Show, Don’t Tell

In elementary school, we had "show and tell" where we'd bring in items related to ourselves and our hobbies, show them to our classmates, and talk about it. There's a different kind of sensation that comes with actually showing something than merely just talking about it.

Lately, I notice a lot of businesses on Twitter tweeting explicit services their business offers, and more often than not, they're all offering the same things — social media assistance.

This has become one of my biggest pet peeves, seeing a tweet that says something to the effect "Need someone to manage your business' social media accounts? We can help!" Another trend is that this is ALL that these businesses tweet — about their alleged services.

There's innate shadiness about a business that has to keep TELLING about what they can do for you rather than actually SHOWING it. If they do both, that's one thing, but when it's more lopsided in the "telling" direction, the red flag should go up immediately.

A major detail that sets Twitter apart from traditional advertising is the fact that it allows the conversation to be two-way rather than just one. If all you're going to do there is post comments about what your business offers, you're, by definition, not setting the kind of example of someone that claims to be an "expert" (or some similar term). If you're interacting, engaging or showing the results of your labor, you're not using it correctly.

If you're looking for a company to manage your social media presence, be mindful of imposters and keep an eye out for those who don't explicitly declare their abilities. Genuinely good companies and people are out there, and their work and word-of-mouth of those who've worked with them should speak for themselves.