Is Social Media A Bet? |

This entry is part 2 of 45 in the series Conversational Currency

Marketers will spend over $350 billion advertising on the web this year “betting” that they will reach the intended market of buyers. Advertisers create slick campaigns “betting” that they will get the markets attention to their offering.

When we say “betting” we usual think in terms of gambling. Over $800 Billion annual is spent on legal and illegal gambling in the U.S. alone. While many people don’t consider themselves gamblers the fact is everyone is betting that their idea, product or even their conversations will get traction and ultimately lead to revenue.

What Do You Bet?

People and businesses are spending a lot of time trying to engage people on Twitter and for that matter every social networking site in the universe. People put out content “betting” it will attract people to their conversation, their offering or in lots of cases their scam.

Think about this. Why do you publish content and engage in conversations? You bet that your content is meaningful and engaging. You bet that people will retweet it because you believe you have something worthy to say. You comment on other people’s content because you think your comments are worthy of expression and “bet” it may be worthy of reading. You also “bet” that your perspectives are either right or helpful to others. Consciously and unconsciously we “bet” that our conversations, our perspective, our offering are worthy of an audiences attention. Otherwise why would anyone spend so much time engaging in online conversations? I bet you think you have the answer. If so share it and see if others agree with your bet.

What Are The Odds?

All bets have odds. A casino owner knows the odds are in their favor. To increase the odds of winning a bet you need to understand the odds and what tips them in your favor.

To gain the currency of your conversational bet you must understand how to work them in your favor. The odds of creating conversational currency are based on the “human network” and not the “institutional network“. The difference between the two is creating “human content” vs. “institutional content“. The difference between those two is knowing how to speak in human terms. Human terms are based on an exchange of value received. If your conversations doesn’t create and give value you can “bet” the house will win. One other thing you can bet on. If you try and steal peoples time and trick them into a conversation you can “bet” your not going to “get” any value back. Make the wrong bet and you loose.

I’ll bet you have something to say. What say you?

About Jay:
Jay Deragon’s professional career includes providing strategic management consulting services to Fortune 500 companies as well as local small businesses. He has consulted with numerous industries spanning over 25 years of professional experience globally. His current professional endeavors are all centric to the disruptive nature of the social web. He writes at Relationship Economy and provides social media strategic services to businesses large and small. Jay Deragon is an avid student of the emerging landscape of all things social and the subsequent impact on business dynamics. Since 2004 Mr. Deragon has been actively studying, sharing and learning how business as unusual is changing business methods, models and relationships. Life is a journey and the experiences along the way provides learning that furthers the experiences if we know how and what to learn. for more info go here http://www.relationship-economy.com/?page_id=2

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