A business taking itself into the world of Web 2.0 and Social Media can be like a farmer setting up a stand in a farmer’s market. Sure that farmer has goods to sell in order to make a living but he is also engaging with his customers and his community. The folks who buy from him also get to engage him by asking him questions, hearing about his family, or the challenges he has run into on the farm. This is part of what attracts people to street markets and why we are seeing them make a comeback. People want to know they can trust who they are buying from.

But there is also something else a farmer does when he goes to market. He talks to other farmers. And more importantly he listens to other farmers. He gains a better understanding of what they are going through and what life is like for them. He offers help and advice as well as friendship.

It is that side of the conversation many companies who begin social media campaigns often neglect. They view it as simply a new place to sell their wares. Broadcasting advertisements, links, and spamming other users, basically taking the same old tired strategies into new media.

Broadcast less and participate more.

Read blogs that are in your related field and comment on them. Think conversation. Don’t think bullhorn or soapbox. Help people. Even your competition. Be vulnerable. Smile. Laugh. Be human. Remember the "social" part of social media. The more you offer yourself as a human, not just a salesman, the more returns you will get.

At the end of the day I’d bet it is the friendly helpful farmer that returns from the farmer’s market with an empty truck and a thicker wallet.

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Thank you CedarBendDrive for the use of your photo!