Digital Marketing And Social Media PR – The Future Buzz

Today I wanted wanted to start a discussion about your team members participation in social media on behalf of your brand. Specifically, I want to chat about basic philosophy of how you handle putting people forward.

My friend Eric Friedman recently shared a really great story that’s worth repeating. It’s about his experience getting hired by renowned New York VC firm Union Square Ventures (he’s since moved on to be Director of Client Services at Foursquare):

To those who love their jobs: purpose and passion trump profit as a motivator to produce great work. This is something I’ve been conscious of long before I started working for others. I noted this while in university – grades never motivated me nearly as much as if I viewed the subject matter as purposeful and the professor as passionate.

Perhaps you’ve been in this situation – not partaking in things like social situations because you’re so involved in what you’re doing you have no desire to stop. Then you hear comments from your peers saying you work too hard. If you ever hear such things, ignore them.

What does that even mean, to “work too hard?” In someone else’s opinion? In the opinion of society? How can you even define that, what is the reference point? The truth is, there is no one who can decide this for you, nor should you allow anyone to. We all want different things from life, and only you can create a balance for yourself.

You cannot tell the writer not to write, the painter not to paint, the musician not to play, it is ingrained in her programming, it is what sets her free.

image credit: brentbat

New blogs, new social networks, new interests, new businesses, new forms of marketing – these are all things that are easy to get excited about. But excitement is unsustainable and not a reason to get involved in things the way passion is. Developing passion is not instant and takes true time and dedication that an overwhelming majority will simply not put the effort into.

image credit: matthew fang

What most online marketing lacks…

In the frenzy of marketers drowning the web in their ultra-proofed and overly refined messages, there is something that is severely lacking: passion. And, passion is the largest driver motivating people to produce, share and remix content online.

What motivates someone to share her recipes with the world every day? What motivates a tech blogger to write about the latest gadget? What motivates a web guru to talk about the latest startup or e-commerce site? Simple – it is pure and raw passion for the subject matter.

If your marketing, your product, your blog or your brand lack passion, you will never break through the noise online. It doesn’t matter how slick your communications are, the people using the web with greatest frequency are extremely smart and will see through the fluff, or ignore it altogether.