However, I think there’s a fine line to be walked here. Often I think people tend to be skeptical of information that passes unfiltered from company to consumer. Especially with companies or organizations that haven’t yet built the trust that you reference in your post. People are pretty good at sussing out “marketing drivel” so it’s important that companies who are trying to be their own media outlets make sure that the information they’re producing is actually news. Organizations don’t have a chance at becoming Trust Agents if they just push out content that’s padded with superlatives and phony quotes. Like you said, being a resource and offering real value to an audience is what will build trust.

Thanks for stopping by!

Yes – becoming a trusted resource is a much more effective strategy – and a lot more fun than just shoving your sales pitch in peoples’ faces. I know there are a lot of implications to this since the “independent media” isn’t doing so well. We always relied on institutions in the past to provide a stamp of integrity and quality – now we rely on people. That makes the world a bit more tricky to navigate in some ways, but trust and integrity are important to business.

You’re also right to point out that it takes a lot of work on the front end. Rather than earning media, now we earn attention (I think I got this idea from Greg Verdino, but I’m not sure at this moment). Earning attention is hard work, but we do it through cultivating trust. :-)

I love your steps for social media engagement on your blog, btw.

Thanks again!

It’s good to be missed :-) I think your blog (and your company’s approach in general) is a great example of how to use social media the right way. Keep on keepin on!

I think Gary Vee is on target with his posts about Radio DJ’s

By the way, We Miss You here in the D!