The Shocking Truth about Sharing Company Secrets
A few days after I had trained some people about sharing on social media, I received an email from an account manager.
He was afraid we would be sharing too much details about what we do with customers. He was afraid we would give away to much information to competitors. And I heard the same remark of CEO’s holding back on press releases about customers wins because it could hurt the business.
This is an often heard dilemma: you make great new customers, you create fantastic webinars for customers, you do thought leadership speaking slots, and make customer cases. But by sharing this content publicly you are afraid you are providing valuable information to competitors. And that might hurt your business.
I do understand these reasons, I used to think the same. But companies that keep thinking like this will soon be gone. If you don’t want that, you’ll have to make a cultural shift to being open and authentic.
Let me explain you why… Read more 
Why would you want a lot of followers? I don’t, and I know why
Image via @DCantuBiz
A few weeks ago I was training some people on social media. When I told them that having a lot of followers doesn’t make sense, they looked at me as I was from another planet.
As a person, would you want lots of followers?
I’ve always wondered what it would be to have thousands of followers. And somehow I now have thousands of followers on Twitter.
And what is it bringing to me? In the course of the last year I have come to know some fantastic people on Twitter and LinkedIn. They have shared with me some great content. They have taught me what books to read. And they have given me more insights into how digital and social marketing works. My networks amazed me at times: when I had a question it responded and gave me answers.
What I also noticed is that only the followers that I care about, care for me. I think that’s the type of followers you want. Having a network you care about, and a network that cares about you.
Having lot’s of followers that don’t understand that caring is the most important thing on social media, is like asking a question in the desert. Nobody will respond.
But when you have a network of peers, people like you, people you trust, and they trust you, that’s the type of network you want.
Check out the 2013 Edelman Trust Barometer, which confirms what I’m saying. I recommend it.
As a company, would you want a lot of followers?
I can imagine that you as a B2B company want lots of followers. After all, social amplification can be extremely powerful.
