It’s hard to argue with Seth on this one. Social media offers a huge opportunity for businesses to connect with their clients and customers. It also offers an easy way to waste a ton of time. I like it when Seth said the internet has become “one giant cocktail party” where the users gauge their popularity by using certain metrics i.e. facebook friends and twitter followers. Attention is the ultimate currency. A business can have thousands of fans and followers in the world, but if it controls very little attention and there’s very little engagement from the “fans,” it’s spinning its wheels. So how do you rack up this attention? There are books being written about how to leverage social media to build up your brand, books like Trust Agents and Crush It. But for a short tip to rack up attention, you need to build up trust with your customers, clients, fan base, etc. And it takes time to build relationships and trust. Add value to people’s lives, for free. Be a place where they can go to for insight, information, and support. Instead of broadcasting a message, listen to what your folks are saying. I launched a fan page for my MLM law practice, The Advocate Group, for this very reason. I want to engage people in conversations, publicly. Facebook makes it very easy. There’s hardly any engagement now, but with consistent effort, I’m hoping that changes.

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