You’re walking down the streets of Seattle (or any other big city) and the next street you have turn down is dark…the street lights are off. Depending on the time of night, you decide to go down another block and see if the street lights are on there so you don’t have to walk down the dark street.
The lights are turned on the next block so you gladly decide to go down that street, feeling much more comfortable now and then you can circle back to get to your destination safely…avoiding the dark unlit street you would have normally taken. You took a different route, but you felt safe and secure and you trusted the well-lit street as opposed to the unlit street.
What just happened and what does it have to do with social media? Everything…
The street lights represent your TRANSPARENCY…how open you are to tell your audience what is truly going on in your world. And it doesn’t matter which tool you are talking about using here on the social media channels…it could be your blog or twitter or facebook or any of the other hundreds of tools.
What matters here is “how your audience felt” in this situation. When the street was dark – No Transparency – you were nervous, reluctant, and eventually chose another path. So do your readers and audience. If they feel like you aren’t being straight with them and giving them the “back story” details, they don’t feel the content is safe or reliable or trustworthy…they take another street.
But when your audience found the well-lit street with all the lights on – Lots of Transparency – they felt safe, secure, and even a bit excited to go down this path. Your readers and audience feel the same way because the see how open, truthful, and transparent you are with them and you are willing to give them the “back story” details. They now trust you and want to read and engage more.
When you write and communicate with your audience, which street do they go down when they get to your social media sites? Are the streetlights ON with how you communicate with them or are they OFF and they immediately (and hurriedly) choose a different street. It’s up to you…the power is in your hands to turn on or off the streetlights.
