The Digital Handshake: Seven Proven Strategies to Grow Your Business Using Social Media

Chapter 17. Now That You've Listened, It's Time to Engage

It's time to follow Captain Picard's dictum and do just that. You've listened to the groundswell. You know what people are saying and whether the sentiment is positive, negative, or somewhere in-between. It's time to make a commitment to enter the conversation and begin to put the tools we discussed in the second section of the book to good use.

I suggest two ways of doing so. One is a more passive form of engagement; that is, joining the conversation that's already taking place. The other is more proactive and has to do with starting a conversation about your company, brands, products, and people. This chapter will delineate some of the ways you can use both tactics to "engage" the conversation.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION: GET A SEAT AT SOMEONE ELSE'S TABLE

I often use the idea of "getting a seat at someone else's table" to describe how brands should find communities of interest wherever they may exist and join as co-participants. Imagine yourself walking into a restaurant and, while waiting to be seated, overhearing a conversation taking place at a nearby table. The participants seem to be enjoying the discussion and you note that it's something of interest to you. So, you mosey over to the group and ask if you can join in. Maybe they will be receptive and maybe they won't.

That's precisely the sort of thing you are doing when you ...