The Attention Level
If, as a brand or a individual, you’ve ever been using recent social networking tools and older ones like RSS feeds, Google Alerts and the grandfather of social networking, the email, you’ve certainly reached a point where you were wondering how you’d be able to follow all the chatter that was happening in front of your eyes.
Paying attention is becoming of the utmost importance in such an online world. Here’s why.
Your influence network
A recent study by HP Labs specific to Twitter, shows that people with a high number of friends (two-way connections with engagement) related to their number of followers (one-way connections) are the most active. It’s what drives people to use micro-blogging on a more regular basis.
It’s basic and every social network user should know that: there’s a difference between your online network (total of people connected with you) and your influence network (people actually listening).
Reciprocity
While it’s easy to gain a lot of followers on Twitter, especially with tools like SocialToo that automate the courtesy of reciprocating a network addition, it doesn’t mean much in terms of influence.
That only creates a two-way connection, but doesn’t mean that people will actually be interested in what you write, less be influenced or even bothered to read your messages at all.
Change of mindset
The quality of the message, as in a brand website or blog, remains of the utmost importance.
However, as Twitter blurs the line between a blog (mostly a one-way communication) and an instant messaging tool (a two-way communication), dedication to the follow-up becomes tantamount.
Like in any real-life discussion, the attention level is what people will feel.
Do not reciprocate the lack of attention that people might have, drowned in all the chatter they’re seeing on their screens everyday.
Do not let them feel ignored.
Discuss with them, relate with them and they will enter your influence network.
The lack of attention
The lack of attention is also towards your brand message: did you ask yourself why are you getting on Twitter?
Do you want to know what people say about your brand (research)?
Do you want to simply get a message across (viral marketing)?
Do you want to learn & share with current and future customers (engaging)?
Set a clear goal.
If you want to engage with people, is it for support reasons? To create an Apple-like devotion of followers? Tell people about new products?
Set a clear goal and stick to it.
Then, define the level of attention you’re ready to give.
Be modest at first:
The cost of declaring a new followee is very low compared to the cost of maintaining a friends
says the HP Labs study.
Following-up at the individual level is a daunting task. Set limits to what you’re going to do, so that everyone’s clear about why you’re on Twitter.
Then only you’ll meet your followers expectations and draw them into your influence network.
