My Community Rocks!

A big shout out of thanks to my Twitter and Facebook friends! On Sunday I ran a 5K (3.1 mile) race that was a fundraiser to raise awareness and $$ for ovarian cancer research at Cedars Sinai Medical Center.

My running buddy challenged me to see if I could raise money using my social networks. I'm always talking about Twitter and Facebook and she wanted me to prove that it's not a waste of time. So I took her up on the challenge.

I set a low goal of $200 because I knew I didn't have a lot of time to really push it.  I think it was a Saturday afternoon when I set up my donor page and sent a tweet out about what I was doing with a link to make a donation. I was in shock.

In less than 5 minutes I had 3 donations from people in my community. Two of whom I did not know.

I tweeted about the run and fundraising a few more times before the race and ended up raising $400. Every time I posted a tweet, I got an immediate response both in donations and messages of encouragement and support. With the exception of a couple of friends and my mom, all the donors were from my Facebook and Twitter communities and most from people I've never met before.

What's my point?

As a business person, yes, you want to create massive visibility for your business, products and services. And yes, you want to use the social networking tools that are available to you to promote your business.

But remember for a moment, that all those people who are following you are people first, customers second. When you take the time to engage on a personal level IN ADDITION to providing useful, relevant content, then you position yourself as someone others want to know and be around.

Most of my personal life stays personal. But I've chosen to share my adventures (challenges) with running and I also share my passions for my causes (Kiva.org). This provides a glimpse into me as a person and the people who can relate feel closer to me and I get the opportunity to meet new people who share my passions as well.

And then, when I put the word out that I need support for a project, a cause, research, these folks come through with flying colors and tremendous generosity. I only hope I can be as supportive and generous in return.

Take a chance and get involved with your community. Share something personal. You'll be amazed at the response you get and the new friends you'll make.

Are you following me on Twitter? Let's connect!