How many times have you heard someone comment that they do not care about the idle chatter their connections publish on the social networks?
This may be what they enjoyed for lunch, how blue the sky is today, and that they are loving life or otherwise … HAVING AN AWESOME DAY!
The truth is you should care about everything your social connections share with you.
Here are two important reasons why.
The Art of Caring – It’s the Right Thing to Do
For any relationship to succeed, there has to be certain amount of give and take. This is especially true when the relationship is one-to-one, such as a partnership. Yet, aren’t all relationships one-to-one?
Consider what it means to be a successful business in a local community. Every single customer, whether larger or small, expects you to care about them. That’s why they engaged in a relationship with you.
The culture of business is becoming increasingly social, and it is going to favor those businesses that find ways to care – even when they don’t.
The art of social caring is is doing so regardless of the conditions or circumstances – as a favorable outcome is most likely only possible as a result of respectful and gracious social behavior.
It’s the right thing to do.
The Science of Caring – It’s the Smart Thing to Do
When you show you care about your network of social connections by retweeting or otherwise sharing what they share with you, you are building the social graphs that communicate a great deal to the respective networks. What do these digital maps known as social graphs do for you?
- Reinforce the alignment you have with your closest connections, thereby keeping you connected.
- Encourage alignment with new connections that share their interests, which may well include new customers.
- Better describe who you really are, both offline and online. If that is someone that cares, that’s good business.
Have you ever wondered why Facebook delivers to your newsfeed the updates of some friends and not others? Do you want to get your old friends back? It’s very simple, makes comments and Like their posts to send a digital message to Facebook that you care.
Isn’t it interesting how digital social networking mirrors real life? Ignore someone and they go away – do the opposite and you have a friend or customer for life.
Facebook is notorious for manipulating what we all see in our news feeds. However, if you play the game well on sites such as LinkedIn by staying connected, you are guaranteed to build a network that will serve you well.
That’s smart for making friends and building your business.
How are you staying connected with your important relationships? Leave a comment below or on your favorite social network. You can reach the most popular ones with one of the share buttons below.
Until next time, Jeff
