You’re probably wondering what the heck poetry has to do with public relations and marketing . Aside from all the frustrated poets working in the advertising industry, and the occasional verse thrown into a print ad there really is no relevance here. But today, March 21 2011, is World Poetry Day and it’s an opportunity to remember what we all seem to have forgotten:
SOCIAL MEDIA IS SUPPOSED TO BE FUN
Mark Zuckerberg didn’t start Facebook so we could figure out how many impressions our posts were getting and how to use the latest application to make the best contest that would give us the greatest number of click throughs. I believe Facebook was started because it was supposed to be fun to connect with your friends online and to see what they’re up to on a daily basis. Twitter wasn’t developed so that you “build a platform for your book and get a book deal” Twitter, I again believe, was a way to connect very quickly with people all over the world.
Somehow, social media has become a chore, something we have to do if we want to stay connected, to find our customers where they’re hanging out online. Forget about that. I’ve been having a blast live tweeting American Idol with folks like @jenchicktastic and @pharmd84 for a couple years now. And I’ve tweeted with @janefonda and @mrskutcher a couple times too. AND I’ve learned some pretty good lessons from using Twitter…that have also helped me connect with journalists, clients, bloggers and others that have helped move forward my business. But once I got too focused on how many followers I had, my twitter “influence” and all that…it became a bummer.
Let’s use World Poetry Day as a way to bring fun back into our social media lives. I dare you to write a twaiku (in case you’re wondering, that’s a haiku in 140 characters or less) and tweet it to me @waxgirl333. I’ll post those in my Friday blog post and give you a link back to your site. Just cuz. And the next time you get on your company Facebook page, or Twitter remember that you’re supposed to enjoy doing this…it’s a way to connect not just another time-draining activity.
Ok…are you ready for my Twaiku? Here it is.
[blackbirdpie url="http://twitter.com/#!/waxgirl333/status/49867913150201856"]