Sometimes when I speak with marketing executives about social media, they seem to get it. But they don’t. Not really. They falsely believe that Twitter and Facebook are like every other broadcast channel. They see it as an opportunity to blast their message out to thousands of followers—for free!—and sell them stuff.
My response? No. No. NO! A thousand times, no! Twitter is not a broadcast medium.
Twitter and Facebook are relational tools not transactional tools. Contrary to what many think, social media rewards:
- Generosity;
- Other-centeredness; and
- Helpfulness
It is a vehicle that appeals to people’s deep, God-given desire to connect. It works when there is trust. When it becomes just another form of spam (violating people’s trust), it fails to be effective.
For example, on Sunday morning, Chris Brogan posted a video review of his new Eagle Creek Tarmac 22 carry-on bag. I happened to be in the market for some new carry-on luggage, and Chris is someone whose opinion I respect—especially since I know he is such a road warrior. I immediately went onto the Eagle Creek Web site, found a local retailer, and bought one that afternoon. (I love it, by the way!)
Chris wasn’t trying to sell me. He wasn’t engaged in marketing—at least, not in a traditional sense. He was simply being helpful by sharing something that he believed was valuable. And, because I trust Chris’ opinion, I took his advice and bought the luggage he recommended. This is how social media marketing works. You have to jettison the old interruption-based, traditional marketing model. It just doesn’t work any more.
But Chris wasn’t asking me for anything. In fact, he rarely asks for a commitment from his followers or blog readers. Instead, he faithfully gives to his audience, day after day. He practices digital generosity. As a result, when he does ask for something, his followers and fans respond.
This phenomenon is what I have come to call the 20-to-1 rule. It represents a ratio. It means that you have to make 20 relational deposits for every marketing withdrawal. This isn’t science. I don’t have any hard, empirical evidence to prove it.
But I have observed that if you just keep asking people to do something—buy your book, come to our conference, sign up for our cause—without making adequate deposits, they will begin ignoring you. Eventually, they will unfollow you and disconnect from your updates.
No one wants to be spammed. Not today. There are too many alternative sources of content. If you want to build a social media platform, one where people listen to you, then you have to be a giver not a taker. I think 20-to-1 is about right.
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Surely this is simply a reflection upon the nature of all relationship, albeit immediately in a Twitter context.
Relationships however/wherever conducted are simply a balance sheet or ledger. Deposits/credits must exceed withdrawals/debits or relational bankruptcy will flow.
The 20/1 surmise I think is helpful – previously I had thought it a 10/1 relationship but I suspect you are correct Michael considering the increased spamming and the native dis-trust that it multiplies.
This is helpful digest of social-media to an 'infant on the block.'
Thanks
It might be worth occasionally going back and actually reviewing your Twitter stream to see what the ratio is. Then asking, is this the right ration for me? In fact, I'm thinking about doing that myself!
20:1 is a good ratio.
The 20 is sharing, giving. The 1 is the delightful surprise.
Some authors, in order to sell their books on Facebook, actually give them away for free. In fact, I recently received a free book (published by Thomas Nelson, incidentally). So are you saying these authors must give away 20 free books in order to sell one?
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No, I am saying they must tweet 20 things that are positive, giving, or entertaining, before they can post a tweet that asks people to buy their book. Even then, I would share something helpful from the book and provide a "buy" link.
OK. I like the definition of tweet as a "relational deposit." I wonder if it'll make it into the next edition of Webster's.
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Hello Mike! This is a great blog post and I've passed it round to friends and collegaues. I work in the not for profit sector in the UK and in many cases adopters of social media do get it – after all the key principles you highlight such as helpfulness underpins what many of us do. But there are still some charities that don't get it yet and they tend to be big nationals who employ marketing and fundraising teams that seem to see social media as just another marketing tool But they are changing and it's the small community groups that are leading the way here by showing just how effective social media can be to get people to support a cause. We recently launched a social network for volunteers, built on these principles, growing it organically and ensuring that it's led by the community. It's early days but so far we've attracted almost a 1,000 members since we lauched in December and your post has reminded me that we're on the right track, so thank you for that :o)
That's great. I would also say that 1,000 of the right people can be very powerful. Good work!
You make an important distinction, Michael. I am new in the twitter world and in finding my way I can see the difference between relational tool and transactional tool. I am not out to have the most followers or follow anyone who does not give me a sense of the personal (I follow you BTW).
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absolutely agree. The first people I ignore are those who flip that ratio. Authors, marketers doesn't matter- Even if I like their product or opinion, if they leave the "social" part out of the equation- I ignore or unfollow.
Classic marketing is an impersonal machine. Social network- marketing is the John Henry (Steel driving man vs machine) of marketing. It wins- through being human. If you try to turn social networking into a machine.. it's a train wreck.
;)
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I think you're spot on! I can't STAND when every other post is, "Come buy my book," or "Come lose 20 pounds with…." Drives me bonkers.
BUT, if it's more seldom, like your ratio…it's way better. I'm more open to seeing it and possibly clicking a link (I've done it before) to investigate.
Thanks for the post!
Mike, I've yet to see you step up to the plate and strike out. (Not that I want you to!) You always deliver a homerun. Any team would benefit from having you on its line up. I've penciled you into my #4 spot because I know you won't leave the runners stranded on base. I so appreciate that you deliver such quality content! Keep up the GREAT work!
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Thanks, Mike. I made the mistake you described (in paragraph 1) when I first started on Facebook. Made a hundred friends, but only wrote stuff about my writing and blog posts. I was trying to protect my privacy (by not sharing about my children, personal details, etc.)
Big mistake. I'm certain there are "friends" of mine who have blocked me from their newsfeeds because all I did was babble about my work.
Now I try to make a conscious effort to comment on others' status updates (briefly and brilliantly, of course!) and do some "fun" status update types of things (funny videos, etc.)
Thanks for the reminder of the 20-to-1 ratio.
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What a brilliant post. I am at the moment compiling a manifesto for my employers about moving into scoail media marketing and blogging from this perspective, as at current, it is all about making as much noise as possible, and interrupting non targeted prospects. I will be utilising some of the aspects of this post in that manifesto, so thankyou and you just acquired a new subscriber.
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Interestingly – in the book "Inbound Marketing", they come up with a similar statistic for your business blog – ie. most of your posts should be adding value and not you trying to sell your latest stuff…so I would agree with that type of ratio across all social media platforms: twitter, facebook and your blog.
I do actually think this ratio is right and it could even be more. Certainly Facebook and Twitter can be useful for promoting things but it's even more important for connecting with people and sharing something meaningful with them.
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No matter what ratio is 'correct', it is clear that the value in social media is in adding value to others.
lol nice stuff man.
I buy stuff all the time that my blogger and facebook friends talk about. Except for a few musical selections, I have been very pleased with their tastes and how it related to mine.
Michael, this is a FANTASTIC post! You explain what I and all of us intuitively know or at least experience…the term SOCIAL in social media means that this fomr of communication is about relation. You are the first person I have heard language this. Imagine that…a form of media that rewards other-centeredness!
Good post. I agree. I see too many people constantly promoting something to buy. It should be about providing information of value to your followers.
Interesting. I just unsubscribed to about 5 exercise/diet mailing lists because all they do is try to sell something. The content they started with is now full of adds.
Do you think tweeting out a 'non-commercial', personal blog post falls under the '20' or the '1'?
I certainly agree with the line of thinking, but I wonder if you could clarify the difference between a self promoting relational deposit, and self promoting marketing withdraw.
In other words, can you get away with tweeting more 'personal brand' promoting updates, as long as they aren't transactional in nature? I think you can. I'd love to hear your thoughts…
No, I don't think it does, if your blog post is intended to be helpful, as opposed to selling something.
I've been reading Joel Comm's book, "Twitter Power 2.0: How to Dominate Your Market One Tweet at a Time ". And that sounds like the equation he would use. He also has some fascinating ways to track how much attention a twitter message attracts and when and how to twitter.
It's a great book.
Thank you for the post, Mike!
Blessings,
Dave
There's a great site that I show real estate agents who are planning to use social sites to market. http://www.mywestoverpark.com. The builder of the site is a real estate agent named Brian Worrell. He fits all three characteristics you listed. You may want to check it out just for fun.