Get 10X Better Career Results from Social Media

All around the world, people are publishing great content on social media. Not everyone, mind you, but plenty of people. Unfortunately, the vast majority of these (successful) professionals have a problem: not enough people are reading their content.

By content, I mean: article, updates, tweets, videos, books, ebooks, PDFs, infographics, charts and even mildly amusing images. I mean all the stuff you use to grow your network, strengthen your career, sell your products, and do your job.

You can solve this "lack of reach" problem by starting a Compounding Group (CG) of 10 people organized around these five principles:

One for all, all for one: Without fail, we help each other. This is not a "leads group" to bring leads to your doorstep; it is a multiplier effort that brings all our social media contributions to a wider audience.

Common audiences: Every CG must be focused on a specific audience. A butcher and an IBM saleswoman can't be in the same CG, because they lack a common audience. But a butcher and a baker in Chicago can be in the same CG.

Share what's shared, plus an endorsement: When any CG member shares their content with you, share it with your network. But don't just pass it along. Add a sentence or two of endorsement, or add your own personal message. In other words, make it as appealing as possible to your network.

No halfhearted members: To be part of a CG, you need to be all in. Share everything, do so with enthusiasm, and continually look for ways to help your fellow CG members. If someone fails to do this, say goodbye to them.

Just people, no companies: Even if you are the president of a company, you join a CG as an individual. You can't delegate participation to your staff, but you can give this your full attention and also encourage your staff and colleagues to further amplify your efforts on behalf of other CG members.

Now, let's do the math...

To keep things simple, let's assume you have a network of 100 professionals, which means 100 people see your content.

You form a group of 10 CG members, who all agree to share everyone's content. Each member also has a 100-strong network. So now 1,000 people see your content (100 x 10) instead of 100. 

I suggest 10 members instead of 20 or more because the larger your group grows, the harder it will be to actually know the other members. Your endorsements will ring hollow. So keep it on the small side, at least until things are humming along nicely. Set up a short but focused monthly meeting - you can use Google Hangouts - to share tips and success stories.

At first, you might be afraid of overwhelming your network with shared content. Fear not. People get busy, and most generate far less social media content than they should. If anything, you'll benefit from having more quality content to share, rather than be harmed by annoying your network.

Please, please, please... don't ignore my "common audiences" principle. The key to your success is finding other people who want to reach the people you already know, and vice versa.

Finally, I'd like to acknowledge Kare Anderson, who unknowingly inspired me to write this article. Perhaps in 20 years I will fully understand her many valuable insights about the power of mutuality.

Bruce Kasanoff is a ghostwriter for entrepreneurs. He is the author of How to Self-Promote without Being a Jerk, the first in a forthcoming series of 55 Minute Career Guides.