The other day, I was sitting at home watching TV and saw a new commercial promoting the upcoming season of Curb Your Enthusiasm.
For anyone that has or hasn’t watched (It’s one of my favorites and should be watched by anyone who was a fan of Seinfeld), you should know that Larry David, who plays himself on the show, has several defining characteristics. Within his traits, there are several lessons we can take away and apply them to how we counsel our clients on their social media efforts.
1. Larry often says the things that many people think, but don’t actually say in public. This may work for Larry, but if your client has a brand page on Facebook or a group on LinkedIn, there are ways of getting their message across without coming off as an ass.
2. Larry can be brutally honest. Now, you don’t want to come off being disrespectful to your fans/followers, but you should answer all of their questions in an honest, polite way.
3. Larry is pretty, pretty, pretty content with himself. This is the exact opposite of what you, or your client, want to be. It’s great if you have tons of brand ambassadors and everyone loves your client because they give away free pocket protectors for every 100 ‘likes’ on Facebook, but that can change in an instant. Always think of ways to go the extra mile and stay hungry.
4. Larry always finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time. Make sure to do the proper research and monitor various social media channels before counseling your clients on where to jump in. In other words, don’t advise your client to create a Twitter handle just for the sake of creating one. Create one because their audience is there and it makes sense.
5. Larry is very passionate. During the most recent season of Curb, Larry tries everything to win back the love of his life, Cheryl, and he ultimately accomplishes his objective. This same passion should be applied to your clients social media channels. If you don’t enjoy the work that you are doing, then you are probably not the right person to be managing the online presence for your particular client(s).
If you are a fan of the show, what else would you add to this list?
