Easily forgotten, but very important to remember.
Most companies see social interaction as some kind of marketing, and design their presence around campaigns and events.
Social media return of investment is then the art of measuring the output of these campaigns against whatever costs a company had to put into it.
It all sounds very well, but that is not actually what social interaction is about. Social interaction is a way of life that establishes a healthier connection between your customers and yourself. Like exercising.
Exercising is a bit like breathing. If you don’t have any air in your lungs, you might really want to change that (I hope). So you pull in a big gasp of air, but then you find that it didn’t really change anything.
Life is not the result of having your lungs full of air, nor is it about the event of filling your lungs. Life is the result of breathing continually, in response to whatever needs your body has at the moment.
Social is not about reaching 5,000 fans and “get social” as the result. Just as you don’t “get fit.” Being social is a state of mind; It is not a project. It’s not about getting from A to B.
Social is about being part of the world around you. It is something you have to do continually. It never ends. You never reach your goal, because there is no goal to reach.
Setting the goal of reaching 5,000 likes on Facebook, is meaningless. When you reach it you will find that unless you keep being social, those 5,000 means absolutely nothing. You cannot stop being social just because you have many likes.
It’s not the result that matters, it is the motion.