There is plenty of noise on social media and often times I question whether I am interacting with a real human or is just a bot?  Who do I respond to? Or do I even respond to them? This shift towards automation has created a negative impact on how we use social media. So what should I do? Join those who are here to make social media human again.

Respond Regardless

What do you have to lose? Social media is about connecting and interacting with others who you may never have the chance of meeting in person. Whether you are in the United States or across the world in Asia. The power of social media has created a human connection like no other. Even connecting with highly influential thought leaders or even big businesses, has become easier than ever. You’ll be surprised if you send out a tweet, you may got a response. While it may be someone on their social media team and not personally them, getting a response still creates a stronger relationship.

Have you ever sent a tweet to Starbucks? They are a great example of a team that responds but more importantly is actively listening. Even a simply “thank you for retweeting” or “hello, thanks for following” goes much further than not responding at all. My biggest thing I have come to learn with social media is that you must respond regardless. Create relationships with your audience and connect further than just following or adding.

Think Face-to-Face

When you receive a new tweet just think of it as someone is talking to you face-to-face. It would be very rude ignore and not respond. Also would create an awkward silence. Social media has grown to this phenom of i’ll just respond to whomever I feel like. While not everyone has the time to respond, but making the effort to will resonate within your audience. Seeing an active user on social media responding, retweeting, or sharing can bring your profile ahead of your competition.

As a marketplace, it is important to listen to what others have to say and take in that feedback. The only way this can happen is if you are having conversations and having that mindset the user on the other side of that screen is face-to-face. Now I am not saying you have to be on your phone 24/7 and respond to every single tweet but do try and respond within 1 day. Big companies have more resources and budgets to respond within minutes but as your marketplace continues to grow, it simply is not possible at the moment.

Be Human

As easy as it sounds, many of us don’t do it. Marketplaces left and right are looking for ways to save time and incorporate more automation. While automation is good, but too much is a bad thing. Don’t get me wrong, I automate tweets to go through the day to educate my followers but NEVER do I automate my responses. If I automate all my responses, what’s the point of “social media”? Be human with your audience by posting GIF’s or funny meme’s that you see (if appropriate to your audience). Show your followers that you are just a normal human being and are just like one of them. We all have to start somewhere and showing that you are staying true to yourself along the way speaks high volume to fellow users.

Make social media human again! Let’s stop with the bots and automated DM’s and just be real. Social media has grown to millions of users on a daily basis. Let’s not ruin it with all the spam messages and automated responses. While it may make your numbers look good temporarily, soon enough you will notice that the connection you thought you had made is really not there.

If you need further assistance with your social media efforts or want to talk about your marketplace, simply send us a tweet @NearMeCo!