Reach Out and Touch Me

In my last post I wrote about the need for trust in building a great online business. But I think I jumped the gun a little on that one...put the cart before the horse. Before you can get people to trust your brand and product, you need people!

The human connection is so essential in social media marketing. Who ever said that technology is killing human interaction must be a dinosaur or had a lobotomy. Think blogs, think Facebook, think facetime, think Twitter, think Pinterest, think Minecraft (yes, I have a 12 year old son who meets his school friends to build villages...) and the list is endless. Today, we interact with more people in more places than ever before.

So when I think about how to acquire more customers, how to grow My Bespoke Chair, and how to build a great company, I must first think about who I am going to reach out to. I have recently vowed to actively make one significant connection per day; one person who I want to either tell about My Bespoke Chair, or one person I want to listen to, one person I can ask for advice, or one person who can put me in touch with more people.

Of course, I will tweet, post, like, comment, email and pin. That's rather like saying "I will breathe and eat today". But just going through the motions is not enough. I must understand that human connection is the new currency. The Industrial Economy brought checks and balances, systems and processes. We are in the midst of a Connection Economy. Emotional connection with our audience/customers is vital.

It brings me to something the grandmother of my best friend at school said. Granny Thomas said "People matter." This was circa 1990, before the internet and social media. I remember Granny Thomas' words often - little did she know how perfect her advice was for this digital world. RIP Granny T.

But it's hard and scary to reach out in a meaningful way sometimes.

To be accountable, this week I've:
a) met with Tessa White from Down That Little Lane. She started her online business a year before me, and she's flying. I needed to hear her story and learn from her, so I emailed her and met her for tea and cake on Monday. Priceless.

b) took part in a live, online webinar with the mighty Seth Godin, Yahoo genius and author on disruptive thinking and contemporary marketing. I am in awe.

c) sorted an editorial deal with a major wedding magazine (the best wedding gift is to design your own chair online. A story to tell for years to come - "I made this")

So if you can, reach out and touch me. We mustn't hide our skills and ideas away. We must be brave. I must be brave. There are 7 billion people out there, ready to hear a story. The human connection is what technology and the future of business is all about.


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