Written by Codie Sanchez Topics: The Struggle Isn't Real
Social networking is all the rage. It is how brands judge payments, it is how some of us determine reach and importance of a person or a brand. But here is my problem with it: Social networks are all about quantity, not quality. The question becomes, would you rather be known by the guy on the street corner, your barista, the other bloggers, or would you rather be known by thought leaders, CEO's, power players and people who are in the world making a BIG impact? My CEO from my company always says, "Let's get rich quietly," or "Rich not famous." I think he's on to something. I question my patience and civility if everywhere I went someone was commenting one way or the other, and fame is not something I seek. But being known by the right crowds, very admittedly, is.
“The fishing is best where the fewest go, so get out of the shallows of SM and build your strategic network.”
The problem if you are focusing all your efforts on social media networks is three-fold. One: You are trying to attract as many humans as possible to you and largely are unconcerned about who is at the other end as long as the likes, follows, and re-tweets add up.
Number two: You don't actually own those networks. Instagram Stories is a great example. Mark Zuckerberg decided in one data upgrade, to seriously hinder the viability of SnapChat. Maybe not that big of a deal to most people but, what about DJ Khaled, who is one of the most followed on Snapchat but has less than 1/3 of those followers on Instagram? "His" network and reach, with the touch of a button in seconds by Instagram, has now less value. Think about all the effort and energy that goes into growing in the platform you choose. Do you realize that you are growing someone else's followers? Instagram, SnapChat, Twitter, Facebook... you own none of them. You could be kicked off at any point, or they could restructure the system. In life, we can only guarantee three things; death, taxes, and change. So assume that eventually all of these platforms will go the way Myspace went. What happened to your Myspace followers? For Millennials, did you even ever use it?
“In life we are only guaranteed three things.. death, taxes and change.”
My solution to this is to own your email database. Is this something you'd like to hear more about? If so comment me @codie_sanchez or Twitter or @codiesanchez on IG and I'll write out how I've grown three email databases. One database with over 12,000 names of humans who in total manage trillions of dollars of wealth. Let that soak in. I have a list of names I own (or my company does), that are responsible for the wealth of nations. That is quantity AND quality. I also have two other databases both over 1500 and growing with those relevant to my fashion company and my strategy company.
Then the third problem is this: Who are your followers? When you build a strategic network with other movers and shakers, each connection is a 3 standard deviation event. What does that mean? That means that when you are highlighted by Elon Musk, when you connect with Seth Godin, when you sit down with your congressmen, major shifts can occur. Large standard deviation events mean the outliers, the unlikely big jumps, changes, non-normal moves that can happen. Social media growth is much more tactical. It is every day posting, liking, in the trenches engaging, in order to entice someone to follow you. There is a place for that, but it will be a long steady climb as opposed to a whale hunt that brings in one big fish. I am all about strategic connections. That is the law of the universe. The 80/20 rule or the Pareto principle. In this context, this means that 80% of your revenue, relevance, and positive growth comes from 20% of your contacts, clients, etc. This law is KEY.
So here are the takeaways:
1) Own your network, aka, have an email database
2) Create a system for Strategic CRM management (here for mine)
3) Look for the 20%, engage with the change makers. Then, as a byproduct, watch your online presence BOOM when you do the everyday tactical paired with the strategic.
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