Proper Grammar

On a side bar, after talking with some people about this blog I want to answer a few questions first before I talk about today’s topic. The first questions I got asked was: “Why do you not grammar check and spend a lot of time proof reading and making this blog look professional like a news paper?” Well I liked this questions first of all, now it is not that I can’t type or know basic grammar skills and English skills, I worked for 3 years for a news paper doing a column about daily living, Now one of the things I HATED about that column was that it was absolutely flawless (since had to be) and it didn’t sound personal. If I am talking to people either over the internet or over the phone I want to talk to that person as if they are a friend. So you might ask: Why Adam? Well the question is simple in a one-on-one setting such as this, even though more than one person reads this but you get the idea, it acts as a customer service tool in making that person feel like he or she matters.
So should you not do this on your blog since it is a professional area? Well yes and no, I do it to prove a point about social networking. Now of course on your social network pages you do need to have your information spelled right and use proper grammar but, I will get to my main point next. So what point are you trying to prove Adam? Let me answer that now.
One of the biggest mistakes I see in social networking and I want to focus mainly on facebook today, is not putting yourself in the mix. A Business can start discussions, answer questions and messages but still not be truly in with their customers. When starting a discussion do not just sit to the side watching people chat about the topic that you have posted, jump in and talk about your opinions and feeling about that topic. Debate the customer in a friendly matter about the topic and really make that person feel like you are “Just one of the guys.”
The next big thing is when responding to messages and wall post really answer them, and by that I mean do not give a generic answer but think of how you would feel if you were the one writing the post of message and respond to that feeling. We hear all the time in business “Keep your feeling out of it” but the truth is sometimes you need feeling in order to get through to customers. Social Networking is a good place to put a little bit of feeling into your answers and thoughts.
Remember customers want to feel like they are in the board room making the decisions with you, a customer wants to be talked to like a person not someone that you just want their money. So put in some yalls and aints and make them your friend. I even see the red under scores and wow does it look nice.

Adam Pool
The Social Guy