Clarity Strategic^TM

The image here is a Wordle construct, and you can find it, and learn how to make one for yourself, here.

Wordle makes a display of words from a blog or a block of text, with the size of the words in the display based on their frequency of use. Here, the words are almost all the same size. Illustrating the confusion I have had regarding social media specialty. The confusion I have had until now.

Some people have no problem deciding what their online persona is, because it's based on some overriding interest. My problem was based on the fact that I have MANY interests. That, and a mistaken notion that to have a specialty I might have to actually give up some of my interests, at least while online.

Turns I don't have to give any up, as such. I have to prioritize them instead. I ask myself

• What's most important to my audience?
• Have I given my audience what they need? (Without overdoing it?)
• Have I upheld my online image? (I worked hard to create it.)

This is what you'll go through too, if you want to specialize. If you are all about fun, you may have a hard time getting noticed when it's time to be serious. And vice-versa. If you are dogmatic about one interest (e.g. politics or religion, of course), you could turn off potential customers when it's time to tell them something they can use. There's a balance - it's tricky, but not impossible, to achieve.

In the meantime, Twitter - and the other platforms - clamor for your attention. In truth, many people in social media only want you to hear them. But you will find some who want to KNOW you.

In short, I have a mission, and it looks like this:

• to understand
• to be understood
• to bring value

and anything else must wait until I'm done, or be used only for engagement. Engagement - meaning conversation - as opposed to announcement, which we would do with blog posts and the like.

So here's how I parcel out my specialties in blogging, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, newsletters, and whatever else I do online, in order of engagement experience:

(1) Social media, behavioral aspects (blog, all social media platforms)

• Engagement is more important than a Twitter account or a Facebook page.
• Our reliability is based to a large extent on how we behave around others.
• SEO is more effective when organic, so we must learn to write about ourselves and our works in the right context.
• Any social media guru can handle the how to; who handles the why, or the what?

(2) Bullying (blog, Twitter, Facebook Page, guest blogger, sometimes Google+)

• The two things I've done online in which I have the most pride are the 24-Hour Bully Stake-Out and a friendship blog.
• This is a lot like your business staking out a "cause" and supporting it publicly.

(3) The hometown and surrounding area (Facebook Profile, Facebook Page)

• It's where I live, where I love (when I do), where I find pleasure and friends, and it is the single largest geographical source of contacts on all social media platforms.
• For your business, this is like locating your principal source of customers, so you might very well do the same thing.

(4) Small business (Facebook Page, Twitter)

• I know there is an audience there.
• Most of my own customers are small businesses.

(5) Geekness (e-newsletter, sometimes Google+)

• Because geeks are all over the place
• Because geek faves are just so interesting

And that means other interests are pushed to the end of the line, however I may be tempted to follow up on them. Some interests will be pushed back further than others.

You see now that I've spent time on this, and really thought it through. Now I am making a public commitment to following it. If you're serious about doing business via social media, you'll have to do the same. Good luck, and remember: I'm on your side.