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Social Networking is All About Being Personal

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This week I had the most intriguing question, asked by a movie producer from Hollywood. He said, “I want millions of people following me on Twitter, but I don’t want to follow anyone.” I asked, “Why don’t you want to follow anyone back?” He replied, “Isn’t that what celebrities do?”

While I laughed at the suggestion, he's somewhat right, most celebrities on Twitter definitely have millions of followers but don't take the time to follow even their top influencers. I sincerely believe that is a huge mistake - too often brands and celebrities feel that they’re too valuable to follow their true customers back, and I think this is due to not having enough support on their social networking.

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I truly believe that social networking is all about personal, one-on-one communication. I know most businesses and brands aren't spending enough time building up the value and loyalty with their followers or customers. In the next ten years, I believe more brands will take social media seriously and think beyond just posting content that gets comments and likes. It's what you do with that engagement that truly matters.

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One tip that I feel every brand should do is “BE REAL.” I say this as I feel most social content is being edited and re-edited and turned into corporate-speak. Instead, put yourself in the shoes of the brand and your products, talk as if your product or service is talking, instead of your corporate management.

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Taking this approach, you'll see engagement and perspective from your fans will move beyond your expectations. Take the time, starting one day a week, to have fun with your content on social media and talk from the brand's point of view.

I believe this one strategy can truly change your social networking FOREVER.

Photo Credits - brandingpersonality.com, yourcoffeebreak.co.uk, krusecontrolinc.com