I read a lot about social media best practices.
A lot. Probably more than I should.
One of the key messages is that you should be self-effacing or humble. Spend time promoting others just because they are worth the praise and not because you expect anything in return.
Jim Collins even preaches about being humble in his must read book Good to Great.
After the last conference I attended, and partly inspired by Trust Agents by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith, I decided to write a post highlighting, praising or just calling attention to one company or individual that I meet at every conference.
I spent 30 minutes typing out a few thoughts and observations that I had made about a company in my industry. I did a little work to promote the post, but nothing out of the ordinary.
What surprised me was the unordinary response to the post. Not only did I receive thanks from individuals at the company, but the post received more visits and social props than any of my other posts from that time period.
Come to find out, a lot of individuals in my industry wanted to know more about the company and there wasn’t much information other than the PR work from the company itself.
So I inadvertently filled a hole.
CHALLENGE: Find a way to regularly promote someone else (be it person or entity) and do it shamelessly. Don’t plan or try to get anything out of it.
Just selflessly promote others and let the rest fall into place.