Also happens to be the easiest one to fix – Inconsistency.
Consistency of Effort
If you study the habits of those who have been – and still are, very successful with social media, you will discover they are committed to this craft. They have blogs that go back many years that are visible evidence of their willingness to consistently serve their readers.
They will all give slightly different reason for this consistency. Mostly, you will discover they simply enjoy what they do. They enjoy sharing and adding value to a community. Notable examples are Seth Godin, Brian Clark and Sonia Simone, and Chris Brogan. Social media is work if you are going to be consistent, so you need a reason for doing that if you plan to go the distance.
Consistency of Innovation
Unfortunately, it is possible to work consistently and still accomplish little. The effort may be there, but something is missing. All good bloggers are compelled to be relevant to their audience by innovating. You can do more research, change your topic, or just try new blogging strategies. Here are 27 blogging tips that will help you find your sweet spot.
If you read of few of Seth Godin's recent posts, you will discover they are quite short, sometimes only a dozen sentences. Yet, if you go back to his work before 2005, his posts were easily 300 – 500 words. Is the value still there? Absolutely. In fact, Seth's recent economy of words is a means of adding more value for time-starved readers. That's innovation.
Consistency of Application
If you are applying what you recommend in your blog or social media work, then you are being not just consistent, but congruent as well.
Have you ever noticed how many social media experts can talk up all of the new technology, but they can't quite seem to show you how its used – and most importantly, how YOU can use it to get results in your business. You begin to wonder if they indeed know how.
That's a big mistake for my audience of small businesses owners and entrepreneurs. So, if I'm not giving you enough how-to in this blog, which is what I try to consistently do, please let me know by leaving a comment.
Proof
For several months I have been playing around with Foursquare, the location based social networking service. You haven't seen me comment on it in detail because I wanted to learn more than how it works. I especially wanted to learn how it can work for small businesses owners like you.
Today I made a breakthrough in my thinking that supports my hunch that this service will be valuable new tool in your social media toolbox. What I'm trying to say is this: I'm not one to say, "Hey kids, Foursquare is cool!!! Check it out." There's no value in that. So, look for an insightful post on Foursquare this week, if not tomorrow.
I know a blog doesn't have to be perfect, and most aren't, including this one. However, when you have standards, I believe you should consistently live by them.
To do otherwise on this social platform that amplifies who we are can be a big mistake.
Photo Credit: Ohad
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