Last week Alissa and I represented jhP at the Free State Social a social media conference in Lawrence. While there, we had the opportunity to hear from some of the country’s top social media thought-leaders. So what did we take away? Check it out – the first of a series of two blog posts covering the event.

Thursday kicked off with a BANG with keynote speaker Chris Brogan, President of New Marketing Labs and New York Times best selling author of Trust Agents on stage. Then we heard from Shawna Coronado, author of Gardening Nude. Here’s what we learned from these two …

In social media it’s all personal. This is something we already know, encourage and practice regularly, but Shawna made a great point in her presentation – when you think about it, aren’t some of the best sales people the best because they are personal?

If that’s true, then how do you keep this in perspective and not end up spending all day building relationships through social media? A good tip given at the conference was the 2-hour rule. Chris referenced this in his presentation. If you have two hours a day to spend on social media then spend 30 minutes listening, 60 communicating and 30 minutes publishing. There’s no foolproof formula – this is just a reference to show you how important it is to communicate with your audience.

At the end of the day, these new media channels are a place for social networking and we need to do just that – be social in our networking! So engage with your friends and followers. Build those relationships by sharing something personal about yourself. Office out of diet coke? Share your frustration with your followers – it’s a great way to start a conversation! Just be real and authentic, don’t hide behind your brand’s logo and expect people to engage with you.

Our nerdy claim to fame? I got to have lunch with Chris Brogan and Alissa got him to autograph her copy of Trust Agents! Check it out: