Something has been bothering me lately, and it is just a little thing, but I wanted to share, as although it has been mentioned time and time again by some great names in social media, I am wondering why nobody is listening…..!
Are you leaving your social skills at the party door?
People…please send a personal message with your friend requests on Facebook! It is so simple, yet so overlooked!
Picture this. You walk into a party. You say your name to somebody you have never met in person and you hand them your phone number and say “call me”. Sound a bit odd? Open to misinterpretation? You bet. So think about it….sending a friend request without a little note attached is not all that dissimilar. Sure we can get away with it on facebook, and often the person will accept your friend request if you do it this way…but don’t you want to do it better? Don’t you want to stand out as someone who bothered to say hello and at least have a little conversation?
I know personally that I respond to friend requests much quicker if someone has attached a personal message. Not only does it show that they have bothered to find out something about me, or that they want to acknowledge mutual friends we have, but it just seems “warmer”. When receiving a request, I always go to the person’s profile (and fan page if there is one) and find out more about them…just so that I can respond when I (hopefully) accept their request. It starts a conversation. It starts the engagement. Think networking in the real world, going online. The rules are no different.
So consider these tips the next time you send a friend request: Find out something about the person that you have in common. Tell them if you would like to learn more about what they do. Comment on friends that you have in common and any mutual interests you may have. And of course, follow up on any real life conversation or meeting you have had. It only has to be a couple of sentences, but believe me, the person you are “friending” will appreciate that you have cared enough to make an effort!
So peeps, please please start making conversation when you “friend request”…I know that that I for one, will be more likely to spend time with you at the party if you try to engage with me first. ;o)
Donna Moritz is a Social Media Strategist and Visual Marketing Specialist – and founder of Socially Sorted, in Queensland, Australia. Donna loves to help small businesses and companies use visual social media strategies to get more reach, referrals and results for their business. She has been a contributing author for Entrepreneur.com, Social Fresh and Amy Porterfield and has been featured on Forbes and Yahoo Small Business. Connect with Donna on Google+ and other social media networks below.
