Jan Scott - the web stuff woman

Marketing and manners - mainly about Twitter

Bit of an oxymoron, that title? Let me say at the outset that I think most of us are very good mannered, or certainly have that intention, as we set about marketing our services as coaches, therapists, consultants etc.

Recently I observed an online discussion around ethics and marketing. There was a fair bit of 'of course we're ethical' going on, and I'm sure that most of us are, but the debate fed into a line of thinking I have been following for a while.

I had noticed that, in certain parts of the marketplace, Twitter is being used as a tool with which to bombard all one’s ‘followers’ with marketing messages. When I expressed my discomfort with this on a forum I received a series of emails in which 'how to use Twitter to market yourself' was painstakingly explained to me. In truth, I 'got' that already, but didn't like it at all, either as a receiver, or as a potential Twit.

Recently I started to spend less time on my @webstuffwoman twitter dashboard and more on @groovy_granny - using it to build relationships and to specifically NOT follow anyone who did the 'in your face' marketing thing. What has happened has been quite life changing, and I choose that expression deliberately.

Firstly it has been validating - yes, there is a buzzing Twitter community who are not of the 'I'm having a ham sandwich for lunch' brigade, neither are they ... (see above)!

Most importantly, though, I've found is an authentic community which uses a polite, modest approach. Two of my new Twitter friends have posted in ways which underline this:

Kicking it analog old school in this new digital world

Rules of the playground

Their subject matter is different but the basic premise is old fashioned good manners and let's hear it for modesty and humility.

humility - now there's a thought

 http://bit.ly/14yh4t - this is an article about leadership, but it fits in nicely with the way my thinking's developing

who wants to be a millionaire? not me as it happens

Interesting, isn't it? I think if someone had asked me, even a few years ago, if Id like a lavish lifestyle, celebrity and vast pots of money in the bank, I'd have said, 'bring it on'! Of course, I still want to be comfortable, able to have nice holidays and to make my house comfortable, to be able to eat out in excellent restauants etc etc, but truth is, I don't have anything remotely like a 'get rich quick attitude', abundant, yes, but that's something else.

So many marketing gurus come from the, 'you too can be a millionaire' school of thought. So many of my web design (and coaching) clients share my discomfort at this. Yet we are passionate about what we do and are eager to make good money from doing it, utterly believe in our own worth. I'm struggling to articulate this collection of thoughts which is gathering in my poor old head. But I'm going to keep trying.

marketing and showing off

I keep popping over to Survey Monkey, who are hosting my survey about internet marketing. There is such a broad spectrum of feedback, and aside from some really clear pointers to me as I develop this site, some comments have given me great food for thought.

One of my questions is about how we are perceived through our marketing and our comfort or lack of it as we set about telling people what it is we do and how we can help them ("what's in it for them"). The question is intentionally slightly vague, and there is a box in which respondents can add their own thoughts. I also provide a range of ways one might feel about marketing, including linking it with "showing off".

One respondent has made valid points along the lines of "so what if it is'"and pointed out that there is a hidden negative in the statement. S/he is right of course. Perhaps I should have written "in a bad way" in brackets after the statement because, it's true, I do see showing off as a negative. And what's more, from the responses I've had, so do many of the survey's participants. But that response has really got me thinking, and validates where I'm coming from on this, I think. I have in my head my mum's definition of "showing off" which involved loud children, performing at all times, rather than being. But she also saw performance in general as "showing off", which is ludicrous. Now, I personally don't see marketing in a negative way - I DO see the way in which we are sometimes expected to display ourselves (see earlier posting re Sales Letter websites) as out of step with my values, but that is something else.

As you can probably tell, my thinking on this is evolving. But all the feedback, including this very valuable comment that I've picked up on here, is reinforcing my belief that many people are looking for a different way to present themselves and their work, with pride.