Social Media in Real Life
May 11, 2010
I was fortunate enough to get a media pass to the launch of the latest charity wines named for Red Sox players. Held in the opulent Foundation Room at the House of Blues in Boston, about a hundred members of the media and local charities sipped wine and watched NESN reporter Heidi Watney introduce the latest additions to the collection: “Chardon-K,” named for Red Sox pitcher Josh Beckett and “ZinfandEllsbury,” named for Jacoby Ellsbury, who plays left field for the Sox. Ellsbury was in attendance, but Beckett sent along his regrets after hurting his back taking swings in preparation for Interleague Play.
As I watched the photographers, videographers, broadcasters and journalists documenting the event, I realized that this small pool of media were about to disseminate the report of this event throughout New England in the next 24 hours. And from just a hundred people, the news will spread to thousands in a very short time. No need to host a concert at the Boston Garden and fill 14,000 seats. Just tell the right people and they’ll pass it on.
Social media works in a similar way. Posting news about your business on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter will be read and commented on by your friends and friends of their friends, so that people you’ve never met may find out about your business. On Twitter, a “retweet” by one of your followers will get lots of people you’ve never met (also known as “potential clients”) to check out your original tweet, which should include a link to your site. The more retweets, the better chance you have of picking up a new client.
Sometimes I get that deer-in-the-headlights look from people when I try to explain using Twitter or other social media sites to promote their businesses. Today’s wine tasting event is a good way to explain to the cyber-challenged how to get the word out without casting the widest net. You don’t need thousands of followers on your social media site of choice to draw attention to your business. Instead, you should attract the right followers who will check back regularly and, if you’re lucky, will retweet your posts for maximum results.
For more information on the event, click here.
I wonder how Dice-K feels about Beckett’s serving up Chardon-K? Who thinks up these names anyway? Tom Menino?
Maybe the Diceman is holding out for a nice Japanese rice wine. Call it Matsu-Sake.
I should work for that firm!
Really good post. Good to know for anyone who’s into social networking.