Social Media continues to provide us with the opportunity to meet amazing people. We recently exhibited at Dance Teacher Summit in New York and it was wonderful to see how many internet friends came up to our booth and introduced themselves. I commonly heard, “Hi, are you Jose? The person behind the company’s Facebook page?” or “Hi, we’ve connected on Twitter. I just wanted to stop by and introduce myself.” Social media takes away the awkwardness when meeting people you already know so much about because of a virtual network. Having a presence on social media has facilitated the way we meet each other and connected us with many incredible people. While at Dance Teacher Summit, I met new people for the first time, but as I mentioned, I also got to meet many individuals I knew from Twitter. And even though we didn’t plan on having an official tweet-up, our twitter community did end up hanging out together. Suzanne Blake Gerety, business owner of DanceStudioOwner.com, put it best in her recent note on facebook, “The ripple effect of a tweet can’t be measured.” She’s spot on! Some of us see the benefit beyond the advertisement of our product or services and trying to gain new business. Social media continues to function as an everyday tool to establish new connections and grow them.
People who are only pitching their services or products are missing the overall picture. Social media is a platform to meet and greet people. It helps us connect and build relationships that in turn can lead to business. It is important to be accessible and resourceful to as many individuals as we can, regardless of industry. In the end, you don’t need to pitch to anyone; in wanting to return the favor, they gladly become promoters of you and your brand. Social media definitely enhances our relationships and expands our knowledge all around.
We all get asked from time to time the million dollar question, have you seen a ROI in using social media? My answer to them has always been the same; yes, we have acquired new business, but not because we are constantly pitching, but because of the relationships we make and the interest we spark in people to see what you do for a living. I know I put a lot of time into social media, and my time will never be compensated monetarily, but the new friendships it brings me is much more than I can ask for on a personal level.
I’d like to close my post with the following thought: The most important thing you can do on social media is to be yourself. Everyone can see through fakeness. I’ve encountered my share of superficial people only looking out for themselves and I rather not be part of their world. My solution is to un-friend, un-follow and/or block. My experience at Dance Teacher Summit was real; online friends turn into long lasting friendships. I met real people behind their brand and people who I can continue to learn from no matter what industry they find themselves. I’d like to hear your personal experience whether good or bad with meeting new people you’ve engaged on social media.
A big thank you to the following people for making my time at Dance Teacher Summit that much more memorable:
Marc Kirschner from TenduTV, Suzanne Gerety from Dance Studio Owner, Chad Michael Lawson from Real Deal Dance Marketing (congratulations again on your newborn baby girl Jay Leigh Bella Lawson), Leslea Clark from Uptown Dance, Maria Hanley from Maria’s Movers, Nichelle Strzepek from Dance Advantage, Patty Rose from Dance Meets Fitness, Ashani Mfuko from Kiner Enterprises Inc. and Lori Incardona from Seton Hill Dance Academy.
