One of the things I am fond of telling my audiences during my keynotes is that when it comes to social media you need to follow the ’10-to-1′ rule. That means for every 10 times that you talk about someone else, you get to talk about yourself once. But that doesn’t just work in the digital world, it also works in the ‘real’ world too. In social media engagement, and I would say in customer engagements of all kinds, if you want to be successful you need to have a ‘conversation’ with your customer. Think of it this way… the old school method of TV, radio, and print marketing was a one-way transfer of information… from you to them. That’s not to say that those don’t work anymore, because they can, obviously. But if you want to engage in ‘new media’ engagement, then you need to have a conversation with people.
So what do you do when you have a conversation with someone? Have you ever had a conversation with someone who only wanted to talk about themselves? How did it make you feel? Yeah, you don’t want others to feel like that about you, right? So don’t do that. So here are my 5 ideas for promoting others.
1. Blog about them – If you have a blog (and you do, right?), then blog about them. Talk about what they do, how awesome they are, what their products are, and why others need to get to know them. Provide links to their website, their Twitter page, and more. And don’t forget to add their name as a tag and a keyword.
2. Network for them – Recently I had some old friends of mine do some networking for me. They know what I do and they have introduced me to people that they thought I needed to know. I love it when this happens, because growing your network is one of the best things you can do for your career long term. Having a party at your house and inviting people who you think should meet is a fantastic way to do this.
3. Push business their way – The vast majority of business that I have secured is because of referrals. In fact, almost all of it. When you work hard to make happy customers, they go out of their way to recommend you to others. I have a friend named Michael Angelo Caruso, who just happens to have the coolest name in the business, who is also a fellow speaker. When he wasn’t available to book a nice speaking gig he told them to call me. The gig was in the Bahamas. I am still thanking him today. I of course pushed some business his way too, although it wasn’t nearly as glamorous. Sorry MAC. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. Better yet, book him. You’ll thank me.
4. Speak well of them – When you go to dinner parties, social functions, and the like, you inevitably spend alot of time talking with others about what they do, what is going on in their lives, and so forth. So if someone’s name comes up that you know, speak well of them. Or better yet, instead of saying nothing when someone else speaks badly about your friend, you need to speak up and say something positive about them. Chances are, when people hear you say that, your stock will go up as well. It’s that Golden Rule thing, right?
5. Provide them a platform – Finally, if you have the chance, provide them with opportunities to present themselves. Invite them to speak at an event you are in charge of. Let them guest post on your blog. Feature their product in your store. There are endless possibilities here, but the point is to give them opportunities for others to see them when they are doing what they do.
So there you go. Do you want to grow your influence with others? Then promote others. It’s good Karma too. Heck, you have probably already thought of 5 more ways that I didn’t even list. If so, I would love for you to post in the comments below.
