Yesterday I found a post from Hugh MacLeod about something he calls "social objects." Hugh draws cartoons and is also a savvy about social media marketer. Social objects are, as best I can define it, ideas, experiences, or goods that have value for the people you want to reach. This is so close, in my view, to how I look at content for social media, it's practically the same thing.
Whether we're talking about content or social objects, the key is using social media tools to create or spread something they find valuable. You want them to elect to have your idea, cartoon, or product. You're not forcing anything with this approach. They take it and run with it and you're glad for them to have it. If it costs them something, they will pay it because they have chosen it for themselves. If we're talking about free ideas, then it doesn't cost them anything but the time they spend, so they will take it and the ideas become part of their thinking.
So What?
So what does this have to do with your business and actually selling something? Everything. You may feel like creating valuable content is a waste of time when you should be out there selling yourself or your products. You may think this is all a luxury that other people have ,but you have more important things to do than create social objects. Hugh gives away his cartoons and even provides the high resolution versions so people can do other things with them. Think that's pretty dumb marketing? Well, here's Hugh's take, which is going to totally move your cheese if these are new ideas for you:
For example, in October, 2006 I post the Microsoft Blue Monster cartoon. Within a few months Microsoft is somehow paying me a lot of money to do other drawings for them. Without the former, the latter would never have happened. And without the latter, Sun Microsystems would never have approached me. Everything feeds into everything else. Exactly.
In other words, I don't create the online cartoons as "products" to be sold. I create the cartoons as "Social Objects", i.e. "Sharing Devices" that help me to build relationships with.
As with all things, the REAL value comes from the human relationships that are built AROUND the social object, not the object in itself.
I have seen this same principle work for my own business many times. Many of my clients have stories just like Hugh's above. This is a paradigm shift, but I think it's helpful for people who haven't quite figured out that social media marketing is more than just using new technology. It's about social objects and content that people find valueable. Once enough people find value in something you provide the revenue will follow.