2009/12/03

Feeding Your System - [chrisbrogan.com]

Posted: 02 Dec 2009 04:47 AM PST

The decision to use social media and content to build business relationships requires that you feed your system and build out your channels for further development. I’m asked frequently how I can make so much content every day, but if you take into account that my content drives my business’s sales, the question might better be, “why aren’t you making more?” To me, feeding your system requires a lot of planning, and constant execution.

A Media Company of One

I’m my own media company. I speak live at conferences. I produce videos. I author books. I produce ebooks. I write a daily blog. I keep a weekly newsletter. They all serve different purposes. Here’s a quick rundown:

Live events let me connect and custom tailor my message, plus meet people before and after the event.
Videos let me emote and show my humanity behind my content.
Books are a way to reach people not queued up in the social web.
eBooks deliver distilled value outside of a blog. They’re also an “object” to share.
The blog gives you constant insight into my way of thinking.
The newsletter is setting you up for my next move, and cultivating a new set of relationships.

That’s a platform. I fill that in with all kinds of social networking. I spend a few hours each day communicating and cultivating relationships. Mostly, I help other people. This gives me social capital. (That, by the way, is the most important detail that most people skip and miss. If you want to highlighter your laptop, the last two lines are the most important part.)

Why Feed The System?

Sometimes, I’m asked why I give away all of my ‘how I do it’ information. I’m asked whether this gives others the ability to compete directly with me. Frankly, I don’t worry about competition. I worry that there aren’t enough people executing effectively for companies. I’ve got plenty of work to do as it is. New Marketing Labs picks up plenty of clients and has even when I give away all my major points and ideas.

I feed the system because I believe you can take something I’ve started, run with it, and advance the whole space. I give you all that I can because I know that you’ve got your own ideas, and maybe components of mine will help you.

Oh, and the more I share, the more business comes my way. It’s a built in reciprocal loop.

Build and Feed Your System

You’ve got the same opportunity. In fact, you have a better opportunity. Find your niche, and dig in. If you’re Shashank Nigam, you mix social media with the aviation industry and create Simpliflying (disclosure: I’m on the advisory board of this company). If you’re Jay Baer, you focus on conversion tactics (instead of every little bit of marketing) and create Convince and Convert.

You don’t have to do every media type. You don’t have to blog daily. You have to build a system that you can feed, and you have to feed it, and you have to build it to deliver business value.

What do you think? Does this align with how you’re seeing things? What’s your niche? What parts of the system are you building?

Photo credit foxypar4