10 Things Seth Godin Taught Me about Social Media Marketing

With Seth Godin about to appear on stage in Orange County in just a few weeks time, there is a buzz around here about what new insights he will provide to us in 2011.  And the event, in line with what Seth preaches about holding BIG events, is set to be HUGE – he will be speaking at the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, part of the Segerstrom Center for the Arts, a location that is host to the likes of Natalie Cole and the Vienna Philharmonic.  In my eyes, but more importantly the eyes of the event organizer and friend Bryan Elliott, Seth Godin deserves to be on a similar stage.  And Bryan made it happen.  The greater Orange County community made it happen.  We are all making it happen!
From a social media perspective, I have found a lot of great takeaways from Seth.  The funny thing is that he never blogs or writes specifically about social media marketing, but his thoughts are so applicable to the situations that many of us social media practitioners face on a daily basis.
What have I learned from Seth Godin’s blog posts which, like Twitter, are so short and concise yet full of such deep insight?  I went through my favorite blog posts from Seth over the last 12 months and chose those which I felt were gems in this respect.
If you live in Southern California and are looking for a free ticket to see Seth, keep reading for a chance to win

1. Social Media and Experimentation

Sure, go ahead and test what’s testable. But the real victories come when you have the guts to launch the untestable. – A Culture of Testing

You can do all of the planning you want in social media, but the problem is that you are dealing with people here and hopefully trying to socialize with them.  And the social landscape changes with every tweet.  Without some experimenting and doing things untestable you might not achieve a real victory.
2. Building Your Tribe (Through Social Media)

The magic of the tribe is that you can build it incrementally, that day by day you can earn the asset that will allow you to bring your work to people who want it. Or you can skip that and wait to get picked. Picked to be on Oprah or American Idol or at the cash register at Borders.
Getting picked is great. Building a tribe is reliable, it’s hard work and it’s worth doing. – No Knight, No Shining Armor

Anyone who has read the classic Seth Godin book Tribes understands the potential for social media to help provide the infrastructure to create a tribe, and that ideally community managers are building “tribes” of fans.  While Seth’s quote was aimed at authors who wanted to get rich quick, his point is similar to what I wrote about in Why Social Media for Business is Like a Marathon.  Building a tribe in social media will take time, but it can help you create a true platform of fans that will reward you over the weeks, months, and even years.
3. Content is the New Search Engine Optimization

I resist the temptation to optimize this blog for traffic and yield. I’d rather force myself to improve it by having the guts to write better posts instead. – The Non-Optimized Life

Too many people focus on SEO without focusing on content marketing.  If social media is the new SEO, your content is what should separate you from your competition.
4. Embrace Social Media and Become a Leader, Not a Follower

Every brand, every organization and every individual is either running away from something or running toward something (or working hard to stand still).
Are you chasing or being chased? Are you leading or following? Are you fleeing or climbing? – Running Away vs. Running Toward

Almost every social media strategy consulting client I work with will be a pioneer in their industry in social media if they implement according to plan.  Why?  Because most of the competition is either fleeing from social media or doing the bare minimum to try to show that they are “relevant.”  Guess what competition?  It’s not working!
5. Engage with Your Customers, and You Shall Increase Your Engagement

The customers you fire and those you pay attention to all send signals to the rest of the group. – Train Your Customers

In social media, you truly get what you deserve.  Treat your customers right and they will spread thanks and praises about you through their tweets and comments.  Ignore them when they try to engage with you and that message will be sent to all of their tribes.  Do something insensitive and, well, just ask Kenneth Cole what happened.

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