First Reading Response

You Had Me at Hello
Entering and Relating to a Conversation

As I find myself about halfway through with the course book, Groundswell, it is clear that so far the authors have one main point to drive into the minds of budding social media marketers and it is that social media marketing is a conversation. The concept of tapping into this online dialogue is quite a familiar one when it is likened to the physical world of interacting to which we are accustomed.

The book first explores ways to enter the groundswell. Like with any conversation, the approach needs to be thought out. Your first day in a new office, you see a group of fellow employees huddled around the water cooler chatting with one another, just as you would find in a forum, discussion board, or online community. This group is already familiar with one another considering that they all have been contributing to the water cooler conversations since they trickled into employment here at the office. Your approach to joining the conversation is something to consider. Do you walk up to the group and immediately make your presence known by introducing yourself? "Hello" may direct attention at you for a second, but it'll take much more than that to captivate the ears of a discussion forum (unless that discussion forum is Tom Cruise and you are Renee Zellweger of course). Do you wander over and linger on the outskirts of the group, waiting for a relevant moment to contribute to the subject? While executing one of these tactics do you first listen to the conversation and then comment on another person’s words? Or instead do you immediately bring up a new, but related discussion point of your own? All of these options translate into viable approaches to entering an online conversation; however some have proven more successful than others.

Listening was the most highly endorsed course of action in the book. When trying to join a conversation either with a group of people in the physical or online world, chances are you’ll receive a warmer reception if you first listen and learn from the people already in the group. Imagine walking up to those coworkers at the water cooler and immediately barging into their conversation with your own discussion points. Although they may humor you at first, since you’re the new guy and all, bets are pretty high that when you head back for your desk eyes will start to roll and people will ask, “Who’s this guy?” An online community rooted in a certain topic bands together around it. Just as the employees will question who the new guy thinks he is, consumers in an online community will join together and question what your motives are as the company. I think the best way to join an online conversation is the same as joining any conversation: listen to what the crowd is talking about and contribute in relevant and helpful ways. By connecting with what the group is talking about, you will be able to more effectively cultivate a relationship and in turn foster an even better line of dialogue.

One point that I had never really considered before starting the reading is the fact that a person can’t simple start a conversation anywhere. In order to start a conversation you must find people who are interested in discussing the same topics as you. If a business wants to enter social media marketing it isn’t enough to simply start a Facebook page and wait for the Creators, Joiners, Critics, Spectators, and Collectors to find you. Just like you can’t simply start talking out loud at the bus stop and expect someone to stop, listen, and reply (they would probably run, ignore, and avoid). Instead a social media marketer must go out and find the conversations. A lot of successful interactions with the groundswell occur when a business finds conversations already happening and relates to consumers through them. A person may approach a group thinking the conversation is about one topic, when in fact it is about something entirely different and that person must then adapt to contribute in a way relevant to a group. This is the same as a company finding a conversation about them that they may not have expected. Instead of ignoring this topic and starting a new one, it is important to respond to what the groundswell is talking about. Consumers may be talking about and relating to your company in a way you never considered before. So far I have learned that it is important to communicate with the groundswell in a way that interests them! Not only that, but now I’m sure I’ll feel much more comfortable at the water cooler for my first day of work tomorrow.