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Please be my friend!

More brilliance from Andy Sernovitz of Damn, I Wish I Thought of That…

I’ll give you an iPad if you’ll be my friend! Imagine if you said that to a real person. It’s like saying, “I’m desperate for friends, but I’ll pay you to hang out with me.” Folks, true friendship does not involve a cash transaction.

Don’t ask people to give you their name, email address and phone number to get a copy of that pathetically mediocre white paper you wrote. Instead, write a fun, useful, non-spammy guide that people will love and share with their friends and coworkers, and give it away no-strings-attached.

Don’t give away the next Apple iThing to people, but only if they follow you and retweet your spammy 140-character-or-less lame excuse for marketing copy. Instead, share insights and information compelling enough that people want to follow you.

Social media marketing isn’t hard, but it’s not traditional marketing, either. It’s about connections and relationships.

Spend time cultivating those and watch your brand grow.