If you’re here after reading my 21 Ways to Create Compelling Content When You Don’t Have a Clue post on Copyblogger, then welcome! Enjoy today’s guest post, and check out our popular posts for more stuff that you might enjoy!
No need to talk about the important honesty, right? If we are not being honest with our communities and our customers then what the heck are we doing in business?
With the evolution of technology, there are new channels emerging every day that allow us to broadcast our messages to our communities and customer. Historically, the conversation between brands and consumers has always been a one-way dialogue. Today, the consumer has a voice and wants to talk, but more importantly, they want to listen and spread your message. They want to be engaged with great brands.
Because I approach my career as a business, I experienced this phenomenon first hand when I posted a video about being fired from my job about an hour after it happened. It was raw and emotional but more importantly it was 100% honest. I didn’t sugar coat it. It sucked and I was pissed off.
What was the result of being honest? …Over 200 tweets, 50+ emails, dozens of phone calls and texts, connections to recruiters, instant job offers and countless cups of coffees and beers with my community of followers.
I had one goal in mind. I wanted anyone with whom I hadn’t talked with in a while or had never even met to get in touch with me so we would have that opportunity. So I asked for that. In my video, I provided my email address and asked for people to get in touch so we could chat. That was my call to action. The response was nothing short of remarkable.
If this would have been a traditional business, we would have tracked this by looking at how many people saw the video and compared it to how many people got in touch (conversion rate). I can tell you, it was a very strong conversion rate. In business, these conversion rates are worth dollars.
See how this applies to your business? Being honest and asking for what you want is where we are right now. Technology has broken down all the barriers between brands and consumers and there is now a dialogue. Your customers are willing and able to spread an honest message, are you providing them that opportunity?
What dialogue are you having with you community?
Tyler Durbin is the founder and chief editor of GenYJourney.com. Through GenYJourney.com, Tyler shares his daily experiences as a recent college grad and young professional, and loves to talk with readers and followers about theirs. His professional experience include Organizational Management and Business Development with a strong passion business development, interactive marketing, and entrepreneurship. Connect with Tyler on twitter at @TylerDurbin.
{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Tyler
Congratulations! Wow! I’m impressed, this takes some serious guts. Recording a video in some of our darkest moments, this deserves a big big round of applause.
I think that we shouldn’t confuse consumers and community. I’m a member of several communities online, which has community leaders of which I am not a client. The same goes with some of the people in my community, there are many and we discuss a wide range of topics which often has little to do with their professional expertise.
My friend Srini wrote an excellent post today at Mark’s Schaefers’ blog Grow. We shouldn’t treat our communities like a room we need to work to get stuff from.
I am not saying we should speak to them about our business but I believe that the more we give, the more we get.
For anyone who wants to read it, the link to the excellent post on Mark Schaefer’s blog is:
http://www.businessesgrow.com/2011/05/11/when-it-comes-to-social-media-stop-trying-to-work-the-room/
Thanks John!
We are in the age where everything is transparent — so you have two choices 1) Do nothing, or 2) control the conversation. I’d much rather control that conversation and I think that’s a wise move from both a personal brand and company brand standpoint.
We might be mixing up terms but I 100% believe that community and consumers are very much the same. Now are all my twitter followers, potential customers of my business? Not necessarily, but do Zappos doesn’t want their 121,000 strong Facebook community to be consumers? Heck yes they do.
The difference now is that we shouldn’t be treating consumers like consumers anymore. We should be treating them like our neighbors. People who we keep in touch with, do good things for, etc., and when the time comes for them to need something, they are going to come for us. In the business world, they pay for that service.
What do you think? Did I stir the fire?
I think you did. This is starting to branch in the direction of censorship and free speech, and there’s an interesting conversation happening about that on John Falchetto’s blog. You should check it out and join in:
http://expatlifecoach.com/blog/thoughts-from-an-expat/why-having-a-voice-matters/
I think it’s quite the opposite. I don’t think having genuine conversations with your customers has anything to do with censorship or free speech. I think we’ve been censoring our customers for the last 100 years by not giving them a platform to share their interests, desires, complaints and praise. Now we’ve done that, and the companies that are doing it really well are wildly successful.
I actually linked to Tyler’s video in one of the weekly wrap ups at my blog. I thought Tyler’s raw honesty was one of the best examples of the use of video on the web I had ever seen.
Here’s to you from a fellow Columbus guy, Tyler!
Hey V! Good to see you made the trip over here! Cheers to our wonderful weather in Cbus right now!
That’s how I was introduced to Tyler, Vic – through your link! And I agree with you – not just about use of video, but about demonstrations of courage, too. Commendable.
Wow, really? The internet really does make this a small world.
That’s the cool part!
Hey Tyler what’s up, man! I just saw the video you posted the day you got fired. I can definitely tell there were a lot of different emotions surfacing and it’s all understandable, but your father was completely right – it’s just business.
I tell you what though, man I was really impressed with the response you received. It definitely goes to show what authenticity and the power of online networks can do if they are leveraged as they were intended to.
Browsing through your GenYJourney blog I can tell we have a lot of things in common. Let’s keep in touch Tyler, I just registered in your blog updates. I would be very interested in talking to you more in the near future!
Thanks Hector! I got the alert that you signed up…thank you!
The reason for the response is something I call “social credit.” You need to build that up by being on Twitter everyday, communicating with people, building relationships, being a resource and a connector…then when some goes wrong – you get to cash this in!
Business can do the same thing! You can’t be pushing stuff at your customers all the time always begging them to do certain things…you need to build that credibility.
What do you think?
Hey Tyler – what an honest, and raw video that was on the day you got fired. One thing that I really appreciated about it is that you didn’t even jump into the blaming game or making excuses. You took it like a man, you shared it like a man – and you felt the same emotions that any of us men or women would feel. I commend you for your honesty and pure vulnerability.
Danny – this is a great guest post. I’m happy to have met Tyler and will follow him here forward.
PEACE.
That was a pretty honest video, and I can see why it led to all of the positive response. At a time when people would normally be freaking out or having a breakdown, you showed people a calm, logical response to an otherwise awful situation which demonstrates great character and stability, plus someone who can keep cool under some intense pressure. Certainly would be nice to see more honesty like this in the world from people and businesses!
I agree, Kristi! I think we all need to practice what we preach…
First and foremost congratulations on your attitude. It’s obvious you are traveling with some great people in your life. The beauty of technology allows for so much to be shared and I am sure based on this post and that video, you will be just fine. You are such a professional and your honest approach is inspiring. As a baby boomer, if this type of technology was available to us when I was your age, who knows where many of us would be today. I put in 24 years of dedication, work-aholic as many of us did with a major corporation and in the blink of an eye the company did not think twice to let us go. As with anything, the glass is half-full and they did me a favor. My first reaction was not that way, as you can imagine, but a day later I was back. It gave me the boost I needed to start something I had only thought about. Technology today makes us much wiser faster and we can share. You inspired me with your honesty which is #1 in my book. One thing…you will always be in sales. We are sales people in all situations..maybe not always in title, but we are always selling our services (us), our products (us), or someone else’s (us). The difference is, it is your product, your services, your creativity so it “feels” better when you are selling it and putting in the effort. To your success, I am going to subscribe so I can watch you grow!
Thanks Michelle!
…and you’re right! We are all in sales.
Always.