Shut up and listen – and then respond.

When I tell people who I am and what I do, I first usually explain who I’m not and what I don’t do. First and foremost, I’m not a “techie” – I can’t build you a website. In fact, I’ve been known to tell my own web designer more than a few times that I believe she and others with her knowledge rule the world. They understand fully what’s going on behind the curtain of our website. I couldn’t tell you the first thing.

Here’s what I do do. I talk. I have been told time after time that I have a big mouth. And finally… that trait has gotten me somewhere in life. My clients all know that if they share information with me, they have to tell me what CAN’T be published on Facebook, Twitter or Linked In because otherwise, I’ll put it out there faster than they can say, “wait don’t tweet that yet.” But that’s what I do – I talk online. And that’s my career.

But there’s another very important part of what I do – listening. Just like when you are engaged in conversation face-to-face, it’s important to listen to what the other people are saying – and then respond appropriately. Facebook pages are not meant to be print ads. They are not supposed to just “yell” sales, discounts and company information. They are pretty much “alive” – and meant to be responded to.

So when I post on a Facebook page and ask a question, or make a comment, I don’t like when I’m ignored. Even if the response to what I’m saying isn’t favorable to me, go ahead and tell me. I’m a big girl, I can take it. Earlier this week, I posted on the Facebook page of Louisville Magazine. They did a great job of highlighting some of the best places to eat and shop – and some of the best locally made products here in my hometown. But they left some out and at least one of those is a client. And yet, they still haven’t responded. And I posted it 4 days ago.

The magazine does a great job as a print medium, and I look forward to reading it each month. But I really wish they’d at least respond to my post on their Facebook page. To me, that’s what Facebook is all about.

My clients rest easy knowing that people who post on their pages or tweet them get a response – a timely, courteous, appropriate response – even if the answer isn’t what the person wants to hear.

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