Just Say No to Negativity

Debbie Downers. Negative Nellies. Gloomy Gusses. Why do we feel we have to give cutesy names to people and for something that can be so damaging?  Negative people are exhausting and negativity sucks the life out of us.  They’re not cute.  Just say no, to negativity.

I recently sent a client the latest data and analytics on her social media plan and the numbers showed significant improvement in some areas and steady gains in a three month period.  She was ecstatic when we discussed the information and how to proceed going forward.

Then she talked with a friend.  The Friend said she tried to “like” posts whenever she could, but she really thought my client was wasting her time.

“You don’t have a lot of page likes”, she lamented.

“No one is going to hire you because of your page”, she scoffed.

“You really need to get out and talk to people”, she implored. 

“You need to send some calendars or monthly newsletters in the mail”, she said.

And my client was hurt and angry.  The Friend was probably trying to be helpful by pointing out everything she perceived as “wrong” so my client could “fix” her business.  This “social media thing” doesn’t make sense to The Friend or her experience with traditional marketing practices.

What The Friend couldn’t know from our end, was that online reach, engagement, and website traffic increased 70% this past quarter, far more than a traditional monthly newsletter in the mail would have garnered.  It generally takes a solid six months of traditional, once a month, mailing pieces for a consumer to start recognizing and remembering your brand. It may take up to another year before the consumer takes action to call you.

Which would you prefer, 1,027 impressions a day or twelve impressions a year?  Would you like to begin building a relationship with a customer today or sometime in the next 12 to 24 months? Now take both of these practices and integrate them. Now, you’re onto something.

It’s just a stepping stone, but a pretty good one.  Those impressions each day have grown my client’s reach, but more importantly, those “not a lot of page likes” converse and engage on a regular, daily basis with my client. No one cares if you have thousands of followers if only 10 regularly engage with you.

Quality over quantity. It’s that simple.

What The Friend also couldn’t know is that in addition to the online marketing, my client does very traditional and effective networking. She picks up the phone to have conversations with intent and purpose. She goes out to meet and greet various vendors in her industry. She sends personalized cards and letters. My client’s social media efforts are only a piece of her business marketing strategy, as it should be. Those efforts should get you offline and out the door to make face to face connections.

There are those who will play devil’s advocate to help you think of potential problems in order to avoid them or to have a plan of action should a problem arise. That’s not being negative. That’s helping maintain the control of quality and actions of your business.

There will always be naysayers. But frankly, unless they’re paying your bills, they really don’t have any say in your life or business. You’re running a business. You don’t have time for negativity, nor to be negative. Just say no to negativity-make it an actual part of your business practices. Surround yourself with people who will help you, not hinder you.

Be Well.  Be Present.  Be Social.

~Theresa

Related articles

• The Effect of Social Media on the Consumer-Supplier Relationship (business2community.com)
• Return on Social Media Investment (ROI) (tmapara1.wordpress.com)
• How Effective is Social Media for a Business in Terms of ROI? (business2community.com)
• Jayson DeMers: How to Use Social Media Listening to Build Brand Loyalty (huffingtonpost.com)