Are you more focused on building your “List” than how you actually engage with the “People” on that List?  In “The Social Quote” this week, we feature Scott Stratten,  President of  Unmarketing.  

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The Quote:

“You don't want a huge list.  You want an engaged list….the gold isn't in the list anymore, it's in the engagement.”  Scott Stratten.

The Source:

Scott Stratten's awesome book and a marketing-game-changer Unmarketing:  Stop Marketing. Start Engaging.  

The Takeaways:

This Quote really hits home with me. In fact I had posted about this very thing a little over a year ago just a month before I read Scott's amazing book, Unmarketing.  So it it was one of hundreds of statements in Unmarketing that resonated with me.

What can we takeaway from Scott's wise words?  Yes, by all means build a list.  Yes, by all means grow your following.  But don't leave them sitting there, like some sort of numbers on a spreadsheet that you never engage with! You are better off having 100 engaged, enthusiastic brand advocates that tweet out your blog posts, share your new products and rave about your services than 1000 people that you never reach out to after you receive their email address….and just as importantly who never reach out to you after they give you their email address (because they only really wanted to win that iPad, right?).

Let's use the analogy in the post listed above.

You need to invite your list to the social media cocktail party.  Don't leave them sitting in the corner without a drink in their hand.  By “party” I mean this:  Your list can be one of two things:

1. static (ie stuck in the corner without a drink in hand, watching the action from afar) or
2. dynamic (ie handed a cosmo, invited to join the conversation, engage, provide input and feel like they belong in your community).

Don't fall into the same trap as many marketers and treat your list as a group of people to market TO instead of as a dynamic “community” of people that you can engage WITH.  There are many ways to engage with the people on your list (making them feel valued, involved and wanting to tell everyone they know about you….like word of mouth on steriods!).

Start asking yourself how you can engage with all of those names in your database.  How can you find out more about the people behind the names?  How can you provide them with awesome content, ideas, resources and information?  How can you encourage them to comment, like, ask questions and participate? How can you really listen to them and what they have to say?

Treat them like you are on a first date…don't just talk “at them” but really encourage them to participate in the conversation….let them lead!  How can you give them a choice of ways to interact with you?  Are they Twitter users, Facebook Fans, YouTube watchers or Blog readers?  How can you make it easy for them to engage with you?

Find the answers to these questions and the size of your list won't cross your mind any more – you will be too busy keeping up with tweets, blog comments, likes, shares, emails…and sales!

Want More?

Find out more about Scott Stratten at his site www.unmarketing.com and check out his latest books.   Scott is an avid Twitter user, so be sure to follow him, and yes, he engages!  You can also follow his blog posts via Google Reader by adding this RSS feed.

Have you read “Unmarketing”.  Did you love it as much as I do?  Let's help build our “dynamic lists”.  Leave the contact details for your favourite social media link below and I will come over and say hi!  

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Donna Moritz

Visual Social Media Strategist at Socially Sorted

Donna is a Visual Content Strategist and founder of Socially Sorted, listed by Forbes as a "Top 5 Social Media Blog You Need to Know About in 2019". Donna helps brands leverage the power of visual storytelling and content strategy in their business. Her content has been featured in publications such as Forbes and Entrepreneur Online and she is a contributor to Social Media Examiner. Donna speaks about digital and visual content for the marketing and tourism industries internationally.

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