There is an old joke (marginally NSFW)
Two bulls, a father and son, are grazing on a hill overlooking a field full of cows. The son says “Hey Dad, look at all those cows down there let’s run down and f**k a couple of them.” The old bull replies, “No son, lets walk down and f**k them all”
Gary Vaynerchuck was quoted at SXSW that brands are currently guilty of “behaving like 19yr old dudes” when it comes to social media. They are chasing the sale, being too quick to rush into a community and promote or market their latest product rather than listening and working out how best to provide value and be useful. Chris Brogan had a great soundbite at Like Minds Conference in Exeter, “people hate being sold to, but we love to buy” (or something very similar!). Customers can spot the salesmen in an online community and aren’t always receptive…sometimes the opposite, but if you spend time ‘feeding’ the community and adding value, without the ‘sale’ being at the centre of your communications, the opportunites will come and be more meaningful when they do.
Concentrate on listening, gaining insight, understanding the community before rushing down the hill…the rewards will be far greater in the long term!
