Chris Brogan has such a great post this week on how to not be ‘That Guy’ in the social media space. You know who he is. The kind of guy that incessantly updates his profile with pointless drivel, the kind of guy who sends out 50 tweets a day about how his services, or abuses e-mail and text messages with repetatitve information, or ‘how I can help your business’ posts?
Problem is, we have all been that guy at some point. Or he’s a a person we really like but wish they never discovered Twitter or Facebook.
Chris’ post breaks is down for us with a great Analogy. The Picnic. Without trying to steal his thunder and risk being that guy, I’ll give you a quick excerpt, but really think you should go read his whole post.
10 Ways to Build Relationships Before You Ask for Anything
- Comment on and reply to other people’s observations, posts, and ideas. (Sometimes, just retweeting someone’s status message in Twitter is a gesture that matters to people.)
- Share good information freely, such as pointing to great blog posts or articles.
- Make virtual introductions when you see obvious like-minded people who could do to know each other.
- Create useful media like blog posts or ebooks or videos that help people.
- Find mutual interest points and talk about them. (Bonus points to you if they’re off-topic from your business needs, like talking about the Red Sox or Barbecue.)
- Remember things about the other person, such as whether they have a big meeting on Thursday, and ask them about it on Friday.
- Help when someone is promoting their thing. Spread information for other people liberally.
- Find causes and nonprofit experiences to help out. Showing that you’re not just a capitalist pig goes a long way.
- Reply to people and build conversations.
- Thank people when they’re helpful.
To take Chris’ post just a bit farther – how can we as a community help ‘that guy’ from ruining our picnic? Is there a way to subtley tell them that their constant self promotion isn’t helping, but is really bothersome? Or should you de-friend and unfollow until further notice?
So, like I said, if you have a few minutes, check out his whole post. It may help you if you’re confused about how to interact and market your skills in the social media sphere. Or it may help you help someone else. You know, ‘that guy.’
