WHY DO CEO's DO IT?
I do it. Jerod Lazan of http://yourfurniturelink.com and http://mortisetenon.com does it. Chris Brogan (@ChrisBrogan) , owner of one of the most successful social media agencies in the country, http://newmarketinglabs.com and co-author of the new ” must read” book “Trust Agents” does it. Sarah Thornton , co-owner with her husband, Andy ,of Richmond, VA based retailer, La Difference (@LaDiff)does it. Linda Marshall, CEO of candle manufacturer http://imageglowcandles.com does it. KathyIreland, CEO of http://kathyireland.com (@KathyIreland ) does it and three other retailers are doing it for NaturaWorld’s (@NaturaWorld) Julia Rosien (@JuliaRosien) on Sept. 15th in Las Vegas.
What do all these CEO’S and leaders of our industry do? They help their direct competitors-in very tangible ways.
Why in the world, you ask, would they do that? With business as tough as it is and competition from every angle, isn’t it smarter to put up a strong defense and let the chips fall where they may for our direct competitors?
It may seem that way, but, if you ask Jerod Lazan - who operates a retail store right in the heart of LA in one of the toughest furniture retail markets in the country - he will tell you , “No, it’s not smarter.” Why would he say that? Why would Jerod and his three main competitors directly on La Brea Blvd. get together and jointly decide to send out an emailing on the exact same day - even though each store was having a separate sales event?
Why would I let you know that Stephanie Lowder, owner of Rare Bird Creative (@RareBirdCreativ) or Kathy Wall (@themediamatters) have both moved into the social media space for the furniture industry? Why did I introduce Leslie Newby, (@LeslieNewby) CEO of Brand Communications - a PR agency - to my client, Cargills’s BiOH Polyols, to work with me on Jessica Koster’s (@BiOH4ALLjk) account?
Why did Sarah Thornton (@LaDiff) answer Susan Dickenson’s (@SusanDickenson - retail editor for Home Accents Today (@HomeAccents2Day) call for ” the retailer that wow’s you the most” with the names of two of her competitors who also both have ecommerce capabilities and sell some of the same vendors online that she does - Cantoni (@CantoniDesign) and Circle Furniture (@CircleFurniture)?
Why did @KathyIreland, CEO of http://kathyireland.com choose to say publicly on her Twitter feed (where she has over 20,000 “followers”) that my client, Susan Ortiz - CEO and designer of interior designer fav line SHINE HOME (@shineeveryday) was “a very talented designer?”
Why did Chris Brogan - arguably the most famous person in the world of social media and owner of the social media consultancy doing the best work with the top brands in the country, choose to call out Brian (@copyblogger) in his new book “Trust Agents” by saying that Brian had many more followers on his blog than he, Chris, did?”
Why are three well-known retailers appearing on a panel at the Las Vegas Market on Tuesday, Sept. 15th at World Market Center Las Vegas(@WorldMarketCtr) for NaturaWorld ‘s(@NaturaWorld)’s Julia Rosien (@JuliaRosien) to talk with other retailers about their success in using social media?
We are all doing it, I think, for one main reason - and maybe some of us have a few others, too. I hope everyone I’ve listed will chime in and share why they are doing it in the comments section.
But, first, a bit of explanation.
IF you choose to use social media to engage with online consumers for your business, you quickly realize three things.1. It is real, potential customers that are CHOOSING to give their attention to your business. Whatever the social media platform you decide is right for your business’ objectives - FaceBook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIN (to name the big 4) ” if consumers CHOOSE to be your “fan” , “follower” “contact” or “viewer” they have a reason for doing so - which you don’t know.
2. Once you realize that consumers are really LISTENING to you - even if you, yourself, are not the one online with them, you realize that - just as in real life - these consumers are making decisions about what they think of you and your store/company by WATCHING how you are interacting with others that have ALSO chosen to listen to you. The consumer who chooses to “follow” you on Twitter, for instance, may NEVER choose to engage you in conversation directly, but, if they’ve CHOSEN to “follow” your store, they ARE LISTENING AND WATCHING - for SOME reason
3. It can seem as if these social media conversational platforms - and especially Twitter - are just you having a dialogue with one other person. And, that is PARTLY true. If you type a 140 character message and send it to me @tkpleslie, you ARE having a real time conversation with me! HOWEVER - and this is the BIG HOWEVER:
If your company is on Twitter with, let’s say, 1500, “followers” and someone else is on with 90,000 “followers” then anytime you send that person a message, THIS is what happens (pls. read this VERY carefully and if you don’t “get” it and, don’t worry, a lot of people still don’t even after explanation, please email me leslie@tkpartnership.com ):
Ready? Ok. Let’s say you send the person with 90K followers this tweet: “Hey @ChrisBrogan, just saw your new blog post at http://chrisbrogan.com and have a question for U.”
Ok. This is what happens: Of the 1500 followers you have, ANY of them that are online at the time you send Chris that tweet see you “talking” (the lingo is “tweeting”) with Chris. That is good for him because it means that his brand @chrisbrogan is potentially being seen by a new group of people - assuming some of your “followers” are not following him already - that he’s never met and, thus, in that way, they find out about him and may then make a decision to “follow” him, too.
Now, here is what happens next: If, with Chris’s 90K+ followers, he says back to you, “Hey @maybellinete, thx.4 mentioning my blog. Does SNUG have one, too? this means that any of Chris’ 90,000 followers that are online at the time he sends that tweet back to you have just seen YOUR brand name, too.
This aspect of conversational marketing - where it feels one to one but is actually one to many) is how you can raise your brand’s awareness very quickly - ( it’s called viral conversations.) As you can see you have gone from exposing your company’s brand to your 1500 followers, to , let’s say, maybe 40,000 or so new people (out of his 90K that are online at that time) and, more than likely, some of those will then “choose” to “follow” you since they now know you exist.
Back now to the question of “Why are people helping their direct competitors on social media platforms like Twitter?”
Have you figured out the answer?
Because, CONSUMERS are LISTENING and WATCHING all of us - in the furniture industry - talk to each other on Twitter. We are NOT just talking with EACH OTHER on Twitter. Our conversations are being seen by hundreds of thousands of consumers and they are DECIDING whom they want to do business with (based on a multitude of factors, of course) but what is the one factor -above all others (besides price) that encourages you to do business with one person over another these days? I think, and I want to hear what YOU think in the comments, but I think it is …trust.
So, whom does a consumer decide to trust?
The company they see holding everything close to the vest? Only talking AT them not WITH them?
Or, do they choose to trust the company or business who has enough respect for their time and intelligence AND enough confidence in their own service and product offerings to be able to share competitive information once in a while because they know it will save that busy Mom time - even if it means they might lose that particular sale.
We do it because we hope to earn your trust by showing you we know you have options and we respect your intelligence in making the best decision for your family and/or your business - even if it means you don’t choose us - this time. We understand hundreds of thousands are listening and, that by helping each other, we expand the business opportunities for EVERY stakeholder f in the furniture industry - even if means the pie doesn’t get eaten at our kitchen table - this time around.
When we work together like this and help consumers SEE and HEAR that we are a group of people who want to genuinely help them (vs. looking strictly out for our own self interests) that engenders their trust. They say to themselves, “Wow, that’s cool, Sarah just patted Michael on the back online to her 700 followers even though they sell similar products - albeit in different markets.” “I respect her for helping me save time - I will be sure to include her store in my short list.”
In today’s world, consumers are looking for the vendors that are acting out of the interests of the COMMUNITY - not themselves. They understand you need to make a profit - and they want those stores who listen to THEM, ENGAGE with them and ACT and GIVE FEEDBACK on their suggestions to succeed - wildly.
By building a vibrant online community and letting consumers know how much you respect them and how important it is to THINK about what furniture represents to them spiritually, emotionally, aesthetically and ecologically and where EVERYONE wins - even if it means you give your competitors a leg up once in a while - we create a bigger, more financially delicious pie.
It’s that kind of pie that would make me forsake pancakes. What about you?
Gail Doby commented:
Hi Leslie,
I understand your passion and applaud it because you know how much value you bring to your clients. If you have something meaningful and interesting to add to the conversation or to other people, you'll end up with the number of followers you have, and you'll generate revenue as a result of the value you bring. I hope you're being rewarded well for the work you do for your clients. For your critics, here's my two cents: If you want instant global visibility, Twitter is it! The branding, media interest you can generate (I've been interviewed five times by different magazines within a month) is amazing. It is about conversation and relationships. Leslie and I met through Twitter, we've been talking for months and just met in Las Vegas a few weeks ago. I wouldn't have known her if it weren't for Twitter. She was a speaker for one of our events this summer and she did a great job. We're talking about ways we can work cooperatively to help our respective industries, and that wouldn't have happened any other way. Luckily, we all have the choice to opt-in or opt-out. If you've opted out of Leslie's stream, you might just miss some valuable ideas, connections and information that can take your business to the next level.
Food for thought!
www.DesignSuccessU.com
Amir commented:
Hey Leslie,
Great comment, We are harnessing the power of Twitter as well as other forms of social media (youtube/facebook) and have had tangible sucess in brining in qualified traffic to our entertainmen centers site: milesgershon.com I would love to share my thoughts with you on strategies that have given us quality traffic as well as SEO placement for our properties.
cheers
Amir
amirstudent@gmail.com
leslie carothers commented:
Thanks to each of you who have taken the time to comment here-both those who are positive and those that are sharing your feelings re: why you have unfollowed me. I really appreciate it. I'm sorry to see some of you go, but, as I said in my LONG response-I understand and hope, one day,I may see you back. I hear you when you say I tweet too much for you and respect your decision to unfollow. I will miss you, though, just know that!
Maggie Sims commented:
We twitter with some clients, suppliers and end consumers-but have dropped following anyone who over does the tweeting.
Scott Jeffries commented:
Twitter is great-and I dont think anyone is doubting that Leslie is great-but its a fine line-between RT and spamming for your paycheque!
Anyone who tweets hundreds of times a day is going to lose followers
Lisa S. commented:
Leslie, I have learned SO MUCH about Twitter by following you (and Julia and many others). I have made some GREAT industry friends that I may not have ever happened across anywhere else. I've made great business contacts too. For instance when I needed bean bag chairs to sell, and couldn't find them anywhere, Steve from NCSU found me a contact that I now do business with regularly. Thank you for what you do. @flipfloplisa
Deborah Flate commented:
Leslie,
I think this article is absolutely AWSOME! I have always tried to conduct myself with the abudance rather than ego-driven self. When I was in sales, I never, ever hid what projects I was working on like so many others. I lunched with reps and traded information easily. I have to admit that I sometimes fall off the abundance wagon and then quickly take a walk, meditate or whatever I have to do to get me on the path again!
I want to respond to Matt's (and others) comments about tweeting too much (not that you need anyone to defend you!) BUT..I LOVE your tweets. They are almost ALWAYS great links, filled with tons of great information! Also, retweeting in not only trading great information, but it is doing exactly what this article is about..spreading the word to others! I have always thought that's what the definition of retweets are!
I also want to add that there ARE some (and, of course will NOT mention names) that get on my last nerve because their tweets are ALWAY self-promoting. Now..that's bothersome and looses effectiveness!
I have said for a long time, that I hope our paths connect someday. I think you are one of the great ones in our industry (and I have worked with a lot of peeps!)
Deborah
Steve commented:
Hi Leslie
Good read as always-however in this case I have to agree with matt-the key with Twitter is short meaningful, messages not a barrage every 2 minutes.
I do enjoy your posts-but I have have stopped following you now due to seeing 50 tweets from you an hour-
Hope this comes across as helpful criticism and not harmful
Sandra woo commented:
wow-10 bucks Matt doesn't read the reply-because its too long-guess you just made his point for him Leslie
Leslie commented:
Matt:
Thanks so much for taking the time to comment! I appreciate it. I don't know who you are as you didn't use your last name, but
you have given me a wonderful opportunity to explain why I tweet and RT so much and my suggestion for what to do if it becomes too aggravating. I recognize that I talk a lot on Twitter! Pls. read on for the explanation as to why. And, seriously, I take NO offense. I respect you and appreciate you for telling me your feelings about my tweeting!
First, and ESPECIALLY if someone is newer to Twitter and doesn't have a lot of followers yet-I WILL flood them and it is very easy to feel aggravated and want me to shut up and end up turning me off! I know! It happens. However, if people decide to choose to LISTEN AND WATCH, even though I am bugging them with all my tweeting and I try very hard 2 make sure all my convos lead to some yummy bite of the twitter pie FOR THEM sooner or later. However, if I am just TOO much, I respect anyone's decision to simply "unfollow" me. My passion for the furniture industry, my curiosity about and desire to connect with all the OTHER cool ppl. and things our world has to offer, my desire to use my skills at connection to make a difference in our world and then, my desire to share so much of all of it can be overwhelming for others but that is WHO I AM!
And, because WHO I AM isn't everyone's cup of tea, that's why I understand completely and never take offense if someone unfollows me! That's the easy way to get rid of my "noise" and that's also the cool thing about Twitter for ALL of us and, to me, it's true power - we get to see who people are choosing to listen to - OVER TIME, we can see who is listening to them by "mousing over" their followers(in other words - is it real ppl. or a bunch of spam bots, following that person?) and we then get to CHOOSE who to give our attention too! Twitter is so cool for its utter transparency. You can even "mouse over" someone's "favorites" to see what they think is important! Often, for me, it is things I find in the middle of the night that I think my daytime friends on TW would like, important info for a client, or info that helps me get better at my job. Once in a while, I favorite a particularly nice thing someone said about me as we all need encouragement that we're on the right track and making a tiny difference to someone else!
I am grateful for my friends on TW who ARE CHOOSING to listen and engage with me - LIKE YOU- but understand and do not EVER mind those that choose not to( and use no tool and do not EVER look to find out who has unfollowed me).
And, if someone is new or doesn't have a lot of followers, listening to me on Twitter IS overwhelming - as, most every day, I engage in real conversations with hundreds of people from all over the world because, first, it is my PLEASURE to be engaged and, secondly, because being engaged is my WORK- I am a social media CONVERSATIONAL marketing consultant for my home furnishings clients listed on my Twitter bio @tkpleslie!
Buried in all these conversations (27,000+ at last count) are the connections that provide the value that my clients hire me to produce for them as well as the wonderful personal, real life friendships that have blessed my life this past 9 months - all of which were first started on Twitter through a series of back and forth 140 character tweets!
Because, just as in real life, trusted, long-lasting, valuable business opportunities and friendships(not just the surface ones) are formed through....relationships. And, it takes...real time, real listening and many conversations for people to begin to trust you-esp. on a 140 venue like Twitter! However, now that I have been on twitter 9 months and people have gotten a sense of me and what I stand for (and don't stand for...like brevity!) KNOW THIS the co-branding opportunities, the revenue opportunities and the personal, real life friendships I have formed for my clients, my friends and myself through tweeting SO MUCH, RT'ing others a lot and just joking around and making myself transparent as a human being have been nothing short of PHENOMENAL.
I think if, and when (I hope!) people in the furniture industry and beyond begin to interview me or my clients about what has been created through being genuinely engaged in conversations with my friends on twitter - they will hear case studies of business opportunities being created at a VELOCITY never before seen (velocity to market = measurable revenue result) and, if they choose to ask me, AMAZING stories of the emotional enrichment that has accrued to me personally as a result of my committed, extensive engagement with my vibrant online community of fellow tweeple who are, for whatever their reasons may be, CHOOSING to stay engaged with me!(And thank you if you are one of those people who are reading this!)
Every day of my life - and I mean this with no hyperbole - an opportunity to help a very worthy cause (which I love to do)) an opportunity for a new personal friendship, a business opp. for a client, or a revenue/speaking/writing opp for my biz is happening. Look at how many direct messages I receive and you will get the idea.
So, thank you for allowing me to explain why I see so much value in continuing to tweet A LOT and helping others by RT'ing them.
Twitter IS real life - just shortened and non - verbal and, just as in face to face interactions - the golden rule, rules. Me? I love it when people share cool stuff and talk with me, so I do the same with them! BUT and here's the BIG but: TRUSTED and long-lasting friendships and business relationships take a lot of time and a LOT of back and forth conversations to form - just like they do face to face. THAT's why I will never stop tweeting so much! It takes a LOT of 140 convos to form them!
However, in my opinion, the REAL VALUE in twitter is this: it makes the possibilities available FOR FREE to all of us to MULTIPLY our opportunities for more INITIAL connections FASTER than ever before and that SPEED is something, if you connect with enough genuine people(which is why quality over quantity of "followers" is so much more important) - OVER TIME and in a real way - we can all take to our financial, spiritual and emotional banks!
Jerod Lazan commented:
Leslie,I was surprised by you listing me in the article, Thank you. At the beginning of the year we hired Leslie to help us start a social media campaign, at first I was a skeptic @ Leslie kept reminding me that we can reach way beyond our immediate network well she was right, new contacts=new clients.Thanks
Jerod Lazan commented:
Leslie, I was surprised by you listing me in the article, Thank you. At the beginning of the year we hired Leslie to help us start a social media campaign, at first I was a skeptic and Leslie kept reminding me that we can reach way beyond our immediate network, well she was right, new contacts=new clients. Thanks
Matt commented:
Hi Leslie
I really think you have your head around this thing-and your attitude is refreshing!
Twitter is great-and it is effective if its not overdone-
I have to be honest-you twitter & RT WAY too much, that it becomes bothersome and looses effectiveness-
just something to think about
