Today I was thinking about the Lao Tzu quote – give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime – and thinking about how it relates to social media and writers and illustrators and others, too.
There’s a heavy push in publishing to get folks active in social media. And I constantly see classes and webinars and blog posts on how to use, say, Facebook – teaching folks how to fish, as it were. I’ve done those posts myself, in fact, and will continue to do so.
But I think for many people, when it comes to social media (or “fish” if you will), we’re still a step earlier than the two options in the Lao Tzu quote: before the lessons of “how” can take hold, we need to understand WHY to fish at all.
In other words, there’s a difference between knowing how to update your Facebook status and knowing how (or if) Facebook makes sense as part of a business strategy.
I’ll be talking about goals and plans and understanding the “why?” at the SCBWI Conference this weekend and more here at the Happy Accident soon, too.
In the meantime, I’m curious to hear what you think – is it an important step or not? Do you know why you’re fishing… or do you still need to learn (or be convinced of!) the why?
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
I think it’s important because marketing isn’t about blasting strangers with ads anymore. It’s about relationships. And with social media we have more opportunities than ever to create and establish real relationships. We are now a society of connectivity, and I love it!
e
I love it, too (clearly!).
Greg Pincus´s last [type] ..Teach an Author To Fish…
This is a fascinating subject, Greg. I’m bummed that I’ll miss your talk at the LA conference this weekend. Please transcribe it for us here!
Cheers,
Karen
Great post, lots to think about. A marketing platform has a lot of value if tailored to your goals & objectives.