“Somebody might say something really bad about us, and we can’t have that.” That’s what he said to me. I hear this alot. You see, many businesses and organizations are paralyzed by fear that if they get involved in social media that they won’t be able to control the conversation. So they choose not to participate in the conversation.<\/p>\n
I can understand the fear. I don’t do things in my own life because I either don’t understand how something works, or I may have a fear of failure. I think we can all relate to that.<\/p>\n
So I want to offer my advice as we kick off the new year. When it comes to social media in general, it’s a two-way street. There are no two ways about it. It’s about a conversation. If you want to take advantage of what social media can offer you, then you need to take these 3 little words of advice:<\/p>\n
Get over it.<\/p>\n
People are going to say negative things about you because nobody is perfect 100% of the time. So just expect it. And keep this in mind…you can’t control what your customers say about you to their friends can you? And you know what? They are talking about you at the soccer game, in Wal-Mart, and in Sunday School. But with social media you have a distinct advantage…since it happens online then you have the opportunity to know about it and respond. That is huge. You like having a conversation with your customers, right? You care what they say and think, right? Yeah, I thought so.<\/p>\n
So make a new year’s resolution to grow some thick skin and just get over it. You’ll thank me.<\/p>\n