Social Media Advice of the Day: Call them by Name

This week we are exploring the relationship between Dale Carnegie’s “6 Ways to Make People Like You” and social media. His third way is to “remember that a man’s name is to him the sweetest and most important sound in any language.” It is the same instructions I got from my first real boss, the former Director of Development at my high school, Tom LeClair. The worst thing you can do is spell someone’s name wrong.

I talk about this frequently, but too often people look at social media as an opportunity to preach their message to the masses. Instead, the best results from social media come when you make it personal. The best way to make something personal is to include a person’s name. Here are two ways that you can “use people’s names” in digital marketing and social media.

1. First, use people’s names, literally.  When someone responds to  a post online, reply. When someone follows you, reply. Literally, use the person’s name in those responses. The more personal you make it, the more successful you will be at building a valuable relationship. When email marketing, use names. Segment as much as possible to make the message as relevant as possible.

2. Make sure you engage on a personal level.I recently came across a social media person who was blasting out that she will offer social media help for free. Instead, reach out to individuals, offer custom advice and your results will be better. Instead of her approach, I received a like from a company that was tweeting without maximum potential. I thanked them for the follow and gave a small piece of advice that applied to their social media usage. They are now a customer. I called them by name but also offered some very personalized advice. It works.

Using a person’s name is the best way to make things personal and when you make social media personal, you will see a real increase your results. Take valuable social media advice from a man born in 1888. Dale Carnegie.