Yesterday was the first day of the Parnassus Group’s Twitter Conference here in Los Angeles. The schedule yesterday was jam-packed with many local figures in the social space, all of them sharing how Twitter has changed their lives and the way they engage with people.
Today was a little different, but only in tone–the conference kicked off with Tony Robbins (@tonyrobbins), the acclaimed self-help guru and motivational speaker.
As we listened to him speak and speak, pausing every 30 seconds to deliver one of his patented “Can I get an AYE!” (Yes, Captain, my Captain, you can…) a few things started to become clear.
I know a few other people have said this before, so forgive me for paraphrasing people like Peter Shankman (@skydiver) and Robert Scoble (@scobleizer): in terms of connecting with people, social media is not the end all be all. Twitter is not the end all be all.
What does matter, and what we took away not only from Tony JUST THROW THOSE PANTIES ON THE STAGE, LADIES Robbins, but from virtually all the other speakers, is that it all comes down to four key things: authenticity, trust, transparency, and relevance.
It’s not the technology. It’s the connection.
It doesn’t matter if it’s Twitter, Facebook, or a freaking handshake, It’s honesty. It’s the way of the world since the dawn of fire. First guy invented fire. He sold it. Someone else realized they could do the same thing. Did he lose market share? Who gives a crap? It was fire, and it was honest. It was hot, it burned meat, and kept you warm. There. Honesty.
Same thing today. You have a product? Make it what your consumers want. Make your customers into addicts, and they’ll be there for life–and they’ll use these social media tools to do your own marketing for you.
And guess what? It’s no different than what the first guy who got off the first Zeppelin ride did, He got off the ride, adjusted his hat, and told anyone who was in earshot “that airship is freakin’ great! They’re gonna make a heavy metal band out of that name one day!”
Now, we’re just doing it through electrons.
So, Robbin’s takeaway? No difference. Be honest.
That’s something we’ll jump up and scream “Aye!” about.
Wriiten with Peter Shankman, sitting at a table off to the side, while giggling at lolcats.
