If you think about it, a lot of the ‘best practices’ for using social media can seem completely counterintuitive to companies that are new to these tools. Take linking, for example. On the surface, the process sounds absurd: I’m spending time every day as a social media consultant purposely promoting what OTHER people are writing, doing and saying about social media. And what’s worse, I’m using this as a strategy to increase my OWN exposure!

How many companies would balk if you suggested that they promote their competitors, and as a way to promote YOUR company?

But funnily enough, it works amazingly well. Here’s why:

1 – As I am sharing valuable links, more people will start paying attention to me, and even following me as a result. They share my links with THEIR networks as well, which means more exposure and followers for me.

2 – This means more people will want to find out more about me, and will check out my site. This means more traffic for me, and more exposure for me. BTW it also means that when I share a link to one of MY posts, that it will get more traffic and exposure!

3 – The people that I am linking to see that I am sending all these RTs and traffic to their site, and they are grateful. That in turn makes them more likely to promote ME in return. Which means more followers and more traffic and more exposure for me.

4 – By sharing valuable content, I can become a TRUSTED source of information. This makes people more likely to promote me to their networks. Which means even more followers and traffic and exposure for me.

And now that you’ve gotten to the end, I can give you my REAL reason for adopting this strategy: I want to create value for others. That’s the TOP goal, because I know if I am creating value for others by pointing them toward writings by other people that HELP them with their own social media efforts, I win. Creating value is the DIRECT goal, because I know if I will do that, I will benefit INdirectly. And it works beautifully.

More people will follow me because I am sharing valuable links.

More people will trust me because I am sharing valuable content that OTHER people are creating.

More people will be grateful for those links, and be more likely to link TO ME.

More people will be grateful for those links, and want to check out my site.

So in the end by promoting OTHER people, even competitors, I get more followers, more links, more traffic, and more exposure.

Whole process sounds completely insane, doesn’t it? 😉

PS: I will have data to back up the effectiveness of this strategy in a post on Sunday, be watching for it!

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