HOW TO: Get Engaged In 10 Steps [Part I: Steps 1 to 5]

Thu, 19 Aug 2010 16:09:39 +0100

If you came in here hoping at the end of this you’ll get out of it with the man/woman of your dreams, then I apologize for misleading you but it was quite intentional!

However, what you can hope for by reading this post is learning how to activate your social media strategy and get engaged with your target audience. Whether you’re seeking potential clients, potential employers, or potential cultists, here are 5 of the 10 steps to get engaged with them:

1- Know your type: Obviously, you can’t get engaged if you don’t know who you want to get engaged with. So firstly, you need to sit down and chart the type of people you need to reach. Are they professionals? Teens? Family heads? What kind of activities do they enjoy? What are their interests? You need to also think beyond your direct target audience, and think of their peers or friends because those are your type’s next of kin and could most likely join your circle of engagement.

2- Scan your market: You know your type, so now you need to know where they huddle and where you can get to them. Easiest thing would be to do a quick scan and search online and see which social network has the largest gathering of your target audience. If it didn’t give you a clear answer, then another option would be to scan where your top competitors are focusing their efforts. They most likely target the same audience as you do, and might have the knowledge and intelligence to locate it. One far-off option is that you look around offline, reaching out to a few people who fall into the category you’re seeking and ask them where can one like you get in contact with people like them… just don’t ask in a creepy stalk-ish way!

3- Learn to listen actively: Now don’t go jumping into a conversation immediately and risking yourself saying something stupid, offensive or just lame. Before you can start engaging on social media, you need to listen to what your target audience likes, dislikes, appreciates, condemns, etc. Take your sweet time in figuring out and listing exactly what your audience would like to talk about or read about. Don’t just pretend that you’re listening thinking that everyone are the same, you need to actively listen and be able to understand the meanings behind what’s obvious… that is, what your audience really want to talk/read about. Another tip here is to check out the “trends”, as in Twitter trends, which would give you a hint of what the general masses are obsessing about currently, but that won’t be of much help if you’re only targeting a small niche.

4- Initiate conversation: Now that you’re equipped with divine knowledge, you can start off conversations with the topics you know would garner at least a few responses. Show interest in their interests, and talk about what they would enjoy talking about. However, a word to the wise, do not fake taking interest in what you don’t really like. Sooner or later you’ll be busted and you’ll come off as a fake or a liar.

Also, a tip here would be to expect being ignored by people at first because no one would just start talking to a stranger they’ve just met; and at the very least they would need to notice you before they can care about what you’re saying -it’s cruel but it’s true- and that brings me to my next point!

5- Be noticeable: Do you know Lady Gaga? Well who doesn’t… Even if you’re not a music savvy or a fan of her music or looks, you would still know who she is mainly because she’s very… noticeable! You don’t need to be the hottest, or the most popular or the kinkiest… but you only need a bigger dose of “you”, highlighting what makes YOU remarkable and different from the others, and why should people listen to YOU and care about what you say enough to actually react to it. A quick tip on being noticeable is not to be too general and common, try finding your small niche where you can be known for what you do best, at least among a small group of people… you know that they’ll be dragging their friends into it in the future as well.

I will leave you time now to start on steps 1 through 5 before I give you steps 6 to 10 which would help you close the deal, so stay tuned. [to be continued...]

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HOW TO: Get Engaged In 10 Steps [Part I: Steps 1 to 5]