Page 13 - Engage -- Summer 2018 -- no. 13

Summer 2018
11
From
Jason’s Newsletter
Image Credit: Hashtag Sports
and then they will ask me their real question. I believe that a simple response can create a fan for life, someone who will follow you loyally on social media, buy your book, and listen to every podcast.
The one thing people want more than anything is to feel heard, and it doesn’t take much to make them feel heard. If you can do that on an individual basis and figure out a way to scale that, you will win. People don’t want to be treated like one of a crowd. They want to be treatedasone. n
Here’s the backstory:
For the past few months, I’ve been doing weekly Instagram live feeds through @Entrepreneur every Wednesday around
3 p.m. EST. But I quickly noticed a problem: people would keep tuning in throughout the video and asking, “Who are you? What are you talking about?”
At first, I just kept reintroducing myself. “For those that just joined,” I’d say, “I’m Jason Feifer . . .” But that got annoying. So,
I made a hand-printed sign—but
because a cell phone’s selfie mode
flips an image, I had to hand print
the sign backward in order for it to
read as forward on the live feed.
I’d just hold it up as I talked. Then
I printed the sign, so it was easier
to read. A few weeks in, someone
suggested I tape it to my shirt so I
didn’t have to hold it.
And that’s when Success Print Shop in San Angelo, TX, reached out and asked if I’d like actual T-shirts with my backward sign printed on them. “I’d love that,”
I said. So, he made five and sent them to my office.
I didn’t ask for it. I wouldn’t have thought of it on my own. But here’s a guy with a T-shirt print shop, which means he was the perfect person to solve a problem
I didn’t even know I had. And ever since, I’ve given him shout-outs on Instagram for the shirts I now wear every week.
We can all do this—use social media to surprise and delight people and be the solutions to other people’s problems. All we have to do is reach out. n
This story was first published in Jason Feifer’s newsletter. Reprinted with permission.
Just reach out.
People often talk about how awful social media can be. But recently, an entrepreneur did something for me that was delightfully clever— and, I think, an inspiration for us all to use social media in smart ways.
Image Credit: Andrea Huspeni
Jason Feifer
is the host of two podcasts:
• Problem Solvers, about entrepreneurs solving unexpected problems in their business
• Pessimists Archive, a history of unfounded fears of innovation
He’s @heyfeifer on Twitter and Instagram and can also be found at jasonfeifer.com.