The Bright Lights of Social Media Good

 

Have you noticed how much social good is being generated as a result of social media influence? 

You should, because this is telling us something about what our social media tools are best suited for, and how this powerful platform is changing the business environment.  

The Business Environment

You can use the social networks for marketing, but understanding the need for accomplishing some good in the process is going to give you a leg up on the competition.  Competition?  It sounds strange to use that word in this context, but traditionally, that is how marketers like me have been trained to think.

And that is exactly why you want to shift your thinking from the old-school terms of attacking markets and beating the competition to more appropriate language that fits this platform – whose amplification tends to bring out the good in all of us.

That's right, when you put all of us on stage and turn up the lights, its amazing how much more civil, cordial, and even downright nice we all become to our friends, and yes, our competitors too.  This is a new way of doing business that is shaping the communities where our customers live and work.

Know Who You Are

There are all kinds of ways to help.  I give away daily tips and advice for small business owners on this blog.  Is this social good?  Maybe not quite yet, so stay tuned.  For now, it's one way that works for me, but that doesn't mean that its the right approach for you.  

I will go so far as to say it probably isn't.  Why?  Because this is a lot of work.  I enjoy doing it, but not necessarily every day.  However, I also understand I can help my community best with that daily frequency, so I make a few sacrifices with that objective in mind.

Some businesses like to take more of an event or project approach.  This works especially well if you have resources you can mobilize or influence you can bring to bear for a result that would be difficult for the rest of us.

The Paradox

This shift in marketing has some thinking that you just need to give it all away and then magically the power of The Secret will kick in and somehow profits will fall out of the sky.  I'm afraid it doesn't work that way at all.  Business is still business.  You have to have a plan that capitalizes on these trends to help the people in your communities.

With all due respect to Gordon Gekko from the film Wall Street, greed may no longer be good (if it ever was), but profit will never go out of style, because it is those profits that give you the capability to do the good things that will help your business in this relationship economy.  The more profitable your business is, the more you can help.

How This Can Work

We all have to learn how to embed social good into our businesses.  I firmly believe this is a future success requirement for corporations and small businesses alike.  It is no longer enough to give back.  Giving back places social good on a rung below profits, which means most of the time it is out of sight and mind.

When social good is placed squarely into your day-to-day activities, it becomes more natural for every member of your team.  It becomes part of the work. 

The bright lights of the social networks really tend to flicker.  Sometimes they are on, and sometimes off.  If social good is squarely embedded into your work practices, you will shine when the lights happen to be on.  And your social media marketing will be easier as a result.   This is process, not an event, and it works best when it is seamless.

Here's one example of how this has worked.  Before it was released to the public, Seth Godin gave away free copies of his now best-selling book Linchpin to raise over $100,000 for the Acumen fund to help the global poverty effort.  And he accomplished this in a matter of days. 

While Seth has a huge audience, this isn't a contest.  Making any kind of meaningful difference is what matters.  Who knows, you get an idea and get something started and with a little luck, your effort goes viral.  It is as simple as that.

No secrets, just the right kind of work.

Photo Credit: Photo Gallery