Greg Canty - Fuzion Communications
“What do you think of me?” is a strange question to ask anyone but every day we are putting ourselves out there in the firing line and whether you like it or not, people will judge you and are thinking of you either negatively, positively or neither.
My son recently told me it annoyed him how I use Foursquare as he ends up seeing updates from me constantly on Facebook about where I am and what I am saying about these places.
It got me thinking…
If that is annoying him then what does everyone else think of me, what do you think of me?
In the new world of communication with the different Social Media platforms making it much easier to spread your message quickly to a wide audience, those of you who embrace the available tools are asking that question on a regular basis.
Every time you publish a blog, upload a photo, upload a link, give an opinion, join a conversation, pass on interesting information, make a video or simply make a status update you are putting yourself on the line with friends, clients, very lose acquaintances and possible new clients.
Social Media without a doubt is a terrific way to convey information about you and your business, spreading valuable messages but if you get it wrong you can just as easily turn people off as you can turn people on!
While social media is very much in the fast lane we are still at the very beginning, with the functionality and features evolving on a constant basis and the rules and etiquette still forming.
Chris Brogan a very popular writer and total expert in this area published a book called “Trust Agents” where he acknowledges the power of the web to build your reputation but acknowledges that the most important stepping stone is behaving in a manner that first builds trust online. With trust you can spread your message, without it you can waste a lot of time and run the danger of turning people off you.
If you are going to dedicate time and resources on social media both building a following and spreading your message it’s vital that you get it right.
There are no right or wrong answers here but how and what you post and how you conduct yourself generally online will determine how people will think of you. Even how you set up your social media tools, the pictures you use of yourself and your even choice of features such as LinkedIn automatically updating from Twitter, which updates automatically from Four Square can also affect how messages are delivered and interpreted.
When I start analysing how I behave online there are so many unanswered questions:
I try to use a particular style of title that grabs attention for my blogs – does that annoy the reader?
I try to be a little informal and “unstuffy” with my posts – does that suit the clients I am trying to attract?
I talk about everyday things as well as topics relevant to our business – does that make me look foolish and should I just stick with industry specific items?
I like to use a positive approach as much as possible – in the current environment, does that annoy people?
I post discussion items on various LinkedIn groups about once a week – do people get fed up of seeing these so often?
I follow some incredible marketers and I have a link from their blogs, which populates the Fuzion Facebook page – does this annoy people?
If I see something funny or unusual I will photograph it and upload it on Facebook – maybe my friends or acquaintances think these are silly?
On Twitter I use a mix of my name and the business name “GregCantyFuzion” as my identity – what do people think of this compared to funnier, customised or descriptive names?
Right or wrong all you can do really is measure your effectiveness as best as possible – watch traffic to your blog, see if your LinkedIn and Facebook posts get a reaction, watch if people engage with your discussion topics, see if your posts are retweeted. Also you can observe other people’s behaviour online and take on board the style of activity you like and more importantly the style of posting that you don’t like.
Better to burn than to fade away, better to put yourself and your business out there, drawing attention to your message and trying to make sure you maintain your online visibility. That’s a decision I made and I invest time in it. My one piece of definite advice is to be true to yourself or else you will not come across as being genuine.
So, back to my question.. What you think of me?
Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion Communications
Tags: facebook, foursquare, Fuzion, Fuzion Communications, Fuzion PR, Greg Canty, linkedin, Marketing, Positive Thinking, PR, Public relations, SEO, Social Media, twitter, Web Optimisation
Greg Canty Fuzion Blog 
October 26, 2010 at 10:51 pm |
i think you are cool !!! and bang on the button when it comes to getting your message out there!
October 26, 2010 at 10:57 pm |
I can always rely on you Natasha, mon ami!
Thanks for reading,
Greg
October 27, 2010 at 7:55 am |
Very interesting questions raised there Greg, I was thinking of something similar at the weekend when I posted about friendship and how networking (online or otherwise) is basically predicated on how good we are at making friends and influencing people. And sometimes people just aren’t going to get us, personally or professionally. Their loss!
For what it’s worth I agree with Bren about Foursquare (but that’s just because I’m not a huge fan of Foursquare), but I think otherwise your updates are fairly spot on.
In terms of the positivity, I think we all have to do whatever we can to keep ourselves going in this environment and that is your way of doing it – being positive and pro-business is, after all, what your business is about. It does get to some people but then the relentless negativity of a lot of commentators is turning people off all the time. As in life, you can’t please all of the people all of the time!
October 27, 2010 at 2:35 pm |
Thanks for reading Deirdre, I have received some interesting feedback – Fousquare is the one that tends to get under people’s skin.
Cheers,
Greg
October 27, 2010 at 8:26 am |
Great post Greg. I must agree with your son about Foursquare, I think it’s twitter overkill. I really don’t need to know where people are, but that’s just me. Much of what you said is pretty much the same as what I preach to clients. Trust is huge. Twitter is a fantastic tool but if abused and used for direct selling it can be quite damaging. It is a tool that needs to engaged. The clue is in the title, it is a SOCIAL network so we need to socialise on it.
As for the opening question… It reminds me of the “do i look fat in this dress” question. Sometimes it’s best not answered. 99 people out of 100 might respond very positively but it is that one negative remark that would get to you.
October 27, 2010 at 2:33 pm |
Hi Gary,
Thanks for reading and for taking the time to comment – as for that dress question, I love the response “Emm, define what you mean by fat?!!”
I couldn’t resist- will anyone ever tell us the truth except quietly stop following you and putting you politely in their heads into a very specific box!
Cheers,
Greg
October 27, 2010 at 10:38 am |
Hi Greg,
I think you’re great! This is what you do and you do it really well, and you certainly invest time into social media, my favourite is your blog post. I always get a true sense of who you are as a business person in your blog posts, positive, fair, honest, reasonable and always thinking outside the box.
For personal use I find Facebook, Twitter ok and I read updates but rarely use it myself I just don’t get it for me on a personal basis. So now I am thinking “what do people think of me”, old fashioned? But I like to keep business and personal stuff separate as I don’t really expect people to find my personal stuff that interesting so don’t put it out there online. I love the odd bit of stuff, (once its funny but really don’t like strong opinions), but I can never see myself doing it on a daily basis – maybe I’ll regret saying that! Mind you from a discussion with close friends recently about 10 of them do not have Facebook pages – maybe we’ve been hanging around together too long and prefer to chat!
I think for business yes you must use social media but I only do so every now and again with relevant content to what I do but then maybe that content is not frequent enough to keep it going? I suppose it depends on what business you are in, but I have seen small business have great success with Facebook particularly for local business the viral marketing effect is great and particularly at the moment it is inspiring to see as there are so many start ups having great success.
So all in all I guess you need to do social media, but as you say do it well not just for the sake of it, maybe I am too cautious in my approach but it works for me. But like everything in business have a plan for social media and ensure you have the resources to keep the plan going and don’t forget the big picture.
October 27, 2010 at 2:30 pm |
Hi Michele,
It’s really interesting – at the course last night a few of our new PR Guru’s were explaining how on Facebook they have two separate identities, one for them the person with friend etc and another for them the business person!
Again .. there is no right or wrong as long as it is you and you have a clear idea what you are trying to achieve by your activity online.
See you soon & thanks for reading.
Greg
October 27, 2010 at 11:09 am |
Hi Greg,
that is a very interesting questions! I got thinking about it as well…
See you next tuesday
October 27, 2010 at 2:26 pm |
thanks for reading Louisa, see you next week.
Greg
October 27, 2010 at 3:32 pm |
Hi Greg,
Your approach would be recommended by most of the text books, so I think you are well on the right track. However, I am not a big fan of the Twitter feed, and generally hide it on LinkedIn, as it tends to clutter up my page. I guess my perception is that a lot of people are using Twitter to report on the “not so important stuff”. I could be wrong but I am afraid if my Linked In page is too cluttered, I will miss something important. Or maybe I just haven’t “got” Twitter yet!
October 28, 2010 at 11:37 am |
Hi Angela,
You are right about Twitter – the comments can end up looking unusual if out of context.
Thanks for reading.
Greg
October 27, 2010 at 8:36 pm |
You look like the guy in the Mentalist LOL — you asked the question!
October 28, 2010 at 11:35 am |
I’m note sure if that is good or bad!
Thanks for reading.
Greg
October 27, 2010 at 11:16 pm |
I was hoping from the title of your piece I could just come here I really tell you what I think of you and how much I hate you :-p
But alas you had to go and write another interesting blog piece so I guess I can’t hate you just yet 😉 I do agree with the others here about foursquare updates feeding into Twitter and facebook, it’s fecking painful.
I like foursquare as an app, and I think there is huge potential in it that most businesses here are not yet using, but that is another story. When I use it I make sure my updates just stay within their system. I don’t mind when I load up Foursquare seeing then where people have been and what they have been up to then because I’m now choosing to.
I would be interested, if not a little scared to know what people who have never meet me think of me just based of my social persona. I try to keep it as much like myself as I can but it’s hard to get across your humor and the way you deliver lines in a few characters on twitter and via other posts.
Another good post Gregory, you really should get into the media and PR game 😉
October 29, 2010 at 2:38 pm |
Greg,
You have articulated my very thoughts. I am at the early stages of setting up my own small marketing business and recently set up all my social media tools. My initial reaction was like diving into the deep end of the swimming pool, not knowing if I was going to resurface. It was the scariest experience in a long time. Because as you say, you are very definitely putting yourself out there, wasn’t sure if I should get my boxing gloves on or not. Guess you become the product!!
How scary……..
Orlagh
October 29, 2010 at 3:31 pm |
Thanks for reading Orlagh,
as you say … you are the product, in particular with a service business.
Social Media does give you the opportunity to really let people see the colour of your eyes .. red!!
Cheers,
Greg
November 1, 2010 at 7:48 pm |
Hi Greg,
When I started to read your LinkedIn update to SmarterEgg group, I intended to hold back – keep my response to your question to myself.
I wasn’t sure what I’d find after the big question. When the link led me to your blogpost, I found myself absorbed in admiration at your ability to sustain the topic. Just when I thought you were about to finish, you added another valuable aspect for us to consider.
Now that I’ve read all the comments so far, I feel duty bound & keen to offer you some specific feedback.
(1) I don’t read your blog often – whenever I have I’ve admired your ability to write directly – in an unfussy style. This post reminds me of the wonderful way you began the Famous story & thread.
(2) I find your “thanks for reading” irritating – I wish you’d say the same thing in a different way – so that it wouldn’t sound like a cliché to me.
(3) What I’d like you to change on FourSquare is the number of tips you offer in central Cork – you keep popping up when I’m on FourSquare. But I welcome your notifications about where you are. I enjoy “competing” with you for points.
(4) I’ve never seen you on Facebook – so I’m neutral on that one.
(5) Your blog titles grab my attention & enhance your PR reputation as far as I’m concerned – they show you have the ability to capture the attention of an audience – they suggest your business has valuable skills.
(6) Your LinkedIn topics I ignore – as I ignore almost all LinkedIn groups because LinkedIn isn’t a key forum for my business (Twitter’s my baby). It’s no trouble to me to see you sail by on LinkedIn – I can wave to you without being distracted. I can wish you well without following.
(7) The everyday or the business? I admire people who can draw lessons from everyday life – who can tell stories – who can draw me into learning my own lesson – who offer me material which I can apply to my particular business playground. I’d encourage you to mix the mix.
(8) You go shooting up in my estimation for the courage you display – with skill. Not many would have put themselves up like you – and given us permission to offer you feedback like this. Of course you do this not for yourself alone – but to model the behaviour you wish to encourage us all to practise.
You are a devious bastard too.
November 1, 2010 at 10:37 pm |
thanks for the feedback Paul, from one devious bastard to another!
I was going to say thanks for r…. , but I guess I should find a new way of saying that – it’s genuinely meant as thanks for taking the time as I know how precious that commodity is to people.
Quite simply, thanks … I do appreciate it.
Cheers,
Greg
November 25, 2010 at 9:32 pm |
Hey, Great blog you have here. I found this post really interesting. Thanks