How do you react to people at parties who can only talk about themselves? They babble on and on about their achievements, their frustrations, maybe their kid’s achievements, and they never ask you how you’re doing nor how your loved ones are doing.

Chances are that you won’t be hanging around those selfish people for too long, and neither will other people at those parties. They may be able to get a few hangers-on to stick around if they have other things to offer, but those are not healthy relations.

As I was reviewing a potential client’s social media accounts this morning, that is exactly what they are doing. For months on end they talk about themselves — look at what those people said about us, check out our success story here, why should you use our services, and on and on and on. Just like at parties, and even though they are very active, posting almost every day — they have an abysmal low number of followers.

Content marketing works. It just does not work when all the content is about yourself.

Having a conversation with someone is an act in which value gets exchanged. I tell you something funny, and you reward me with a laugh. You tell me something interesting, which triggers an idea in my mind, which you in turn find interesting or intriguing. In every potential  good conversation we exchange.

Not too complicated, right?

Well the same principle is what you should apply to your social media efforts. Always think about how to add value to the conversation. Ask questions. Survey people. Send them information that has nothing to do with you but that they might find useful.

That is how you will develop credibility and authority with them.

If you then send them info about yourself when they need it, they will assign a much higher value to that info than if you spray them with selfish messages every day! In addition, you will find a growing number of engaged followers on your accounts.