The Intention To Share

Yes, we are all of us in business with transactions in mind. Yes, more transactions are almost always better than fewer transactions. Yes, we hope our social media efforts -- like everything else we do -- will be followed by more people purchasing our goods and services. Indeed, if you succeed in forging relationships with your various constituencies, and you are open and honest and share (i.e., in both directions) compelling and relevant stuff, loyalty and trust will grow and from that will flow more business at lowers acquisition costs.

But if you are cultivating community and conversation for the purpose of corralling cattle into the slaughterhouse, you are not engaging in a social strategy. You are engaging in a sales strategy, which is pretty close to the antithesis of social marketing. We are in the Relationship Era. This is no time for manipulation. 

(Please click on the keywords "social media" to read the full article)

   People are more than statistics. Sales strategies are fine but trying to manipulate people has limited success because sooner or later people figure out they are being manipulated and they will resent being manipulated. Don't insult people's intelligence or play on their emotions in social media marketing or in any other endeavor for that matter. Success in social media marketing is sharing something of value and looking at what others are sharing of value. Social media marketing is not a sales strategy but an intention to share. Sales and referrals will just flow naturally from the power of that intention to share something of value with another.