Are You A Digital Citizen or Tourist?

What is a digital citizen?

You may be wondering what the term digital citizens mean?

First of all, I want to give credit where credit's due. 

As a HubSpot SolutionPartner, our continuous development sees us read and consume lots of books and inbound courses. Currently, we're reading a book called Inbound by the founders of HubSpot, which is Dharmesh Shah and Brian Halligan.

In the book, the authors talk about when you're recruiting people, especially in today's digital world.

As people, we all buy online and have accounts, and we're all on Google, we're all searching for things, social media's more prominent than ever.

In an example, they talk about hiring, and their point is talking about hiring digital citizens instead of digital tourists.

Which, ultimately, your people, like ours, are active on social media, and a digital citizen will have a significant reach, a big network, and they're analytical and curious.

A Positive or negative association

As business owners, you're not always aware of how your team of current

• Co-directors
• Executive team
• Middle management
• Employees could be affecting your business.

If you've got a digital citizen, who is actively sharing and posting content for you on social media, or liking your company articles, then, what they're doing, is they're connecting themselves with your brand.

Ultimately, if they're interacting, commenting, sharing consider how that association as an employee affecting your brand is?

How to lose a £350k project with a single Facebook post

Here's a quick example, which, may shock some of you, it may not be a surprise to the others, we live in the real world, so, trust me, I understand that.

We're currently converting our offices at 6teen30 Digital.

We've got a couple of agricultural barns on our property. And it's a significant project. It's going to be about 4000 square foot when completed, we're estimating around £350K build and conversion. I mention that figure for a specific reason.

When shortlisting potential contractors, I started to look at my Facebook contacts on a Sunday, to see if I've got any building companies on there, where I could maybe reach out and start obtaining quotes and bring them down to the project and share the plans.

I won't mention the name, because, it is rather embarrassing for them and I find a contact company, and, precisely this is what it said across their Facebook profile.

'F**! Me, somebody is going to get it today.

They've got the company banner in the top, and they're F-ing and blinding on the Facebook page, Sunday morning. Now, naturally, the first thing that's going to happen, that company's not going to get invited to attend to build, our new offices.

Pure and simple, because, it's not professional. It's not the type of people I want to be associated.

Immediately I unfriended them and unfollowed them. I think it's unnecessary regardless of the situation for a company owner to conduct and represent their business publicly that way.

How do you conduct yourself online?

I recommend you have a look at your business, have a look at how you're conducting yourself on Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin and other social channels.

Is there any offensive comments that you are putting out, that's associated with your brand. And, if there is, you might want to think about getting those posts removed.

Consider that particular building company, the conduct of their owner just cost them the opportunity, to tender for the £350k build project.

Secondly, look at your middle management and your team. Are any of the group sharing anything negative in connection with your brand?

Whether it's their personal Facebook / LinkedIn profile, they can do what they want. I'm not saying to spy on anybody, but, what I am saying, is take a look. It could cost you a lot of business.

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