Starting a Conversation Offline
This spring I’ve made it a mission to reconnect with the people doing business outside the Internet. They represent most of the people on this blue planet. It only makes sense that to grow my business, most of my customers will come from that group. I want to understand how they view the Internet. So I started finding gatherings where I could have conversations and learn things. I went looking for patterns and what they seem to reveal.
What I see is a huge gap.
You’ve probably seen it too.
Many business people I met seem to see the Internet as interactive TV. They imagine it works something like a television news room. The virtual connectedness and the personal / business relationships don’t come through. What they describe is an endeavor separate, possibly equal, but unrelated to what they do.
They still hear the word blog and the look in their eyes gets a little glassy. So I’m off to BlogWorld to give a presentation. Sure hope to meet you there, but be prepared, I’m going to be asking . . .
How do you tell people of the benefits of blogging?
Sure am interested in your answer.
–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!
Hi Liz
Funny you should ask that 😉
I’m working on a project like that too at the moment and put my thoughts to paper in a report: 7 key reasons why
Karin H. (Keep It Simple Sweetheart, specially in business)
Wow Liz – my experience has been very similar. The people that I’ve met offline, who are primarily building their business offline, have no idea how powerful the internet is, and don’t fully understand that it can viably be used to build a business.
And, surprisingly, many of the people I’ve run into actually don’t believe that I have built a thriving business almost strictly online (at this point maybe about 5% of my business was done locally this year).
Some of those people haven’t taken me seriously – since they haven’t seen me on the local scene before, it’s really easy for them to forget that I’ve been doing this for 4 years, and have a deep and broad marketing background… I almost have to re-convince these people every time I see them that, no, I’m STILL not new to this LOL!
I look at the difference between the people I’ve met online and the people offline that don’t understand the internet, and it’s amazing.
For example:
My online friends are extremely supportive and are open to collaboration. Offline, folks are not as willing to collaborate, and they have the “you’re the competitor, I better not be friends with you” mentality.
Online, people understand that business doesn’t have to have boundaries. They see endless possibilities. Offline, folks seem to be locked into a mind-set that business has to be a certain way.
Online, people are optimistic, supportive, have fun in their business, are energized… the offline folks have this energy about them that is very closed, very directed, and almost introverted.
This has just been MY experience this year when venturing out into the local community. I’m looking forward to hearing other’s experience and thoughts.
Just above where I’m typing this it says:
“C’mon Let’s Talk!”
and that is the answer. It gives you a chance to start a dialog with your prospects, customers, suppliers and anyone else who reads it, about their interests, hopes, problems and needs.
That can only help you improve your business.
New moms want to hear from real moms about baby products.
College students want to hear from their peers about a professor or class or scholarships.
Antique car buyers want to know if a seller is trustworthy.
I don’t see TV ads working for this kind of info flow. The niche, tribe, community, audience, or customer base for anything – be it ice cream lovers or building planes from kits — is out there. The blanket approach is on the way out. Starting conversations with a would-be audience and building a tribe or online community is in. People want to get tailored information easily, to have things at their fingertips. Many also want to connect, interact, and be valued. Blogging can facilitate all that.
In the land of specific personal wants, the business who answers the call and creates the personal connection with the largest tribe or community around those wants will be the most successful.
Eh SpaceAgeSage, could you write an easy about that?!?
I’ll publish it as a guest post on one of my blogs – I promise.
What a great proza and statement.
Karin H.
Karin H.
My words come from Seth Godin’s insights. Here’s a great MP3 of his take on non-profit fund raising that answers “why blog” in indirect ways:
http://www.fundraising123.org/files/NFG091608.mp3
Liz, I so identify with the glassy-eyed look – that was me until recently. I just wrote about using the internet just to soak up information and eventually you become a stinky sponge – useless to no one. It is only as you share it with others that you become a resource that is valuable to them. And a blog is an excellent way to spill over your reservoir of information, keeping all of it accessible to anyone at anytime!
Liz, to a non-blogger, there ARE no benefits to blogging.
“Benefit” is always defined by the customer — except at the used car dealership, where “benefit” is code for “part of the car I want to sell you.”
You need to understand what the non-blog person wants or needs to get done. Talking about reading or writing blogs is focusing on process rather than product.
So: does Jack want examples of successful (or unsuccessful) projects in his field? Does Irene want to grow professionally but can’t manage the cost of the big annual conference? Would Sheila like to have informed comments on trends or issues related to her day job? How can Quentin find people who’d add value to his network of contacts?
None of those questions has the word “blog” in it — and the opening line of the answer shouldn’t, either. For people who aren’t used to these tools, what’s important is not what you call them, but what you can do.
Thanks. Still think you should capture your own interpretation in a blogpost 😉
Karin H
It really is about conversation. I don’t know about anyone else here, but I am sick to death of being “talked at” and that’s what you get in any “one way” media. The internet (and hence, a blog) can be two way media, as long as people do get talking.
In my case, my latest venture is a clear “niche market” thing. I’m writing again on the topic of allergies for those who are dealing with them. While I could write a book or write for a magazine, I can reach more people by writing for the ‘net and I can tailor the information as I go to the interests and needs of my constituents… (Sounds like a political process, but perhaps the ‘net is the politics of the future…)
I digress. I agree with SpaceAgeSage and others who have commented here: the difference is the possibility of conversation and that’s one of the best ways for information to become knowledge.
I talk to a lot of people that do not know what blogs are, or what they are for, and do not read them. Or don’t ‘think’ that they read them.
Many of today’s blogs are easily disguised as ‘just websites’.
Another thing to consider, many folks out there still get a lot of their news from TV, and most of the time when a talking head says “blog” it is in a political context – so people tend to associate blogs with political campaigns.
It is our job to educate these folks and teach them how to use blogs, and how to find what they are looking for.