Yesterday on Twitter I started getting tweets from people saying that their copy of Think Like a Rock Star had shipped, or a few even posted pictures of the book as it arrived. SUCH an amazing feeling for an author to see others excited about receiving my book!
And of course I made a point to thank anyone that tweeted that they had ordered the book. Then something interesting started happening. I began to notice that people were favoriting my tweets thanking them! Really? Are we so conditioned to being underappreciated that we feel the need to favorite a tweet where someone thanks us? I had people thanking ME for thanking them!
This is another reason why I think that most people, brands, organizations, etc make proper social media usage way more complicated than it has to be. When I say ‘thank you’ on Twitter to someone that has helped me, I’m not being a ‘social media expert’, I’m being a decent human being. In much the same way that using social media doesn’t make you a ‘social’ person, if you treat others with the same kindness and respect via social media that you do offline, you’ll be respected and appreciated online as well.
Don’t make this stuff harder than it needs to be.
Want to instantly get more comments on your blog? Get in the habit of saying ‘thank you!’ when someone comments.
Want more people to share your content on Twitter? Get in the habit of saying ‘thank you!’ when someone RTs you.
Reward the type of behavior that you want others to engage in. In other words, appreciate and thank the people that are helping you, and they will probably keep doing so.
PS: Thanks to everyone that has ordered Think Like a Rock Star. Amazon actually RAN OUT of copies but I’m being told there are more on the way. You can order your copy here, and if you are still on the fence as to whether or not you’ll enjoy the book, please check the reviews.
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I agree Mack. Especially if you want people to come back!
Thanks Frank 😉 But seriously, so many bloggers never reply to commenters, never engage them, then complain about how little engagement there is on their blog.
Really?
Stumbled across your site today, and this post resonated with me the most. I adore social media and marketing. I’m still in the beginning stages of my career. I’m currently an intern for a digital marketing team. I’ve been engaging with other marketers online more lately and offering my own experiences, sometimes puzzled why they’re deeming an “expert” when they have been in the industry way longer than I have.
Most of the time, I’m just making simple observations (or at least I think so) or sharing what I’ve learned. At first, I thought maybe it was because I was one of the first generations that grew up with computers. You said it best when you wrote: “I’m not being a ‘social media expert’, I’m being a decent human being.” That’s been my thought lately while interacting with marketing professionals. Much like the real world, people need to use manners when interacting with people in the virtual world.
Hi Steph, thanks for commenting 🙂 I think the confusion comes into play for marketers because they are used to communicating in marketing messages. And one-way marketing messages at that. The whole two-way conversation model confuses them at first, till they realize that they need to stop acting like a brand, and start being social humans 😉
I need to do a better job of this for sure. The introvert in me (yes, true!) almost always wants to be quiet, but that’s no excuse for not expressing gratitude.
But I have to also say that I’m really turned off by all the “thank you” RTs that I see happening on Twitter. It seems so narcissistic, like “Hey everyone, look what Joe just said about me! Aren’t I great?” You can say thanks to someone with a simple, one-to-one reply and avoid looking like you’re promoting yourself. I kinda ranted about this in a recent blog post: http://www.smallbusinesssem.com/definition-of-social-media-expert/7114/
Seems to be a trend toward a lot of RT “thanks”, at least in my stream. I wonder what others think of this?
I think thanks are appropriate, Matt. I’m not fan of RT a link and saying thanks, rather I’ve adopted a technique I’ve seen others do and think it works well: at the end of the day, I’ll go through my stream and @reply anyone that has tweeted my links and say thanks. Usually a couple of tweets is all it takes – I’ve acknowledged people that shared my content and done it at a time that I hope doesn’t muck up the stream with a bunch of thank yous. I like it when people thank me, so I figure others do too. In any case, I think it’s almost always appropriate, as Mack says here, to say thanks.
Matt it’s interesting, I agree with you on the RTing a Thanks, it does scream LOOK AT ME!
But….
I am really doing the same thing with my book. If I see someone tweet a pic of it or that they enjoyed it, I am ALWAYS going to RT that, because I want others to see that people are finding the book valuable.
But the funny part is, if they were saying the same/similar things about ME, I would feel embarrassed to RT it. I would just say Thanks, direct to them. I think in my mind when I am promoting the book, it’s NOT that I am promoting myself. I have already promoted the book more in a few weeks than I ever have myself 🙂
Just an interesting observation, I am catching myself doing things to promote that I have never done to promote myself.
I agree – some of the oldest rules in business, in life, are still the best. Acknowledge people, make them feel good about themselves, their work. No one ever had their careers stalled when they built a personal reputation of being sincere and warm.
I’m a travel blogger and I’m doing a round-the-world trip in November. I’m going to take along tiny thank you cards with the word “thank you” colorfully written in dozens of languages across the card front. It’s a good chance to spread a little appreciation, friendliness, to all the people we encounter along the way.
Well, yes it is. Thank you seems to melt those icy hearts, but I think you must refrain saying Thank you all the time without it’s real meaning.