Every time we turn around we are being told by the experts that we need to be blogging, be on twitter, dive into social media – and start making conversations and interacting with people – developing relationships. We are scolded and told we need we are not to be “all about me”. We are warned that not engaging with those who are reaching out to us – is the very worse offense. And “the experts” are right.
What troubles me, is the very “do as i say and not as I do” attitude of these experts. This past weekend, one of them asked me, pleaded with me to please come by their blog and say hello, because so many of his hundreds and thousands of readers never do! “Just say hi!” he says.
I commented:
Why Chris? Listen I like you, i enjoy reading your emails and stuff. I’ve watched most of your vids, read Trust Agents… I’ve tweeting to you, I’ve RT’d you, I’ve commented on your thoughts or forwarded your posts – but not once have you even acknowledged any of it. You have many thousands of followers, you have God knows how many subscribers to your blog – and I’m sorry – but after a while – it just becomes a little fake to me. I love what you preach, but not how you practice it – and i speak only for myself. I make sure i take the time (and GOD knows it takes a lot) to interact with those who interact with me and that’s why I have no aspirations to be a “Chris Brogan”. Some of “you folks” have a lot of interest, eyeballs, readers and followers – but we both know after a certain level -you can’t keep up. And as soon as you get to that point – you start moving into hypocrite territory. I like you Chris, I like what you say – but please – don’t do a blog post or tweet about how you want my input and then can’t even acknowledge it. That’s not cool.
I noticed after my comment he started acknowledging people’s comments – even at one point saying – “oh but see how much WORK this is???”
Dude. You asked for it. Don’t complain to me.
Bottom line: don’t ask for someone – be it a client, customer, donor – anyone – to engage with you and not acknowledge it. Don’t tell someone that these are the rules but you don’t need to play by them. Don’t complain that you are so important to so many people that you can’t do the very things you are constantly telling them to do. Especially when you are the “expert” in this kind of thing.
Just a reminder: please resubscribe over at our new blog which can be found at: http://blog.agentsofgood.org
Whereas a large percentage of people would have taken the “easy” road, gone to his blog, and said “hi”, you shot straight. Your email to Chris is admirable. Takes balls to be honest sometimes (which is ridiculous, but true). This is why you are rad and I do not feel fake telling you that on your blog comment page.
Thanks Kim for your thoughts as always… i really appreciate you coming by and please remember you can now subscribe over at agents of good!!!
Great post and so true.
If you want customers or readers to care about you, you have to care about them first. And that means a two way conversation.
As with any successful relationship, it takes give and take from both sides.
Thanks Ted. This post keeps hitting my brain. I would love for one of these “folks” to tell me why I am way out of line, or way off base. Like i said, I get it. you have 100,0000 followers. It IS a lot of work to keep up with them – but stop trying to engage with them if you can’t be bothered to engage back. It all seems a bit fake and hypocritical to me. Thanks for commenting.
[...] John Lepp questions social media experts who preach about the importance of engagement, but build such large followings that they either can’t – or won’t – make time to acknowledge and respond to the people who engage with them: Bottom line: don’t ask for someone – be it a client, customer, donor – anyone – to engage with you and not acknowledge it. Don’t tell someone that these are the rules but you don’t need to play by them. Don’t complain that you are so important to so many people that you can’t do the very things you are constantly telling them to do. Especially when you are the “expert” in this kind of thing. Share Can You Manage the Engagement? [...]
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