuban was on Dancing with the Stars within three months of his hip replacement a few years ago. So I am ready to go . . . yet, it is still one day at a time. I got up early this morning to finish this post, but my body wasn’t ready. I did one last walk around the hall here and I am in better shape to get it done. Getting my self back to normal is going to take time, patience and hard work.
PARALLEL TO SOCIAL MEDIA FOR BUSINESS IN 2010: Build a program to step your engagement in social media. It can’t happen overnight and once you get involved in it, your progress will be evolutionary. But it is not enough to just know about social media, you really need to do it so you can understand it better. So my advice for 2010 boils down to that great Nike phrase: “Just do it!”.