Show a genuine, natural interest in others
Posted: Tue Feb 18, 2025 5:04 am
#3 Make the other person want to do something
Ordering people to do something rarely works. Rows of management books have been written about the counterproductive effect that obligation has on employees. That you should actually encourage employees to do something so that they themselves benefit from it. The theory: if you get someone else to want to do something because it benefits them, then the chance is much greater that they will also want to do it for you. Ultimately, you will also achieve your intended goal.
This also applies to the contact that organizations have with their customers or fans via social media. The relationships between consumers and companies are often thin . Fans do something for you (participate in a community, co-create, participate in a campaign), because they benefit from it themselves. They learn from it, it gives them status, they receive compensation or win something. All valid motivators, but for nothing will generally not work. So put yourself in the other person's shoes, what he gets from participating in an initiative of yours and the chance of success will be many times greater.
Six principles that make people 'like' you
For Carnegie, the above three principles are fundamental in the way you communicate with others. Another important characteristic is the ability for people to like you. As empty as the word nice may be, it is still one of the basic principles that you want to realize as an organization within your communities. Carnegie formulates six principles for this that ensure that people naturally 'like' you. Of course not the way Carnegie intended it, but in the year of Facebook it is interesting to see to what extent these principles of Carnegie could contribute to a better, more fun and interesting community.
This principle has become one of our (Social Embassy) hobbyhorses in luxembourg phone number list recent months and is very similar to the above principle about expressing sincere appreciation. Of course, as a company you want and have a lot to say. But it is precisely about understanding what your community wants to hear and connecting with what they want to talk about. Dialogue can take place at the overlap between what you want to say as an organization and what your community wants to hear. And to understand what your community wants to talk about, a sincere, natural interest in that community is necessary.
The only way to get this out in the open is to listen, first participate in the periphery and slowly but surely take on an increasingly important role in the community. And if you are the initiator as an organization (for example in the case of a fan page on Facebook), then it is a daily activity to continuously engage in dialogue with your fans, ask for feedback and adjust your efforts to their wishes and needs.
#2 Laugh
Smiling is the best way to make a good first impression. As an organization in a community or social media, this is of course not easy. However, you can meet this principle in the way you present yourself.
C&A (disclaimer: customer of Social Embassy), for example, has chosen to put two employees centrally on the Facebook page . They not only physically manage the page, they are also actively brought forward in the community, in the avatar, in the welcome tab and in the messages themselves (with a sender). Of course they smile in the photo. The communication is also cheerful. In any case, it gives me a good feeling.
Ordering people to do something rarely works. Rows of management books have been written about the counterproductive effect that obligation has on employees. That you should actually encourage employees to do something so that they themselves benefit from it. The theory: if you get someone else to want to do something because it benefits them, then the chance is much greater that they will also want to do it for you. Ultimately, you will also achieve your intended goal.
This also applies to the contact that organizations have with their customers or fans via social media. The relationships between consumers and companies are often thin . Fans do something for you (participate in a community, co-create, participate in a campaign), because they benefit from it themselves. They learn from it, it gives them status, they receive compensation or win something. All valid motivators, but for nothing will generally not work. So put yourself in the other person's shoes, what he gets from participating in an initiative of yours and the chance of success will be many times greater.
Six principles that make people 'like' you
For Carnegie, the above three principles are fundamental in the way you communicate with others. Another important characteristic is the ability for people to like you. As empty as the word nice may be, it is still one of the basic principles that you want to realize as an organization within your communities. Carnegie formulates six principles for this that ensure that people naturally 'like' you. Of course not the way Carnegie intended it, but in the year of Facebook it is interesting to see to what extent these principles of Carnegie could contribute to a better, more fun and interesting community.
This principle has become one of our (Social Embassy) hobbyhorses in luxembourg phone number list recent months and is very similar to the above principle about expressing sincere appreciation. Of course, as a company you want and have a lot to say. But it is precisely about understanding what your community wants to hear and connecting with what they want to talk about. Dialogue can take place at the overlap between what you want to say as an organization and what your community wants to hear. And to understand what your community wants to talk about, a sincere, natural interest in that community is necessary.
The only way to get this out in the open is to listen, first participate in the periphery and slowly but surely take on an increasingly important role in the community. And if you are the initiator as an organization (for example in the case of a fan page on Facebook), then it is a daily activity to continuously engage in dialogue with your fans, ask for feedback and adjust your efforts to their wishes and needs.
#2 Laugh
Smiling is the best way to make a good first impression. As an organization in a community or social media, this is of course not easy. However, you can meet this principle in the way you present yourself.
C&A (disclaimer: customer of Social Embassy), for example, has chosen to put two employees centrally on the Facebook page . They not only physically manage the page, they are also actively brought forward in the community, in the avatar, in the welcome tab and in the messages themselves (with a sender). Of course they smile in the photo. The communication is also cheerful. In any case, it gives me a good feeling.