We all know Superman has super powers. Yet, when he first realized he had these powers he had to make a choice about how to use them. He decided, of course, to use them for doing good things. As a result - his powers became even stronger. Good results reinforce and feed the mechanism for producing more good results, and that makes that power even stronger.
I believe this is exactly what is happening now with social media. Those that are getting good results - the ones that are broadcasting for the good of the social media communities, are getting even stronger. Their reputation is growing.
What does this mean for the traditional media outlets. Well, this week blog powerhouse Mashable noted they still don't get it. Mashable observed The Wall Street Journal has a policy for integrating - or more accurately - for distancing themselves from the social media communities. Why the distance? Why not join the Twitter community. Since people step back from what the fear, the logical question is what is The Wall Street Journal afraid of? I'm suggesting they are afraid of you. Let me explain.
The former strength of traditional media was a handful of organizations that controlled all of the information. As a result, you got their perspective, and often was a sensationalized one - all geared to sell more papers, magazines, or whatever. Today the Wall Street Journal has articles on GM's closing of over 1000 dealerships, Speaker Pelosi's political implosion, Megacities choking India, and more lovely stories that could have been spun in a more positive framework.
This negative approach is making you stronger, and I think that is what the traditional media outlets are afraid of. Why? Because social media always brings the truth to the surface. This spreads out the media power that a few used to control. Now we all have it. With that power comes the responsibility for using it well. If you can do that, then you become Superman - your power continues to grow.
Right now is a great time to be a marketer. One of the wonderful outcomes of social media marketing is we all benefit from the good that comes out of our global communities.We benefit from positive news, not sensationalized stories like the one in my local paper today about a woman's drunken driving escapades through the community. Does that help anyone? That information can be dealt with more productively in other ways. You have to be congruent. You can't talk trash on page one and expect the reader to believe your human interest story later in the publication.
If you are going to practice social media marketing, be a Superman or Superwoman. Positive, authentic, congruent marketing principles make for repeatable news that travels with the greatest ease - faster than a speeding bullet - and more powerful than a locomotive. Look! Up in the sky - it's you, super social media marketer!
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