Social Media for Humans

Slide into the DMs like a human

July 22, 2022 Alexis Bushnell Season 2 Episode 19
Social Media for Humans
Slide into the DMs like a human
Show Notes Transcript

Can you really slide into the DMs with a "thanks for following" message ethically and without annoying someone?
Inspired by a question in the Social Media for Humans Club this week, that's what I'm chatting about on this episode.

Alexis' links.
I hang out on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexisbushnell/​
Find me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SocialMediaForHumans
Join the club to learn more about ethical and effective social media marketing: https://socialmediaforhumans.club/

Voice over by Hawke Wood: https://www.spotlight.com/3490-9081-8844

Support the show

Alexis' links.
I hang out on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexisbushnell/​
Find me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SocialMediaForHumans
Join the club to learn more about ethical and effective social media marketing: https://socialmediaforhumans.club/

Voice over by Hawke Wood: https://www.spotlight.com/3490-9081-8844

Hawke:

Hello and welcome to Social Media for  Humans, the podcast that empowers you to do social   differently. Your host. Alexis Bushnell, and her  guests discuss their experience of social media   as business owners, users, and ultimately  humans, with insights and advice to help   you find an effective and ethical strategy  that works for you. Grab yourself a drink  

and join the conversation. Alexis:

Hello,  hello! Welcome to a little quick tip episode   of the Social Media for Humans podcast. We  have a little real talk with you right now,   I am filming this the day before you are listening  to it because wow life is a situation at the   moment! I had planned to film at the end of last  week and then stuff happened and then there was   very very hotness and my brain does not function,  nothing about me functions in very very hotness,   so a little bit of the last minutes happening  right now! So if you are in a similar situation   and you have not sent your email newsletter,  not put up some content this week, have a very   long to do list because this week has been  a disaster for you, you're not alone, hi!   But today what I actually want to talk about is  automated and or manual "hi, thanks for following   me" messages. This is something that has come  up in the Social Media for Humans Club this week   and people have thoughts and feelings about  it and it got me thinking because it wasn't   something that I had really thought  about. My initial stance was just like   "don't do it" because all of the ones I see to  be honest are automated, very clearly designed to   prime someone you're sending it to to want to buy  from you, and some of them are just outright sales   which, not cool, maybe don't do  that. However there are situations   where you would want to send a genuine welcome  message, a genuine "thanks for following me"   message, and there are situations where that's  totally fine, this is, like I say 'social' media,   the point is to be sociable with people, the point  is to start those conversations with people and to   connect, and so sending a "thanks for following  me" message or whatever like that is a great way   to start a conversation. So how do you do it in a  way that isn't icky and weird and horrible? Well this is going to be like "well yeah, of course  you're going to say that" but be a human about it.   So when you're thinking about writing that  message, when you're writing the message itself,   don't be in like sales mindset, don't be in  like networking mindset, just be in like cool,   it's really nice that this person's followed  me, we have things in common, maybe we work in   the same industry or they're an ideal client and  their content looks really cool and interesting,   or their profile shows that we have things in  common, stuff like that, focus on that stuff.   When you send the message start with like "hey,  thanks for following me, here's why I'm really   thrilled that you followed me," and be genuine  about it, like don't have a cut and paste thing.   Now the people who struggle with this and who  are also for time, you can have cut and paste,   so you can like copy some pre-written  text but leave blanks. So you have like   "hi, thanks for following me," that you can  copy and then "I saw on your profile that you"   and then you can fill in that bit, that you are  really passionate about climate change, that you   love cats, that you are a coffee drinker, whatever  it is. And then say something about you, you know,   like I also am really passionate about climate  change and or cats and or I'm a coffee drinker.   "So I'm really interested to chat to you about  this stuff." And also I genuinely feel, and this   might be where I lose you, I genuinely feel that  when you're writing things, by and large, your   intention, your mood, your energy,  however you want to think about it,   does come through. There is obviously things that  we miss because we don't have the visual cues,   we don't have the audio cues if we're just  reading written text, but if somebody sends   you like a really curt message in reply  to something you've sent, you know, you know! If somebody sends you a really sarcastic  reply to something, you know! People can get a   vibe just through partly through the words that  you use and the way that you put them together,   but also that is fueled by how you're feeling,  what you mean in that moment, what's what's   happening for you. So if you are in the mindset  of "I'm genuinely excited to chat to this person,   this person is somebody I'm really actually  interested in, I want to see their content, I want   us to get to know each other a bit more, I just  think they're a really cool person," that is going   to come through. So write those messages when  you are in the headspace to connect with people.   And also, because this is something  that people talk to me a lot about,   if you are worried that you are going to  come off weird, quirky, not confident,   really shy, whatever it is, because  you are those things, that's fine,   roll with it! If that's who you are, that's who  you are, that's okay. You don't have to pretend   to be like super duper confident whatever,  you don't have to pretend to be quote normal,   just be be you. And that's hard, that's hard, I  know that, but it does get easier with practice,   and it also gets easier as you put who you are  out there and then get the feedback and then have   people respond to who you are, respond because of  who you are, because you're a little bit weird,   because you had a bit of a brain fart and you used  the wrong word in that message and then you had a   little giggle about it with them. Like it's okay  to be you in those like first messages and all the   rest of the time, so please don't put on like  social media telephone voice or whatever it is   for those messages, just be you about it. And  I would also say try to get into that message   what you're looking forward to, like  what are you looking forward to seeing   from them based on the previous content they've  put out. If there's something you have in common,   say it's climate change, like maybe they're  really knowledgeable about fossil fuels and the   green energy alternatives and so maybe at the end  of that message you say something like you know,   "I would be really interested to see more  content from you about green energy options,   or about the differences between wind  and solar" or something like that   that shows you know who they are, you know a  little bit about what they're talking about   and you are interested to learn more. Only say it  for the stuff you're actually interested about,   if they also post about aeroplanes, which we  learned in the last episode I know nothing about,   then maybe don't mention the aeroplanes.  So basically the points you want to hit are   "thanks for following me, it's really lovely to  meet you" or however you phrase that, obviously   put all of this all of this into your own words,  your own language. Something about "I love that   you're passionate about this," or like "this is  why I really enjoy your content" or "I'm really   inspired by this quote you have on your profile,"  whatever. Something that is like I see what you're   putting out there, this is not an automated  message I actually know what you're about   and then use that to explain why you think they're  your kind of human, you know, because you're   also interested in this, or because you have a  passion for that, or whatever it is like that,   and then try to get in something about  what you want to see more of from them,   why you want to get to know them a bit more,  what specifics of the things that they talk about   or that they're interested in or whatever  you would like to hear more about,   but basically just be a human  about it. The person you are DMing   is a human, like they have a weird complicated  life outside of their DMs, I mean if it's not   complicated I need to speak to them about how  they're managing that! So they are more than just   their whatever their account is, they have a life  outside, they know what it is to be a human, so   try to connect with them on that human level, just  as if you were, and this is gonna not help a lot   of you out there I realise this, but as if you  were walking up to somebody at a social event,   assuming we were not in the situation we  are right now, but you know, let's think   of a better situation, maybe several years ago,  where you could walk up to somebody at an event, and maybe you've seen them speak at the  event, and you're like "I really enjoyed   your talk on blah blah, this is what was really  interesting to me about it, whatever whatever."   If you're one of those people who  can do that, imagine it's like that.   If you're somebody who's like "I would never,"  okay, forget that, scrap it, it's fine! Just remember that the other person is a human  and so are you, there is no perfect "welcome,   thank you, whatever" DM message, there  is only the wonderfully imperfect version   that is personalised for that person. So  I am going to scoot now, I will see you   next week for a fabulous a guest episode.  If you would like to be involved in   wonderful discussions like this you can join  the Social Media for Humans Club. It's been a   really long time since I actually filmed some tip  episodes because I bulk filmed and now I'm like   "how do I sign these off? What am I supposed to be  doing here?" But yeah, if you would like to learn   more about using social media for your business  to make it work for you, to reduce your stress   around social media, there is a Social Media for  Humans Club it is £30 per month, there is no like   repetitive signing thing, like I'm not just going  to take your money every month, you can choose   each month. That made it sound complicated!  So yeah, come and join us, that'd be fabulous,  

and take care of yourselves. Hawke:

If  you want more regular reminders to find   your own way to use social media, follow  Alexis on your social platform of choice,   all the links will be in the show  notes. Until next time, be a human.