I had 1,252 Twitter followers and 1,056 Facebook “friends” when I killed my accounts.

In the past I’ve been an avid promoter of social media. It’s been a great way for me to drive traffic to my websites.

I’ve been drawn to it as an influence platform — an easy and effective way to spread important ideas.

Here’s why I’m done with social media (and see if any of these reasons resonate with you as regards your mission):

There’s Influence, & There’s Influence

I do believe I had influence via social media.

But it was surface-level influence at best. It may have gotten a few people to read and consider things they otherwise wouldn’t have.

But I highly doubt it did anything to really transform minds and hearts for good.

Which impacts you more: An article you skim from a Facebook link — no matter how important the content — or a profound and moving book you really take the time to digest?

My time and mission are better served and my influence will be deeper by writing mind-bending content, rather than throwing up Facebook links or tweeting 140 characters.

The time I spent on social media will now be spent writing blog articles and books.

If my content is good enough, if it really touches hearts, then it will be found and spread by the right people.

If you have to vigorously self-promote to be found, you ought to spend more time and effort on what you’re creating, rather than promoting it.

World-class products, ideas, and content get found and spread organically — with or without the creator.

Question for you: What serves your mission better — Facebooking, or creating, innovating, and leading?

Social media may play an active role in your mission, and you’re the only one who can answer that.

I’m Tired of Wading Through Frivolous Junk

Can important ideas be spread via social media? Obviously.

But is that what social media is actually used for? Rarely.

I don’t care how much I like you, it just isn’t that important to me to know what you ate for lunch or what you’re watching on TV tonight.

Social media is bursting at the seams with information — and the vast majority of it is trivial, frivolous fluff of no consequence to anyone.

Try this experiment: Don’t log on to any of your social media accounts for a month. Then log in, scroll through the past month’s posts, and see if you really missed anything.

I guarantee it will be an enlightening experience.

I want to spend my time thinking about, creating, and discussing important ideas with earnest, dedicated people, not wasting my life away on self-centered, inconsequential chatting.

Join the Conversation?

All the buzz from social media hacks has been about “joining the conversation.”

Why no mention of being the one that starts the conversation?

Do you want to be an initiator on the edges, or a follower of crowds?

Do you want to primarily be an idea producer, or an idea debater?

The Emperor’s New Clothes

Social media “gurus” and “experts,” which strangely have appeared in droves out of the woodwork like Texas cockroaches during a drought, are adamant that every business should be actively engaged in social media marketing.

As a marketing consultant for years, I’ve worked with a wide variety of businesses, most of whom are aggressive with their social media efforts.

Not a single one of them has demonstrated results worth writing home about.

In almost every business case I’ve ever experienced, they would be far better off spending their time, money, and effort in other marketing channels.

I do believe social media can be an effective tool for the right businesses.

But for most businesses, the social media phenomenon is little more than a case of the emperor’s new clothes.

Don’t Use Social Media as a Crutch

Social media has enjoyed a meteoric rise because makes so much sense to be able to connect with the people closest to us, and find and befriend like-minded people across the globe.

But for the mission-driven, it can become a crutch — an excuse to waste time, rather than doing the hard work of producing and creating.

I’m not telling you to close your accounts.

But I am inviting you to question if it’s the best use of your time and if it’s the best way to fulfill your mission.

Recommended Reading:

• Do the Work by Steven Pressfield
• The War of Art by Steven Pressfield
• John Mayer, “Manage the Temptation to Publish Yourself”

Unless you want your writing to be discarded, you must lead with the point, rather than build to the point. Your thesis must be stated clearly and early.

You’ve got just seconds to grab readers before you lose them to information overload.

In fact, the chances are extremely high that most readers will only read your opening sentences, headlines, and bullet points. Information Age readers are more appropriately termed “skimmers.”

Effective writing is journalistic, rather than academic. Understanding this is vital, when written content, such as blogs and e-books, is a fundamental and essential component of modern marketing.

The Difference Between Academic & Journalistic Writing

The purpose of academic writing is to build a case, which creates broad context that leads to a concluding point. Academics amass data, facts, statistics, research, and logical arguments, all of which are carefully crafted and organized to support the point.

Unfortunately, few have the patience to get to the point, no matter how beneficial and logical the point may be.

Journalistic writing, on the other hand, reverses this structure and leads with the point, then gives broader context the deeper you dive into the story.

Newspaper headlines are designed to give readers the point, even if they never read the article text. Consider these recent headlines:

“Jack Kemp, Former Quarterback & VP Nominee, Dies”
“Mexican Swine Flu Death Toll Jumps to 19″
“Iraqi Solder Kills 2 US Soldiers, Wounds 3″
“Officials: Gitmo Court System Likely to Stay Open”

Once the point is identified and articulated in the headline, readers are give increasingly deeper layers of information and context.

This may sound obvious. The truth is that few people ever implement it properly.

We struggle with making our point up front because we’re afraid readers won’t understand it out of context. This is partially true, yet a good lead both informs and hooks readers. It gives them enough information that they can derive benefit without reading further, but it also peaks their curiosity enough to continue reading.

A far greater danger than readers not understanding the context of your opening thesis is for them never to arrive at a thesis because it’s buried in context.

The Flip Technique

If you struggle with the journalistic structure, it’s very easy to overcome. Write your blog article, e-book, press release, etc. as you normally would. Then flip it upside down and take note of the effect.

Simply reverse the order of the paper. Does this make it more, or less readable? More, or less engaging? More, or less catchy from the beginning?

If you think you get this concept, I challenge you to use the same technique. Flip your written piece upside down and watch what happens.

My prediction is that 95% of writers will improve their style by trying this technique, even many experienced writers.

Conclusion: Get to the Point

Effective Information Age writing leads with the core point, then develops that point by providing further information and context. Ineffective writing compiles provides broad information in order to make a point.

If you’re not familiar with RSS, watch this video.

One common question is whether businesses should publish full or partial RSS feeds.

In a full feed, RSS readers can read entire articles in their reader without having to click a “Read More” link that takes them to the full article on your blog.

In a partial feed, obviously, only a small part of each article is posted in RSS readers, and readers must finish reading on your blog.

Proponents of partial feeds are concerned that 1) web traffic will be reduced if they publish full feeds, and 2) full feeds make it easier for content thieves to republish their articles.

They also argue that clickbacks to articles on site are instant feedback — you learn which articles resonate more with readers.

Answering the question is a function of whether you want to spread influence or drive web traffic.

Influence Versus Website Traffic

If you want to spread influence, then publish a full RSS feed. Give your best content away, and piles of it. The more the better.

If you want to bring traffic back to your site, go with a partial feed.

But understand this: The influence approach will generate more traffic and market buzz for you in the long-term.

We’re major proponents of full feeds because we understand the power of influence on the web.

Sure, you’ll have a few knuckleheads that will skim your content. Sure, your RSS readers may not come back to your site as often.

But, as the music industry has learned the hard way, trying to control content online is a losing battle anyway. What’s more, you should hope and pray that people start spreading your content.

Sure, you want to be attributed, but most people will give proper attribution. And the people who don’t have lame sites, audiences, and business models, so you don’t need to worry about them.

And so what if RSS readers don’t come to your site? Are you worried about banner ad advertising revenues? Don’t — they’re too paltry to worry about. Unless you’re getting 10,000 hits per month or more, advertising shouldn’t even be on your radar as a viable income stream.

Generate high-quality, relevant content. Get it out into as many venues as possible. Publish the heck out of it.

You’ll develop a reputation as an influencer and it will come back to you exponentially over time.

Recommended Reading:

• “Full Or Partial RSS Feeds — The Great Feed Debate” by Darren Rowse
• “Full Vs. Partial RSS Feeds” on “The Wrong Advices” Blog
• “Why Publish Full RSS Feeds Instead of Partial Summary Feeds” by Amit Agarwal

One of my blog readers once posted the following comment on an article:

“Thank you for opening my eyes on the power of blogging. Before reading your article I had a negative point of view on blogs. In my opinion it was a loud statement saying ‘I need attention, does anyone care?’

I learned as I was growing up to be as secret as possible, since it gives less opportunities for people to find your weak spots and make a fool of you. It’s a way of thinking that I have been trying to get out of for a while now. And now that I am building a business I realize that I need to let people know me in more than one way. What a shift!…”

This perception is understandable given the flood of “me-centric” blogs in existence. Writing about yourself and your family is fine for private blogs, when the purpose is to stay connected with family and friends.

But for professional bloggers, business owners, and marketers, focusing your blog on you, your company, and/or your product breaks the most cardinal rule of the new marketing model.

Rule number one for professional bloggers is that it’s not about you — it’s about your readers.

Interrupt advertising — the old method — used TV, magazine, radio, and newspaper ads and other media to shove products and companies in your face. It had one goal: to generate revenues to the company.

What Has Changed?

The new model, permission marketing, isn’t about you. It isn’t about your company. It isn’t about your product.

It’s about your customers. It’s about fulfilling their desires. It’s about creating value for them on their terms. Your customers are in the driver’s seat; you simply provide the mode of transportation, meaning the products and services that they want.

The nature of the media has changed. Media consumers aren’t forced to listen to you anymore. TV viewers have TiVo. Radio listeners have iPods. Website users don’t have to sit through commercials — if they don’t find what they want immediately, they’re gone.

How To Succeed In the New Model

The only way to succeed under the new rules is to create value for people on their terms. If you’re a real estate agent, you can’t blog about how great you are; you’ve got to provide content that your readers care about. Talk about changing real estate laws. Give them tips and advice for staging their home and maximizing their returns.

If you’re a financial advisor, don’t try to convince readers to use you. Give them massive amounts of free, relevant content. Establish your value in their minds.

All of your blogging must be directed towards your readers — solving their problems, fulfilling their desires, alleviating their fears.

A professional blog isn’t your platform to shout to the world how great you are. It’s a living room where you host and serve guests and focus your attention solely on them.