5 Social Media Tips From Ernest Hemingway

Ernest Hemingway had many talents. His foremost were writing and drinking, but his little-known skill for giving excellent, concise advice was not widespread until after his death. His inspirational quotes are often relatable and full of truth. Here are 5 of his quotes that can be used for social media. Read the details and rock your online customer service.

(1) “I like to listen. I have learned a great deal from listening carefully. Most people never listen.”

Listening is an essential part of social media. The number of American digital shoppers was 137 million in 2010, and is expected to be 175 million by 2016. As a local small business, you must reach out to your community and see what target customers are saying. Pay attention to their needs, questions, and lifestyles so you can offer the right product or service solution at the moment of purchase, to build brand loyalty with your customer. As Mr. Hemingway says, you can learn a great deal from listening carefully. Follow community pages and reach out to customers by asking questions about your service, facility, or product.

(2) “Today is only one day in all the days that will ever be. But what will happen in all the other days that ever come can depend on what you do today.”

This one’s a little strange at first. Read it again. You’ll see his point is simple: all the days coming upon you in the future are affected by what you do today. That’s a valuable lesson in social media. When you check your social media regularly and post fresh content that stimulates conversation and a buzz around your brand, your actions will have a positive impact for your company’s influence. Your daily behavior, conversation style, and demeanor are important for your reputation. Future days will contain bigger audiences, more customer solutions provided daily, and conversation with your fans. Be diligent.

(3) “The grass is greener where you water it.”

Don’t be jealous if your competitor has more Google+ reviews, Facebook fans, or blog posts than you. It may look as if the grass is greener on the other side of the fence, but consider your opponents’ social media pages. Find out what they do to engage fans; monitor their status posts to see what works. See what their industry content sources are, and how they interact with their fans. You can care for your social media “lawn” by creating bigger and better ideas based on competitors’ successful online practices.

(4) “There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.”

The word nobility comes from an Old French word nobilite in the mid-14th century. It means, “quality of being excellent or rare”. You want to be that business. Your biggest competitor is the local small business you were yesterday. When you have the right relationship with your customer, you can provide them with help, answers, and a solution in their moment of need in a rare, high-quality way. Respond to messages. Interact daily. Ask questions. Pay attention to what is going on in the community, online and offline. If you do this, your business practices will be best practices, and your customer base will grow larger and become stronger.

(5) “We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master.”

Social media marketing and digital communications are always evolving as they work together. Both industries discover new ways to communicate brand values which engage the online customer. Sure, some of us are more experienced than others and have been using social media since it began. But in an ever-evolving technology industry, the social media communications craft is about flexibility and adaptation to change in a digital world where anything could be invented tomorrow. Keep in mind: we’re all apprentices, and an open mind will serve you well.