Chapter 8
Stimulate Discussion—People Become Invested When They’re Involved

Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.

—RALPH WALDO EMERSON

CAN YOU FIGURE out the difference between these two scenarios?

• Scenario 1. You update your status on Facebook: “Just finished a delicious dinner at a new Japanese restaurant around the corner from my house. What a treat to go out in the middle of the week and enjoy great food and conversation. Sushi is my favorite.” You check back a couple hours later and no one has commented or “Liked” your post. The next morning, you check back into Facebook and only one person has commented on your post—your mom. “Strange,” you think to yourself, feeling a little disappointed. “I’m sure that other people like sushi and don’t get to go out midweek very much. I’m surprised that no one else commented.”

• Scenario 2. You update your status on Facebook: “Sushi and sake tonight! Anyone else a fan?” You check back a couple hours later and have several Likes and a few comments such as, “I could go for some California rolls right now,” and “Have you tried the new place on Front Street? It’s awesome!” and “Have a shot of sake for me.” You’re happy to have stimulated some discussion, and you got a couple great restaurant recommendations.

You probably have some ideas about why the second was more effective. Let’s explore the reasons.

To get discussion going in social media or other places, think of the acronym EARS, like you want people to listen with all ears. Your conversation must be:

• Engaging. This means that people feel that you’re speaking directly to or with them, not at them. You want your posts to sound conversational and not like entries out of your daily planner or journal.

• Affective. Affect is another word for emotion. Affective communication has energy and emotion to it.

• Relatable. We become engaged when we can relate to something on a personal level. This means that we’ve experienced or thought something similar before.

• Simple. Remember that our brains and bodies are designed to conserve energy, so if something is too complicated, we resist it. To be simple, a message should have one meaning and should be as brief as possible to convey that meaning.

Let’s consider some ways to include EARS in your marketing, particularly in speaking and in social media since those are two areas where discussion is essential.