Let's play the imagination game for a second. Close your eyes (well, not really, you still need to read) and picture this...


You're attending a big industry networking event. Tons of amazing people are there – from large brands that you admire, to potential clients. The room is packed and everyone is talking and trading business cards. You walk through the doors, your name badge on display. You take a deep breath.

Then, still standing in the doorway, you yell out, "I'm Donna Queza - Marketing Optimist. I'm fantastic. I know tons of stuff. Find me on Facebook!"


Umm... excuse me psycho. What are you doing? 
Some people stop talking and look up at you momentarily. Others hardly even glance in your direction. One poor sap might ask you for a business card. And, just like that, you walk out of the room, get in your car and go home.

You'd never do this, right? Hopefully, you walk into the room and start genuine conversations with people you'd like to know. You ask them what they do, what they're interested in. You interject when you have something to add. You're funny and charming. Only when the conversation winds down do you pull out a card and ask for their's in exchange.


This is called engagement.

In-person it's natural. But, online it's not so obvious. Many of us sign up for Twitter accounts and expect people to come running to us, purchasing our products/services and loving anything we have to say. I actually had a client tell me - in regard to Facebook - that he gets offended when people don't comment on things he posts. My question to him was, "Why should they?"

Social media marketing is not some kind of magic that brings clients from all corners of the world to your door step. It's hard work. You have to put in time, get to know people, reach out - 
engage.

But, the really cool thing is that it's pretty easy to find people and start chatting with them. Conduct searches for people in your area, in your industry, or with similar interests. Then, say something to them.

Here are three quick tips to start engaging with people on Twitter. I'll bet you if you do any of these things, you'll get people talking to you:


1. 

2. Genuinely compliment someone. You like their logo, website, profile, picture... anything? Send them a little note letting them know!

3. Ask a specific question. Everyone wants to be admired and viewed as good at what they do. If you've had a question on a specific topic, find someone online and ask them their thoughts.

4. Be interested in what they're doing. Next time you retweet (RT) something, add a comment about a specific point they've addressed. For instance, if you RT this article later you can say you really like point #3!



Tried these things and still not seeing results? Let's chat! Post your comment below and we'll do some brainstorming.


This is an original post from The Launch Sequence. If you're in the Los Angeles area and are looking to start or grow your business, you've got to check us out!