What Are You Giving?

One of the greatest bits of wisdom I have ever learned from using social media is that it is all about giving. If you are only concerned about taking then its not social media its consumer media. The magical thing about it is when you give in social media you always get something in return.

Bill Seaver, founder of Micro Explosion Media, wrote a post recently that summarizes this concept in a very “Seinfeldian” way:

It’s Not You, It’s Me (except in social media)
If you’re a Seinfeld fan you’ve inevitably seen the “it’s not you, it’s me” scene. As funny as it is, it’s exactly the opposite in social media. In social media, particularly in corporate blogging, podcasting, video, etc., it’s not about you and your company. Not all the time anyway. It’s about giving the right people something they deem valuable.

I just think companies assume people are more interested in them than they really are and don’t feel like they have to earn the attention they desire. Social media works when you earn and retain attention, and that is best done by not making it about you (all the time) and adding value to the people you want to reach.

It’s entirely possible SeaWorld San Antonio is all over this and I just had a skewed perspective when I read the post and watched the video, but I suspect this is a bit of a strategic shift they’ll need to make to really succeed with their social media strategy. I recommend they, and any company, remember these three things:

• Social media tools like blogs and video are primarily for content. Conversation is secondary.
• Social networking tools like Facebook are primarily for conversation. Content is secondary.
• When you are creating content, use the Old McDonald approach. That will ensure you add value to the people you want to reach.

I hope SeaWorld San Antonio does well. If they do, they’ll become another great example of what social media has done for companies. Every company just has to remember that it’s not about them primarily. It’s about you.

HT: Bill Seaver