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I came across Kelly’s “An itinerary for doing nothing” post this morning and it got me thinking about how a little bit of “doing nothing” can also improve your social media results.
Kelly describes two personalities, the dealmakers “who eat soup at their desks and work 15-hour days” and the creators “who take walks in the middle of the day, who dare to sleep a full 8 hours….”
We use aspects of each of these personalities every day, but when it comes to social media (which sits at the crossroads), be careful to balance the dealmaker (“do something”) with the creator (“do nothing”).
I know, you’re thinking:
But, [insert your "expert" here] says that I need to publish three blog posts a week and five tweets a day and then send out my newsletter twice a month and don’t forget to check my stats daily, and…
And really, none of that is bad advice, but if you’re spending all of this time focused on post/tweet/check stats (“do something” stuff) are you taking enough time to rest/recharge/imagine (“do nothing” stuff)?
Are you so busy “doing something” that you forgot that your goal is to connect with your audience and provide them with valuable information with a personal touch?
Well, adding value and making it personal both take some “do nothing” time to create the message and “do something” time to get it out there…
- When someone tweets you a “Great post” reply (@) or direct message, that’s nice; when they tweet “Awesome guide to doing [ABCD] from @[you] – [linktogreatarticle]“, that’s meaningful.
- When someone posts (yet another) article on “How to get more followers on Twitter“, well, I guess someone will find that helpful; when they post an article on “How I’ve been successful building relationships on Twitter one follower at a time“, that’s meaningful.
In each of these cases, the first “do something” response did get the message out there, but the second response also reflected at least some “do nothing” time to make the message more meaningful.
(And if you don’t think crafting a meaningful RT takes that much creative juice, do 10 of them tomorrow and then let me know what you think.)
Just imagine…
- How would your social media regime differ if you radically expanded your “do nothing” time?
- What content would you create if you were relaxed, vibrant, and happy instead of busy, busy, busy?
- Who would you want to connect with? Relaxed and vibrant or busy, busy?
- Who would your audience rather connect with?
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