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Focus On Doing What's Valuable For Clients And The Audience
April 25, 2017
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Anytime a founder or CEO from one of the big social platforms talk - I listen.
When you spend time with the words of these creators, visionaries, and leaders - you get closer to the soul of their platform, enabling you to use it more effectively.
Facebook CEO and founder, Mark Zuckerberg, began holding town-hall meetings in 2014. Zuckerberg fields questions from participants that can be users of his products or the press.
It was during a town-hall from India that gave me pause. While much of the town-hall was technical stuff - there was a moment I wanted to share with you.
It was about making, and the fear of making, mistakes.
We are operating in such an experimental time right now. Not just in the social space - but with digital, mobile, on-demand audio and more.
Yet all too often, people get so consumed with the fear of mistakes that they miss what really matters:
Just doing good - doing what's valuable to others.
Zuckerberg was asked the following question:
"Is there a decision you made in the early days of Facebook that you regretted later?"
And how he responds is something I hope resonates with you, too:
Isn't that the essence of what we should be doing?
Stay focused on doing what's valuable to others.
Zuckerberg's attitude typifies a company culture where taking risks is encouraged and failure is accepted.
And if we're serious about using social to build brand strength, we should be putting this practice to use every day with our own stations and our advertising partners; following the fundamentals that make you unforgettable:
- Helping fans find what they love
- Discovery of what they will love
- Personalizing acknowledgment
- Sharing access
- Creating unexpected "holy crap" moments
Doing what's valuable to others is what drives brand strength.
And brand strength drives financial value.
Taking the time to listen when the "Zuckerbergs" of the world speak makes you realize that in some ways they are just like us - hacking their way through these platforms to find what works, for now.
There's no script for any of us working in this very different (and often weird) open and connected world.
Technology is making our lives move faster, sometimes more complicated, and our thoughts and actions less private. At our radio stations we can get lost in the frenetic energy of each day and forget that the greater purpose is to serve the audience and our advertising partners - doing good for them - doing what's valuable.
Become bold.
Look at your actions from the consumers' point of view.
In the social space, as in life, we're not always going to hit the mark.
But we'll get closer every time we try with the intent for good and learn along the way.
Reach out to me anytime on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter.
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