Give.
That’s it. It’s a simple concept. Most of us get it.
We know that it’s better to give than to receive. But when it comes to social media, marketing, business or whatever, many still can’t help themselves.
Many will ask for something.
Buy this. Provide feedback on this. Visit our store today.
Ask. Ask. Ask.
The key to getting more attention is to give.
Why Giving Works
People use social media to get things.
For many they are on social media as pure consumers. In this case, they’re looking for either education or entertainment. Or both. That’s what many humans are looking for in life and from content of all kinds.
Think of the last time you opened Facebook. The feed is full of content that is either educational or entertaining. The same with Instagram. Or YouTube. Or any site.
When you focus on giving people content that is educational, entertaining or both, you’re giving them what they want.
The Golden Rule is almost correct. The Golden Rule tells us to treat others how we want to be treated.
The reality is that we all want to be treated how…we want to be treated.
When you give, you can give things you like. You’ll attract people that like the same things. But you could focus on giving others what they want. And you could probably find a happy medium that also keeps you interested.
One other thing – social media is also about validation. People post content as a way to get engagement. They post a photo. The likes and comments are validation.
Give content and give validation. It’s how you give people want they want. It’s how you treat them how they want to be treated.
Yet it’s the opposite of how many people use social media. Most are looking for something. Few rarely turn it on its head.
Are You Giving For Selfish Reasons?
There is one point to mention about giving.
Some people give for selfish reasons. You’ll see this around the holidays and birthdays.
It would seem that giving someone a gift that they really want would be a great thing. But some people will give gifts because it makes them, the giver, feel good.
That’s giving for a selfish reason.
Now, that doesn’t make it entirely wrong or bad. If you’re giving content or validation on social media it can benefit both you and the other person.
But you have to be careful of where your expectations are…
Don’t Expect Anything In Return
If you give with the expectation of getting something in return.
Traffic, attention, engagement, sales, etc.
If you give and expect everyone to be thankful and the whole thing you’re going to be let down. That’s not supposed to be the point of giving anyway.
Think back to a time you gave someone a gift during the holidays and you could tell they didn’t like it. Nobody feels good. You, the giver, might even feel resentful of the other person.
How rude. They aren’t even appreciative of my gift…
When you give on social media you can’t expect anything in return. You’ll burnout and stop giving. Then you’re right where you started.
Final Thought
Giving is the key to social media. You can be selfish about it in the sense that it makes you feel good internally. You can pay attention to how people interact with what you give and learn from it for your own advancement.
Look at a company’s social profile right now. Any company. Chances are that their last few posts have asked for something. Or have tried to sell.
They’re not winning on social media because they’re asking. The way to win is to give.