The other day I was in the middle of completing a task when something caught my eye. It was a great piece of interruption marketing, and I was off like Alice down the rabbit hole. I clicked on the link and went to the site. I read the article and it invoked a response on an emotional level. It was good. I enjoyed it. So what did I do? Did I repay the author by clicking on the “share this“link on his page?
I didn’t….but not only that, I gave up my own time to look at the post when I was supposed to be doing something else. In effect, I wasted my own time. No disrespect to the author, it was a good post, but I should have been doing something else. I got side tracked and then I did not make the most out of the situation.
So what do I mean by making the most out of the situation?
The internet can be a cruel beast; it can chew you up and spit you out without even a hello or goodbye. You can spend hours and hours surfing the internet only to lift your head from your screen and realise that you actually have not taken advantage of the time that you spent consuming the content that you have discovered.
What do you mean by taking advantage?
If something connects with you or you think it can be of value to your following, then share this valuable content with them! Let people know. By sharing content you do the following:
1. Bring valuable content to others
In 60 seconds we find and share vast amounts of content in all its different types of media. In just 60 seconds on the internet:
- Over 2,000,0000 searches will be done
- 35 hours of video will be uploaded to YouTube
- Almost 695,000 pieces of content (links, notes, photos, etc.) will be shared on Facebook.
Now I think you will agree that those numbers are quite staggering, but what that invariably means is that a lot of rubbish is uploaded to the internet. A lot! So if you have spent time finding something of true value, something that inspires or makes you think, then why not share this inspirational content with other people that you have a connection with so they can do the same? No new ideas, concepts, strategies can be born from keeping secrets!
2. Define ourselves to others
In this world there are almost 7bn people and 2bn of those are on the internet. Therefore you can almost guarantee that somebody else out there will appreciate the same content that you do. Not only that, the creator of the content that you have just consumed also shares similar interest or view points with you. So do the right thing and live by the ethos of the internet and social media and share this with your community of friends, your business partners, your customers, your prospects or whoever your social circles may be.
The content that you share will help your audience build a connection to you and get an understanding of your ideals.
3. Grow and Nourish Relationships
Maintaining a single relationship is hard work. What about if you have tens of thousands of people in your network? What if you have millions? By constantly feeding your contacts with valuable content, either your own work or content created by others, you are building bridges and creating bonds.
4. Gain Self -fulfillment
Sometimes you might just stumble across something that makes you feel good. It may not be one hundred percent relevant to your brand or to your niche, but at the end of the day it made you smile. Smiling is good and that is something that is always worth sharing! You do have to be careful not to waste time by posting pictures of cats in shoes or drunken exploits all the time because it can become very repetitive.
5. Support Good Causes
If you can, spread the word about good causes or brands that you feel can add a difference or bring value to people. For example, think about all the good that people did with the use of social media for the people of Japan following the catastrophic earthquake. Sharing truly can be caring.
So remember, if you invest your time reading content and you get something from it, don’t keep it a secret, tell everybody you know about it! It might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but you will be maintaining and building relationships with people you interact with by giving them an insight into what makes you tick. This can go a long way. Not only that, but in keeping with social media and the internet, chances are the author of the content will reciprocate by reading yours. If your content is potentially of value to their audience, they might share it too making a win-win situation for everybody!
So if this post has given you something to think about then let your following know and share this.
About
James Debono is a small business owner and Internet entrepreneur. James dedicates his time to helping other small business owners leverage the power of the Internet to drive business growth and positive change. Click here Join James Debono on Google+
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