The Day the Avatars Came Alive
Last week I was in Atlanta for a special event. This live seminar entitled Creating Irresistible Presence is a crash course on branding and marketing your business in alignment with your internal values.
It was a fantastic experience.
The presentations were thought provoking and some were downright electrifying. But aside from the fantastic content, what I most loved was meeting the people I’d connected with through Twitter and Facebook as this event came together.
How It All Happened
I worked behind the scenes with an awesome group of people to promote the event through social media. We met via email, Twitter and Facebook.
There was a separate team I was part of who coordinated the event. This team included the “chief” of the enterprise. We did all our planning through a weekly conference call and emails.
The first morning of the event, the breakfast tables were buzzing with friendly acquaintances meeting for the first time in person.
For many, Twitter or Facebook was their only point of contact with one another before today. But there was little to no awkward “introductions” because we’d already been introduced via Twitter. We’d had conversations with one another, been a part of Tweet Chats and of course, been gearing up for this event—together.
There were smiles and exclamations of delight as everyone matched one another up with their avatars. One of the guest speakers, author of the best-selling The Go Giver, Bob Burg, referred to it as “The Avatars Come Alive”.
Which pretty much sums up the whole experience.
In case you don’t know, the avatar is the technical term for your profile picture. And it’s been used in internet circles for years—long before the movie of the same name came out.
Our introductions via Twitter and Facebook and then in person was a form of “social proof.”
You’ve experienced this phenomena yourself. If not online, then off.
How Social Proof Works
If you’ve ever worked with others, you know how you get to feel you know their spouses and children before you’ve ever met them?
Why is that? It’s because you see their pictures and hear about them on a regular basis. When you meet them, you say, “I feel I already know you.” And, you do know quite a lot about them.
Facebook/Twitter and other social media takes this “3rd party” comfort level to the online world.
You may interact with friends and family near and far via Facebook. You’ll see who their friends are and maybe you’ll become “Facebook friends” with some them yourself—even if you’ve never met them.
This is “social proof”. It means you’ve developed a certain level of trust and likeability with someone you’ve never met based on the relationship they have with someone you do know.
The principle is the same as with closed networking groups such as Le Tip or BNI or even groups like Network Now or the Chamber of Commerce. It’s who you know. More importantly, it’s who you know who know, like and trust you enough to refer you to others.
How can you use social media to strengthen your relationships with someone else today? After all, people do business with people they know, like and trust.
If you need help learning how to use the finer points of Facebook and other social media outlets in your business, let’s talk. I have a limited number of two hour, private sessions available for just $98.
This one on one time will increase your social media comfort, help you create a plan you can implement and build your business online. You can reach me at 267-265-7291 or email.
