The new secret weapon you need
There is a new powerful weapon online. The companies, organizations, and individuals are increasing engagement with their tribes through this tool. If you want to have an impact online it's something you need to measure. What is it? It's called being generous.
Why is being generous a powerful tool online?
One of my favorite companies is Zappos.com. I started ordering shoes from Zappos a couple of years ago. My first order arrived the NEXT DAY! I didn't ask for next day, I had selected normal shipping. A thank you letter and a notice that they upgraded me to next day and no extra cost was in the box! Last year I ordered another pair of shoes from Zappo and low and behold, they showed up the next day. This time I opened up Twitter and praised Zappos. About a minute later Zappos responded saying that I was a great costumer and they upgraded me to VIP status, which means I will always get next day shipping at no cost and prices on shoes that the non VIP costumer doesn't get! Are you kidding me!?
Do you know how many people I've told to buy shoes from Zappos and how many times I've shared this testimony? It happens all the time. Probably once a month I talk about how great Zappos is. This is my point about being generous online. Being generous online creates a hype online and word of mouth that is incomparable. If you are a leader you want to have a generous reputation. If you desire to have a platform online you want to have a generous reputation. If you are a company with a great product you want to have a generous reputation. Generosity will generate an incredible amount of hype for you but you can't fake generosity. You either are or you aren't.