I have experienced first hand the fears many clients are facing when I was asked to do a UStream live interview with the guys from Lucky Startups to discuss fly-post, a pet project here at Fastspot. Shortly before getting started, I realized with sudden terror, that absolutely anyone could not only watch the interview, but post comments in the chat room. I have since come to recognize this same fear in the eyes, voices and emails of clients. Which has led me to ask, What are we afraid of? Conversation? No, I think we are all afraid of one thing, criticism.

Until the explosion of social media, most marketing was a one way street. Put your message, brand, brochure, product, commercial, website, whatever - out there in the world, and hope people like it. Now, its not so simple. Now, you have to endure the slew of feedback - good, bad and indifferent. It means we all need to put on our thick skins, and realize that criticisms, while often easily dismissed, can be extremely valuable feedback. In art school we called this critiques. As painful as they could be, those negative comments would force us to take stock and consider our creations, and make adjustments back in the studio. It was literally the life blood of “growth” as an artist.

So I challenge fearful clients and nervous marketers, don’t let this fear freeze you in place. Engage your audiences as they expect to be in this day and age of constant connections, and welcome the criticism. Use these slightly negative or uncomfortable bits of communication as a way to engage in constructive conversations, explanations to your audiences, and perhaps, even, as a vehicle for growth.