Meaningful Conversations

When a builder or remodeler starts dipping his toe into social media, they often quickly get hung up on what to say. Some talk about the pros and cons of Tim Tebow being the QB of Denver, while others use social media to call attention to milestones within the company, such as awards won, an employee’s anniversary with the company or another townhouse sold. Neither approach is necessarily wrong, but if you want to be effective in using social media in your business, you’re conversations need to be deeper.

Before I explain why I feel this way, let me share with you what happened to me at the grocery store last week. The cashier I got was a rather chatty lady, and since it was the first blustery winter day of the season, the rawness of the weather was on the top of everyone’s mind. I made the casual comment to her, “It is days like today that I am glad that my husband and I did not take that duty station in Alaska.”

That was a springboard to an extremely interesting conversation. She, too, was a military wife and when her husband served in the Navy in the early ‘80s, they were stationed in Iceland. She told me that although it wasn’t as cold in Iceland as one would think (“It’s actually colder here in Pennsylvania.”), she did note that the white-out conditions from the wind were brutal. When I asked her if she felt isolated living there, she told me that she received some sound advice from a fellow military wife: Get a job right away. She was glad that she did because it made the time stationed there easier.

You may be wondering what social media has to do with a random conversation that I had with a cashier at Wegman’s. A lot, actually.

Meaningful conversations are always just one interaction away … if you let them be. Think about it this way: How would the conversation have gone had I said to her, “I recently won an award!” or “My employee, John, has been with my company 10 years this week! Congratulations John!”? It wouldn’t have gone far, right?

Sometimes, this is precisely what the contractors are doing when your Facebook posts and Twitter tweets are all about YOU! You aren’t stimulating the conversation; therefore, you aren’t adding any value to the person on the other side of the conversation. Instead, you are like that toddler who interrupts the real conversation. Remember, it shouldn’t be about you. It should be about the value you can add to the conversation – for them.

One of the nifty aspects of social media is that it allows you to have those random encounters that springboard into meaningful conversations. In social media it is much more important to listen and pay attention to people than it is to talk. What’s on their mind? What can you do to help them? How can you get to know them better?

Now, I may or may not ever see that cashier again, but she made an impression on me. I will forever know her as the lady who survived an Icelandic station in the early ‘80s (not a small accomplishment). I know a little bit more about her because of it wasn’t all about me.

Similarly, through social media, I’ve met a painting contractor near Burlington, Vermont who is also a snow-enthusiast. I’ve met another contractor from a little town in Maine that isn’t located too far away from where Jason and I vacationed one year with our “girls.” And I’ve meet a kitchen remodeling contractor from Orange County, California that is quite sharp when it comes to social media. I learn something new from her every week.

I would have never met these fine folks if all I did on social media was constantly promote my services and talk about how frustrating the Washington Capitals hockey program is this season (and how difficult it is to see that Mike Green is still on IR). Sure, I definitely share those thoughts, too, but my approach to social media has been to participate in a conversation with people. Get to know them, and hopefully down the road, hopefully have a few conversations that turn meaningful – so I can discover even more about who they are as a person – and business.

The next time you log onto Facebook or another social network, think about how you can have a few more meaningful conversations, too.

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