The Importance of Subtlety in an Era of “Self” Promotion

Knowledge Center

Sunday July 18, 2010 | 0 comments

Integrating social media marketing into the marketing mix can achieve numerous goals for marketers: staying top-of-mind, positioning as a thought leader, positioning as an expert, improving customer service, recruiting new employees, etc. To achieve these goals, and depending on our target audiences, we choose from any of the following social networks: LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, blogs, and targeted discussion groups. Although eNewsletters are not a social media network, the point I am making is highly relevant to this tool.

Now, think about the many meetings we’ve participated in throughout our careers. There are the participants who love the sound of their voices and there are the participants who chime in when they have value to add. The latter group are thoughtful. They are inspiring. They are the ones we’d rather listen to.

While difficult for us, as marketers, we need to weight the conversations more on adding value and less on talking about ourselves. This subtlety, in fact, will better achieve our goals. It ensures we are not relegated to the ranks of non-relevant to the conversation.

Here’s my advice. Understand your goals. For example, positioning your company as an expert. List the topics that your company is an expert. Talk about these topics that resonate with and engage your audience, and add value to the conversation. As long as we continue to add value, our audiences will continue to listen.

While the message in this blog article is not new, it is a message worth repeating.

Crosby out.

Added on July 19, 2010 | Reference Articles

Want tangible examples of how to add value? I have 20 years of marketing communications experience. Rather than say, "I am an expert in marketing communications," I let my blog articles do this for me. Here are reference articles that: