Marketing Suggestion - Keep Fellow Marketers (’Friends’) In Proper Perspective
The advice of friends must be received with a judicious reserve; we must not give ourselves up to it and follow it blindly, whether right or wrong” ~ Pierre Charron
A very close friend of mine was penalized and treated unfairly by someone he had considered to be a ‘friend’ - professionally and otherwise.
He had dedicated years of quality assistance, professional expertise and rearing in order to nurture a well known marketing forum. As a matter of fact, he was one of the founders and took great pride in his participation there.
Hours, days, nights, valuable time and energy was extended to ensure the success of the forum in reference. He granted support and sincere concern for it’s members as well as to complete strangers that visited. His provisions included free backend work, establishing formats of various initiatives which guided their directives, donated public speeches & conference efforts, and shared after hours friend-chat and bond building on a personal level.
His ‘friend’, had gotten offended by a negative review of her, by another friend of his, me, in Stumbleupon.
The review simply said:
“Bully, but good at hiding it in public“
When she saw this review, she emailed him to tell him about it as opposed to confronting the person who had reviewed her. It seems she was unsatisfied with his response which was to contact the person who reviewed her as opposed to involving him.
His position was reasonable, professional and balanced was it not?
“It takes a great deal of courage to stand up to your enemies, but even more to stand up to your friends.” ~ J. K. Rowling
Within the course of an hour, she had placed him in an unfair position.
He had kind-heartedly exhausted himself for the benefit of this forum. His efforts brought to fruition the value the forum holds today. Instead of gratitude, he was greeted by opposition.
“In prosperity our friends know us; in adversity we know our friends.” ~ John Churton Collins
He politely submitted his resignation handling the situation honorably, without drawing negative attention to anyone.
How Does Her Response Apply To You?
It’s likely that you also may face this same sort of challenge.
When dealing/interacting with marketers, you’ll hear people referring to you as a friend. Some are sincere, some are not, some may want to be, but have an inability to prioritize, some may call you a friend as long as you agree with everything they say.
Too frequently, you’ll find that if you have very little to offer, they wouldn’t have given you the time of day to begin with.
Forgive and forget, then move on. It’s a lesson that I am grateful to learn and pass on to you.
My personal inability to do this, led me to unproductive animosity and time consuming resentment posts. Eventually I had to leave this blog and take a break away from it all, to get my own priorities in order.
Marketing Suggestion - Choose Your Position Wisely
Assess your position in a way that will allow you to define your chosen presence.
KNOW where you stand.
I’ve was angry, disappointed, and otherwise dismayed by what I’ve observed behind the scenes as well as blatant public cruelty by many popular ones that present themselves as upstanding, level-headed individuals, but prove otherwise by their actions.
Instead of using insulting terminology, I should have chosen to nurture those who still have a chance of maximizing their greatest potentials, as benefactors of humankind, social media enthusiasts, marketers, and family members. After all, these are what our lives entail.
The relationships that you establish with your fellow marketers need to be balanced. Fellow marketers are wonderful sources of education and tools. Utilize what they offer, be appreciative, but keep a clear head. Be considerate, but don’t overwhelm yourself trying to please them.
When disagreements arise, if the other party is unwilling to be reasonable, keep your wits, agree to disagree and move on.
Make friends with newcomers who also have valuable content and are typically very happy to help you and vice versa. They are also trying to create a name for themselves and may be more likely to reciprocate link love and various other credits.
They typically have less followers because they are yet new, therefore having more time to assist you in networking and efforts. Building relationships with these new SM enthusiasts will help you to create and define a presence you can call your own. And will provide you with a new avenue of loyalty (audience / readers).
You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you. ~ Dale Carnegie
Be mindful of what it is that you have to offer. Be cautious not to feel pressured to impress. Focus upon giving, not expecting anything in return. Be sure to brand your own voice, which ultimately speaks for your character and will define what you represent.
Remember, establishing boundaries is healthy and it shows confidence that strengthens your presence.
It became apparent to me that no one is safe / guaranteed a permanent position of respect, gratitude, loyalty, or even ‘friendship’ in the blogosphere. No matter how many years you may have ‘known’ each other or how many experiences have been shared together. Sadly, the marketing world is dog-eat-dog, and a bit of weight-throwing.
Disagreement or debate is frequently unwelcome as opposed to viewing it as an opportunity to express expertise in an educational arena or an opportunity to broaden horizons, progress with the times, and reconsider positions.
Considering the potentials of SM advantages, times change, people change, Marketing is changing.
Truly the marketer that will have success in the future will be one who welcomes healthy debate without unfounded fear, even if it means recognizing the need for revisions.
Test ideas in the marketplace. You learn from hearing a range of perspectives. Consultation helps engender the support decisions need to be successfully implemented. ~ Donald Rumsfeld
Friendships you may have thought to carry value and worth quickly prove to be nothing more than easily discarded / expendable relationships with the realization that you have truly been strangers after all.Understanding this while you are new (even if you’re an old-dog learning new tricks) may save valuable time, energy and exasperation.
Marketing Suggestion - Assess SM Friends With a Level Head
Refining how you view your associates may be in order. It’s your responsibility to define your individual presence. You are not here to define theirs. You must consider it a priority to define who you are, what you offer, and your ethics &/or stance.
Who you prove yourself to be, behind the scenes as well as in public, will eventually shine through. It will reflect positively or negatively upon you, your product, your services, and what you are representing overall.
Before the dawning of social media, it was easier to keep things hidden or ‘undisclosed’.
Today, this is no longer the case.
