In today’s post I chat with social networking and marketing implementation specialist Kristen Beireis of the Coaches’ Marketing Source.
Linda: Kristen, I’ve never heard the term “conversation starter” before, related to social networking or content generation. What’s the difference between a conversation starter and a regular status update?
Kristen: A conversation starter is intended to get a discussion going. It’s not an “in the moment” or “this is what I’m doing” post, like a regular status update would be. This is a pre-planned update that is meant to stimulate a conversation with those in your network.
Linda: My new blog posts and ezines are automatically posted to my LinkedIn and Twitter accounts already – why isn’t that enough?
Kristen: Blog posts are great information and should be posted to your accounts, but there is much more you can do. Posting a blog link just says “read this,” and constantly broadcasting to your network can really get people to tune out. I’m sure there’s a conversation to be had around your blog post – you just need to find a way to invite people to engage in that discussion with you. That will get them tuned back in.
Linda: Great points, Kristen! So how do we do it?
Kristen: Expand on the content in your original blog post or article, and take it just a bit further. For example, you can:
- Ask questions that get a conversation going around the topic.
- Post controversial statements that get people to think about the topic.
- Start a conversation with a colleague to ask their opinion about the topic (you might want to email them privately first to let them know you’ll be doing this).
- Post quotes from some of the comments you received on the blog or by email (ask permission first for the email comments!)
- Ask people to share stories if they can relate to what your piece was about.
You can also include some “teaser” posts with links, the same kind of thing you might use as a promo or introduction in an article directory, but keep those to a minimum and focus on interacting with your network. People get tired of seeing those links all the time.
The point here is to create an engaging discussion around a topic that you are an expert in.
Wow, thanks so much to Kristen Beireis for stopping by and enlightening us about how go “beyond the link” when we share our content on social networking sites.
