2,663 ignored me / 336,894 never heard me

Social Reach - it’s the number of people you have a theoretical chance at getting your message to in using social media.

It’s numerical value is derived by the number of Friends, Connections and Followers you have and how many Friends, Connections and Followers they have.  That raw number grows exponentially!

Maybe that’s why the Sales & Marketing Types are drawn to Social Media. They are literally blinded by that potential.

Unfortunately, so often they get it wrong. They blast into Social Media, follow and friend everyone, compute their massive Social Reach potential, then start blasting out broadcast (spam) messages.

Soon they find they have little or no ROI and declare Social Media as an empty sack of hype.  And for them, it is.

Also unfortunately, the misguided Marketing Guru is replaced by a new Marketing Guru and the "Circle of Life Spam" continues.

I was a guest on the radio yesterday with Tim Davis and Nick Thomas (http://www.blogtalkradio.com/smallbusinesssuccess ) discussing ways a small business owners could engage in social media and help their business grow.

Nick asked me what was the biggest mistake I see salespeople making in social media. My answer was easy. Not engaging others in a meaningful way. If you don’t do that, if you think like a traditional marketer, you’ll have a social reach of just one. You.

What is your social reach? Much more importantly, what have you done to engage others?

I’d be interested in your answer.

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