Social Media now has a reported 1 billion daily users, that’s a lot of people, and most of them are talking. How much time do you spend talking, and how much of it is listening? If everyone is talking and no-one is listening, how important is what you’ve got to say?

We gravitate towards people who listen to us in our daily lives, and move away from the people that don’t, social media is no different. On a B2B level, if people don’t listen to you, you stop listening and speaking to them. One of the barriers people face when starting social media is the fear of not being listened to.

Social Media is about good communication and in good communication listening is just as important as talking, in fact more so. Aren’t the people who ask the questions and then sit back and listen, the most influential people you know? Isn’t it they who move from group to group who the most popular, rather than the ones who just love the sound of their own voice?

Social Media is full of businesses who talk too much, who tell people how fantastic they are, this is always a mistake with any social interaction – how do you feel when someone never shuts up about themselves, particularly when you don’t know them? You would like them a lot more if they took the time to listen first, perhaps then the things they had to say would be more relevant, wouldn’t they?

When entering a Social Media conversation, take the time to listen first. Understand what people are really talking about, don’t tell them how great you are, and if you can help, offer it with insight.

The difference between social and face to face conversation is that social is always recorded, it is always eavesdropped on and your body language is not there to save you – don’t make the mistakes you wouldn’t make in a room full of strangers.

Ascensor provides Social Media Training and Consultancy throughout the UK.

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