There's a slide in my standard social media strategy presentation showing a young couple looking lovingly at one another. Okay, actually only the girl is looking lovingly. The boy's face looks as if he's brimming with ulterior motives!

The image is there to remind organizations considering social media that their strategies can't resemble the teenage boy's apparent dating strategy if they expect to build strong, lasting relationships.

The striking similarities between dating's early stages and the first phases of implementing a successful social media strategy are a convenient way to gauge whether your organization's social media strategy is likely be appropriate and successful.

With several Brainzooming presentations on social media strategy coming up, I wanted to share the specifics behind the slide's message in more detail.

Here are 26 pieces of dating advice as valuable in trying to form a personal relationship as they are in creating successful social media-based relationships:

Preparing for Potential Relationships

As You Begin Pursuing Potential Relationships

In the Early Stages of a Relationship

  • Allow time to find out what's interesting about the other person. What's intriguing about someone else may not be readily apparent after a first meeting.
  • Make reasonable promises that you expect to keep on a timely basis.
  • Don't place a lot of expectations on the relationship early on. Forget about demanding commitments right away or making someone change their behaviors as a precursor to continuing the relationship.
  • Don't try to suffocate the person with too much communication.
  • Work to create positive, enjoyable time together without pressure to consummate the relationship right away.
  • Be available when the other person is interested. That means you have to commit to devoting the time to make a relationship work.
  • Small gestures are important and appropriate early on to show you're interested in a relationship.

Follow all this advice faithfully, and your popularity and attractiveness is sure to rise both online and IRL. - Mike Brown

The Brainzooming Group helps make smart organizations more successful by rapidly expanding their strategic options and creating innovative plans they can efficiently implement. Email us at brainzooming@gmail.com or call 816-509-5320 to learn how we've developed  integrated social media strategy for other brands and can do the same for yours.