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I love holidays of any kind and if the opportunity presents itself to say, “Hello!” to someone I know then I’m all about it! Birthdays, Anniversaries, new babies – you name it. Everyone loves to have someone see them through the busy-ness of the day. It feels good!
It takes time to really see that person too, doesn’t it? I mean, between the phone calls, emails, and other daily transactions – we really have to stop what we are doing and write a few meaningful lines to someone. We want to make an interaction unique, or at least that should be our goal.
Recently, I reached out to wish someone a happy birthday. Rather than do it through traditional methods of mailing a card, I sent them a message on a social media account and told them I was thinking about them. I made it very personal too, writing about our last visit together and hoping to hear about their past year. Their response perplexed me a bit, though. They did say “Thank you” (which was nice and let me know they got my message) but then they sent me a link to a publication asking, “Do me a favor and share ____ with your followers!”
Wait…what?
Are we really moving so fast that we have to ask someone to help us share something in the same breath we said, “Thank you!“ ? Are we so much about so-called “efficiency” that we can’t let a thank you note rest on its own laurels and then send a separate message requesting our help? If there was a dislike button when I received that, “Do me a favor…” post, I would have pressed it!!
I saw a stat on Buffer.com that said :
On Twitter, over 80% of customer service related tweets are negative or critical of the brand in question,
…this is important to absorb. If you or your company is a “brand”, the fact that 80% of sentiment on brand’s Twitter accounts is expected to be negative hits hard, so a positive sentiment should be embraced! Don’t let those moments pass by! That’s some good vibes and mojo someone is sending you – – you never respond asking them to do you a favor. No – no – NO!
The busy-ness of financial services is ok as along as we still embrace each interaction with a personal touch, especially when it comes to social media. I couldn’t give two hoots about the conformity of brevity in social if it means having my messages make me look more jerky than genuine. It’s simply not ok to be in a hurry when talking to someone; everyone wants a little bit of your time. If you don’t have the time to talk to someone, why are you connected to them in the first place?
It made me really question whether the connection I have with this person is right for my unique audience. Is this person someone that is helping me grow as a person? Am I helping them be a better person through my interactions? Does this relationship still make sense today?
There are seasons and reasons for everything. Be sure you know which one you’re in with each connection, fan, follower, and friend.
Be bigger, better and more BIONIC today!