A Love Letter to My Followers (and 100 of them YOU should be following)

I hit 100K followers today (OMG), and I still remember the exact feeling I had when I hit 100. I could not believe that 100 people (that were not my relatives or friends) actually had an interest in what I had to say. The conversations I had with those 100 were unbelievable. Here I was, speaking with people from around the world, in executive positions at companies I lusted after, or interns in cities I had always dreamed of living in, or people that were on a completely different career path than I was that I gained inspiration from.

A year and a half, and 99,900 more followers later, I feel as equally as thankful and in awe. Greater than the number of followers, has been the increase in authentic conversations I’ve had with people from literally all walks of life. 

I started Twitter in 2010 as an intern. It was mandatory for me to have one at the Miami beach agency I was interning at. I followed a handful of people, and mainly used it as a search tool for the next three years to find articles on social media. I found it to be the most accurate spot to find the articles I was looking for in the industry. I was a silent participator, savoring every new article I found in private. 

Then, when I started my own business and blog, I found a new passion for Twitter, and here I am today, actually using it as an engagement tool.

I wish I could just paste transcripts of every meaningful conversation I’ve had with my followers RIGHT here, but it would be endless. I truly believe I am the luckiest girl for the time followers have taken to engage with me, and read my blog. I still feel like the Twitter newbie a year and a half ago, that screamed and went out for drinks with friends at the sight of a 100th follower, because who knew people were actually interested in what she had to say.

So, while I can’t take all of my followers out for drinks, I can pass along the love. Here is my list, in no particular order, of the 100 people I can think of off the top of my head that I have had eclectic, authentic, emotional, riveting, lovely conversations with on my account. Granted, there are WAY more than a 100 followers I’ve had meaningful conversations with, but, hey-- you gotta start somewhere:

1. Roman Jancic (@RomanJancic)- Thought provoking-- he share incredible quotes and makes me think twice about things.
2. Nick Cicero (@NickCicero) - Awesome networker.
3. Joshua Mathe (@WadoobiePtC) - Clever. Stand-by for our Anti-Fruty pie campaign (Since we are both pecan pie lovers, duh)
4. Jason J. Loya (@JasonJLoya)- His film connectons don’t hurt ;) In all honesty though, he is completely engaged and willing to learn more about social which is something I love in a follower!
5. Shelma Bockey (@sbockey7)- A go-getter! Full of so much drive and smarts it’s unbelievable.
6. Jeff Sheehan (@JeffSheehan) - One of the first people I followed on Twitter for his inspiration and, as it turns out, he is INCREDIBLY kind and humble, as well!
7. SOCIALiTELL (@SOCIALiTELL)- Sassy
8. Suncoast Social (@SuncoastSosh) - Smart-- love their blog!
9. Shasta Social @ShastaSocial- Observant
10. Christine Collins (@ccollins1919) - Motivational
11. Chateau Clingman (@chateauclingman)- Enthusiastic
12. Adam Dince (@AdamDince) - Compassionate
13. Chris Moody (@cnmoody) - Approachable
14. StemageSkincare (@stemageskincare)- Classy
15. Erik Qualman (@equalman) - Humble
16. Simply SAwrap (@SimplySAwrap)- Eager to learn
17. Laura Bedrossian (@LauraBedrossian) - Hilarious
18. Lisandra Carballosa (@PRntheCity)- Peppy (Cuban Coffee in a Twitter account :) )
19. Melanie (@vinogger)- Wino. Enough said.
20. Jess K Taylor (@i_amjessk) - My favorite girl from college that I love dearly :)
21. Michelle Glover (@EnTREEpreneur)- Intelligent! I love to see the network she’s created.
22. Gayatri (@GayatriWrites) - Inspirational
23. Christopher Tivey (@ctvy17)- Engagin, Jolly 
24. Brian Diaz (@b_diaz)- Smart
25. M' (@MaureenahN)- Inspiring
26. Mike Miller (@mimllr)- Hilarious Ginger
27. Kelli Snedegar (@ksnedegar)- Soulmate-- Love you, Sned <3
28. Sam Hosenkamp (@SamHosenkamp)- BEST Twitter Chat Hostess
29. SeaWorldMommy.com (@SeaWorldMommy)- Engaged
30. W3 Impact Movement (@W3Movement)- Empowering
31. Ann Hofvander (@annkh)- Enagaged
32. Sea World Mommy (@SeaWorldMommy)- Passionate
33. Andy Swann (@AndySwann)- Helpful
34. Brian Fanzo (@isocialfanz)- Positive
35. Midori Miller (@midorimiller)- SoFlo
36. Tris Banha (@TrisBanha)- AMAZING
37. Jeff Mayes (@midnightdog)- Cleverly Intelligent
38. Jay Baer (@jaybaer)- Expert
39. Petra Schrott (@petraschrott)- Lovely
40. Adrienne S. McCord (@AdrienneSMcCord)- Energetic (COFFEE!)
41. Rose Caiazzo (@JacksonHoleRose)- My touch of Wyoming (my homestate)!
42. Mike Raffone (@MikeRaffone)- Inquisitive
43. The Bitcoin Rat (BitcoinRat)- Fun
44. D’Narius Lewis (@DnariusLewis)- Courageous
45. Tom Varghese Jr. MD (@TomVargheseJr)- Kind
46. Code Improv (@CodeImprov)- Honest
47. Everyday Orange (@everydayorange)- Personable
48. Tina Shakour (@tinahskour)- Thinker
49. Anthony Permal (@AnthonyPermal)- Thoughtful
50. Syed Malik (@sydma22)- Philosophical
51. Jess Borrini Burgett (@jessicaborrini)- Engaged
52. Elizabeth Burnside (@Eli414)- Strong
53. Najaah Y. Daniels (@NajaahD)- Beautiful (Inside and out!)
54. Becky Joy Photo (BeckyJoyPhoto)- Kindred Spirit
55. EagleEyedEditor (@EagleEyedEditor)- Caring
56. Sandy T (@sassygirlcanada)- Sassy ;)
57. Roger Neil Russell (@shadowsofsense)- Spiritual
58. Aurora New Dawn (@AuroraNewDawn)- Encouraging
59. Arno Douze (@ArnoDouze)- Learner
60. woKATse (@woKATse)- Motivational
61. Chris Zubryd (@SirGalahad)- Networker
62. Jose Guaravselvam (@JoseKagoo)- Wicked smart
63. Danielle Beder (@daniellebeder)- Brave
64. Oracle CX Fan (@OracleCXFan)- Creative
65. Dr. Tecsla Evans (@DrEvansCo)- Supportive
66. Nick Jones (@magicjones34)- Enthusiastic
67. Amelia Tran (@AmelianTips)- Incredible girl!
68. Kelsey Rae (@KelseyRae)- Engaged
69. Antony Bagalue (@AntonyBagalue)- In love with my dog, and, really, that’s all it takes.
70. Gary Gonzalez (@gargon82009)- Touch of home ;) (Ask him abt my mad tennis skills)
71. Liv Graber (@LivGraber)- Smart
72. Brian M. Koshley (@bkoshley)- Knowledgable
73. Vladimer Botsvadze (@VladoBotsvadze)- Aware
74. Mark Bernhardt (@ImMarkBernhardt)- Smart
75. Dago Ochoa (@dagoochoa)- Has been a follower since the beginning! Smart, compassionate dude!
76. Cheryl Massey (@ccmasseytx)- Miami connection ;)
77. MacCBOE (@MacCBOE)- HUGE heart
78. Adam May (@agkmay)- Super networker :p
79. Marquee Chang (@MarqueeChang)- Generous
80. Business Unbound (@BusinessUnbound)- Enthusiastic
81. Dimitri and Cat (@DimitriandCat)- BEST GRAPHIC DESIGNER EVER. He designed my Sherman Social logos. Check them out @ShermanSocial.
82. Tracy Stella (@TracyStellaBlog)- Personable
83. Mally Graveson (@mallygraveson)- Great at delivering personalized sport scores when you can’t watch the game!
84. Nobre (@NobreClothings)- Great style and mission.
85. ThinkAboutC (@ThinkAboutC)- SMART
86. Philip Emmanuele (@philipemmanuele)- Using Twitter the right way as an Exec!
87. Lindsay Stewart (@LindsayNStewart)- Sweet
88. Gabe Chesman (@gchesman)- Thinker
89. Cameron J. Wood (@Cameron_Wood)- Incredibly compassonate
90. Nikk Smit (@NikkBishopSmit)- Finds awesome social content
91. Blowfish Hangover (@BlowfishHangover)- Haven’t had a need to use their product yet, but they are pretty good at their social media.
92. Steve Martin (@LeoMcGirr)- Philosophical
93. Tom Dealy (@tomdealy)- Brings up great points on social!
94. Jason Schemmel (@JasonSchemmel)- One of the funniest, smartest guys I know
95. Kenn Blurton (@BlurtonKenn)- Tips me off to awesome topics for my blog :)
96. Deke Bridges (@dekebridges)- Knowledgable AND compassionate
97. Brian Moran (@brianmoran)- Clever small business consultant that knows what’s up
98. David Payton (@david_payton)- In love with his glasses.
99. Massimiliano Balbi (@MaximilianBa)- A little shout of from Italy never hurt a girl.
100. Ian M. Calvert (@IanMCalvert)- Businessman :)

So THANK YOU to those of you that have found me relevant enough to follow. I've had so many real conversations with you from consulting you on social media issues you're having, to having you console me when I all of a sudden found myself in an abusive marriage. The kindness, intelligence and authenticity you've given my Twitter community is astounding, and I am incredibly grateful for it everyday.

Love,
M.

Would you rather have 100K followers, or 100K conversations?

As an experienced social pro, the answer to this seems like common sense to me. As an experienced social pro conversing with non- social pros, I realize that this is a dilemma for many, MANY brands of all sizes. Until every click farm and "100K Twitter followers for $39!" bot goes away, it will continue to be a hot topic.

If you know anything about me, or have read any other Sherman Social blog post, then you already know where I stand on this. If this is your first introduction to me (hello!), I strongly believe that conversations should be the #1 goal of a social media strategy. Not sales, not popularity, not empty followers, not 15-minutes-of-fame viral content --> but true, authentic conversations around your brand, your fans and your industry.

Now, there's the catch --> When I talk about conversations I am not referring to the one-way conversations brands send out advertising their newest invention. No! I am talking about real, two-way conversations that acknowledge your fans' interests as much as they acknowledge your products.

IMHO, brand conversations should include a hodgepodge of the following:

Your BRAND --> You are on social media for a reason --> you have something to sell. It would be pointless for you to be on social and not update fans on your brand and products. Fans are also following your social networks because they have an interest in your brand, so don't shy away from speaking about it. They signed a contract stating their interest in you the moment they decided to become a part of your social community. While overdoing your brand messaging is NOT the way to go, providing relevant, VALUABLE content to your fans is vital to have an effective social media strategy.

Your FANS --> This is the single MOST important part of your social conversations. These are the people you NEED in order to have a social universe, and can easily turn away from your brand by overdoing brand messaging or not giving them the attention they deserve on social media. While you should do the everyday community management with your fans, you ALSO should pay attention to what else they are talking about on social media. Don't be afraid to talk about something a bit outside of your brand in order to connect to a fan. It's like the popular analogy goes --> social media is like a cocktail party. If you talk only about yourself at a cocktail party, no one else is going to want to talk to you. However, if you act interested in what the other party goers have to say, the you will be the most liked person there!

Your INDUSTRY --> Whether you are a publishing platform, a design firm, a fashion brand, a doctor's office --> you have to know what is going on in your industry and participate in those conversations online. Not only will this connect you to others you have things in common with, only expanding your social network, it will also position you as a thought leader within your industry. This will automatically build trust within your social community that you actually know what you're talking about, which will only enhance the value of your social ecosystem.

Yes, this type of social media conversation takes more time, but it's WORTH IT. The value that will come from an audience that trusts you as a thought leader, and knows you genuinely care about their interests, will create a brand loyalty like you've never seen before. Just watch.

- Marji J. Sherman

How To Survive A Social Media Crisis

If I am ever in hot water because of a mistake I made in social media territory, I want the social media manager for DiGiorno on my recovery team. As a survivor of domestic abuse, you can imagine my personal outrage when I saw DiGiorno hacked the #WhyIStayed trend on Twitter that was a conversation about Ray Rice and domestic abuse.

How could a brand be so incredibly stupid to hack an emotionally sensitive hashtag?! After saying a few curse words under my breath, I went back to my day of monitoring social networks and endless meetings. I could not this go, though. Not because my anger for DiGiorno's social team kept growing, but because I actually thought the hashtag was about something else this morning, myself, and was surprised when I clicked on it that it was linked to Ray Rice's wife staying with him in spite of an elevator tape showing him beating her unconscious. Let's face it --> It's an easy mistake. Easily avoidable, but also easy to get caught up in social media trends and forget to do your due diligence.

I decided to Tweet out my own abuse story (Using the Power of Social Media for a Higher Purpose ) to raise awareness that you shouldn't judge people in abusive situations, but rather empower them to leave, as so many incredible people did for me. A follower latched onto this, and sent me AdWeek's coverage of DiGiorno's debacle, knowing it would most likely outrage me. I responded, not kindly, and this is what DiGiorno sent back:

Ladies and gentlemen --> THIS IS HOW YOU DO SOCIAL MEDIA. In literally ten seconds, I had a personal response from the community manager, that began this conversation:

As promised, here is my post. What do you do when you make a mistake in front of the whole world on social media?! --> OWN IT. It takes more courage and brains for a brand to own its mistakes in front of the world, then try to put on some PR hat and spin it, or just remain silent. The team at DiGiorno did the ABSOLUTELY RIGHT thing by immediately owning that they screwed up, and personally responding to any and all that had an issue with their mistake.

The way this social media manager cleaned up his/her mess MORE than makes up for a moment of misjudgment. Think about it, people, social media managers are having conversations 24/7 that are seen by the entire world. They don't get to have an editing session with their boss, or be condemned in private by their coworkers by a mistake they made on an internal document. Absolutely EVERY mistake they make is their in public for everyone to condemn. DiGiorno,

If a girl who experienced domestic abuse firsthand can forgive DiGiorno, then you certainly can. Maybe you can even pick up a few tips from their awesome recovery. I like the way the team over at SOCIALiTELL say it best:

If you're still busy harassing the brand, maybe it's time to air out all of your mistakes in public so we can judge those, as well. 

- Marji J. Sherman