Social Media levels the playing field for introverts and extroverts. Social media gives introverts an equal footing with extroverts to let their hair down, be bold, engage in active “real-time” conversation, and a let a little spontaneity shine through.
Have you noticed this introversion-to-extroversion shift occur within yourself or with those around you? Some of the most introverted “in-person” individuals suddenly blossom with social media tools. Consider the struggle to engage the employees in your company to be social media advocates or to convince them to write for your business blog. Many will shy away from this request simply due to being wired as an introvert. Now you can show them how they can shine through on-line. One of the greatest struggles in implementing social media engagement is getting employees to start tweeting or blogging about your company – now you’ve just doubled the number of participants (most studies show a 50/50 split of introverts/extroverts in the population.
Here’s a snippet from Mack Collier writing on his own blog where he describes being an in-person introvert and an on-line extrovert:
If you are an introvert that’s active in social media, do people that you meet find it difficult to believe that you are introverted? I get this often, so much so that I have on my Facebook page that I am “Online extrovert, offline introvert. It’s complicated.”
But for me, it’s much easier to be outgoing online, than it is offline. I think that’s why I love social media so much.
For example, one of the things that I hate is being in a room full of people where I don’t know anyone. I find it extremely difficult to introduce myself to anyone and talk to them, because I assume they don’t know me and don’t want to know me. It’s a terribly awkward situation for me, and if you’re an introvert you can probably relate.
To read the full article on why introverts love social media, click the link below:
Why introverts love Social Media
Barry Deutsch
Barry,
I completely agree with your and Mack’s conclusions. Coincidentally I wrote an article for our Chamber of Commerce about the very same thing. I tried to copy it for you here…
Building Relationships Virtually
By: Joseph Heidler /II, president & CEO, J. V. Heidler Co., Inc.
Social media can be a great way to relate to your customer base. For me, as a roofing contractor, I was
never really comfortable at huge “mixer” type events, always a little bit of
a wall flower. I didn’t want to be the pushy guy handing
everyone business cards.
Some of the social media tools, like Twitter, LinkedIn
and Facebook, allow you to communicate with people
in what I consider a much more helpful way. They have
allowed me to build relationships gradually. I really enjoy
helping other people and I think that is what allows me to
be successful in social media. It’s a good idea to follow
the old 80/20 rule. Eighty percent of the time you should
be communicating in a way that helps and promotes other
people. This can be as simple as retweeting someone else’s
message or even just commenting on something that they have posted.
There are many wonderful people out there who enjoy communicating with
you. I was amazed by the helpfulness of people on the Web, people whom I had not even met yet. There
are great sites to help you get started like my friend Gini at http://www.spinsucks.com and there are local
people on twitter who are a wealth of information. Wonderful relationships are just waiting to be started.
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I have received contracts for work and many opportunities that I would not
have had if I didn’t connect with others through social media. These tools
can help you with hiring as well. Linkedln has many groups and job board
postings. You can use these to stay in touch with what is going on in your
industry.
Social media, although Internet-based, can be a great way to find local
businesses and local opportunities. You can do searches for people and
topics on Twitter or Linkedln by location. After beginning in a relationship
online, many go on to meet IRL (in real life). These meetings may be
facilitated by local groups. I often go to something called a Lancup, which
is a Tweet-up (meeting of Twitter users) in Lancaster. This is how I met a
local Chamber member Chris Vogt from Baron Insurance Group, Inc. Chris
helped me increase my insurance coverage and save me money. So I moved
my personal insurance to him from another company who was not local.
Now when I go to Chamber or other local functions, I see people that I have
already met through social media.
Being active on social media platforms has allowed me to make relevant
connections, listen to customers and potential customers and to do business
better. I’d encourage any business to see how you could benefit professionally
and personally from getting involved in a social network.
The J. V. Heidler Co., Inc. has its roots in a tradition dating back to 1959.
President and CEO, Joseph V. Heidler III, grew up working with his father
and grandfather in the family roofing business. Learn more about J.V.
Heidler Co., Inc. at http://www.heidler.cam.
Interact with Joe on Twitter under @BestRoofer; find him on Linkedln and