Talking shop is fun. And it’s important. But talking shop doesn’t build your business.

Mechanics love talking cars with other mechanics. But it’s the suckers with the car that needs fixing that pay the bills.

Guitarists love talking gear. But fans by the record.

Direct selling reps love sharing best practices with other reps. But its recruiting other reps that leads to real business.

Now, with social media snowballing into the tool du jour of the past year, there are social media “experts” popping up on every block. And we all love talking about the tools and methods and attitudes that are interesting.

But the people who are succeeding with social media understand how important the tool is in connecting with their customers moreso than their colleagues.

Gary Vaynerchuk is known as a social media guru, but it’s because he used the tools to display his expertise in wine. Scott Monty is similarly a pioneer in social media, but he got there by connecting with Ford’s customers and even nay-sayers.

Too many of us are trying to prove to the rest of our colleagues that we know what we’re talking about when it comes to social media. The fact is the medium is too young for any of us to be experts. While it’s extremely important to carve out time to connect with those that do what we do, it’s more important to connect with those who want what we’ve got.

Spend less time focused on impressing your colleagues, and more time impressing your customers. Ironically, this approach will impress both groups.

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