{"id":1060,"date":"2023-03-07T22:33:37","date_gmt":"2023-03-07T22:33:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bursucretleri.com\/blog\/?p=1060"},"modified":"2023-03-23T09:57:05","modified_gmt":"2023-03-23T09:57:05","slug":"dont-be-a-social-media-beggar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bursucretleri.com\/blog\/dont-be-a-social-media-beggar\/","title":{"rendered":"Don\u2019t Be A Social Media Beggar"},"content":{"rendered":"

The following is a guest post from Future Buzz community member\u00a0John Boitnott.\u00a0If you\u2019d like to contribute thinking here, please\u00a0read the guidelines.<\/em><\/p>\n

It\u2019s a simple fact of working in social media that\u00a0relationships\u00a0can form out of reciprocal behavior. This is expressed in many ways. Perhaps the most famous (or at least simplest) of these is in the practice of \u201cvoting up\u201d peoples\u2019 stories on a social bookmarking site, because it insures that your story will get votes as well.<\/p>\n

But that\u2019s just the tip of the iceberg. As\u00a0social media marketers\u00a0interact with their contacts, friends and business associates each day, they make up a kind of \u201csocial media stock exchange,\u201d with the more viral stories becoming the biggest \u201cgainers\u201d in the day\u2019s trading.<\/p>\n

Part of this is born out of the front pages of social bookmarking sites, where millions of people a week come to get their news or \u201cmeme\u201d fix. But a lot more of it is born out of who knows who. People often ask me if I know writers at any publications who might be willing to write about their product or service. One popular question is, \u201cCan you help me promote my product in some way?\u201d I am often asked if I know anyone who is an \u201cexpert\u201d on say, Tumblr or some other social network\/bookmarking site. I am often asked if I know how best to promote pieces of content on such sites.<\/p>\n

This is all fine, and is to be somewhat expected, in the fast paced world of content creation, site monetization and\u00a0social promotion. The idea of paying it forward is admirable too. But the simple fact of the matter is that if you\u2019re going to ask folks for significant help, you have to be ready to give back significantly. In my mind, this is somewhat loosely defined as \u201cteaching someone how to fish.\u201d I can give a vote here or a vote there because that\u2019s the equivalent of providing a meal. Any more than that, and you\u2019re giving someone the ability to make the meal themselves. That\u2019s going too far. If you want to know how to do it yourself, teach yourself or pay someone in some way for the knowledge.<\/p>\n

The problem for me comes when you run into those who have no idea that they need to give in order to get (or simply don\u2019t want to). I hate to put it this way, but these \u201csocial media beggars\u201d populate the landscape in large numbers. By and large it\u2019s OK for the random person who I don\u2019t actually know to come along and ask for a vote here or a retweet there. That just comes with the territory. It gets to be a little much, however, when folks ask you to lend them extensive insight into how best to promote an item on StumbleUpon say, or if I can put them in touch with one of my contacts at a client publication, meanwhile they are not able to provide anything of value back.<\/p>\n

I again hate to put it this way, because it may seem cutthroat. But when I have clients depending on me to\u00a0drive traffic\u00a0to their sites, or a company depending on me to find new clients, every bit of my time has worth. It must be spent based on priorities \u2013 not according to charity (even though charity is very worthwhile and I have definitely always been a social media philanthropist in this manner, perhaps more than I should).<\/p>\n

Essentially what\u2019s missing for some people who I encounter online is the acknowledgment that what needs to occur is a broadening and strengthening of the actual relationship, before significant thoughts and strategies can be exchanged.<\/p>\n

Again, don\u2019t get me wrong. I\u2019m too nice. Always have been. My social media career has been littered with relationships that saw me offer up too much in terms of knowledge and experience, even connections, for those who didn\u2019t deserve it or appreciate it in the end. For me the lesson has been to search for a balance. On one hand I believe you have to be generous. You should err on the side of being kind and giving to people. But, you have to watch out for yourself too. You don\u2019t want to give so much, get nothing back, and then watch as bitterness forms inside of you because you realize how much you were used.<\/p>\n

So, to all of us who dwell online, I say, don\u2019t be a social media beggar. Develop your areas of expertise. Have something to offer, and be willing to offer it.<\/p>\n

Learn how to read the types of people you meet and get to know in the social media space. Try to forge real, long lasting relationships based on actual care for the other person. That will decrease the odds that you are giving information to someone who isn\u2019t willing to help back. And remember \u2014 getting something back doesn\u2019t always have to actually happen. You must decide whether you need that from someone once you get to know them and attempt to work with them in online marketing.<\/p>\n

Once you start to see that a relationship becomes imbalanced though, that you are always being asked for things, and not getting anything in return, then it\u2019s time to bail and move away from the person. There\u2019s plenty of other people online who aren\u2019t users. Go out and find them.<\/p>\n

One of a small group of social media consultants with a background in the newsroom,\u00a0John Boitnott\u00a0consults with a variety of sites and publishers on how to build their popularity on the Internet. Leveraging social networks such as Facebook, Google+, Twitter, Digg, Reddit and StumbleUpon, he helps direct millions of page views each month. John has worked for NBC and Village Voice. John is currently Vice President of Business Development at\u00a0Hasai Inc.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The following is a guest post from Future Buzz community member\u00a0John Boitnott.\u00a0If you\u2019d like to contribute thinking here, please\u00a0read the … <\/p>\n

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