You can hardly have missed the fact that it is Valentine's Day this weekend. For the business world, February the 14th perhaps bears no special significance, however it offers a reminder to consider the strength of the relationships you have or are trying to build.

In one regard perhaps there is a similarity as both are increasingly becoming played out online. In both cases there will always be those whose interest in you is purely superficial. Although this provides a good boost, it is those connections which provide a more in-depth mutual interest and long-term benefit that we ultimately value most.

I talked last year about the difference between ambassadors and fans in the business world, which can be compared to the meaningful relationships and casual friendships we enjoy in our personal lives. Ambassadors are what we strive for; the clients, partners and peers we have proper relationships with and who are truly deserving of a bunch of red roses and a mix tape. As you can imagine though, like life, it takes an investment in time and effort to turn fans into ambassadors.

In the world of digital communications the key to success lay in consistent messaging, it being relevant and the timing of when you say it. Applied well, it will ensure that a client or prospect is likely to be moved to want to engage, share and remember it. Like life, achieving this is rarely a happy accident though and you need a well thought through strategy.

Do this well and you can afford to embrace the warm fuzzy feeling that this time of year can bring on, safe in the knowledge that the relationships you have developed will continue to get stronger and more likely to convert into something deep and meaningful for your business.

So, as we say… feel the love ❤

Happy Valentine's

photo credit: Engagement ring