Exhibitor 2010 Series: Part 5 – The Twittermediary
This is the final part of a five part series discussing my recent takeaways for the Exhibitor 2010 Conference in Las Vegas, March 14-18, 2010. View Part 4 – Viva la Face to Face.
Recently, I had the chance to be a part of my first tweetup. A group of about ten individuals met after the welcome reception on the Monday evening that opened the Exhibitor 2010 Conference. Not only did I have a chance to meet for the first time a number of individuals that I had a virtual connection with, but I was conveniently sandwiched between another interesting set of people: Competitors.
The term alone conjures up such negativity. For a business using social media, competitors are one of the largest concerns when it comes to content sharing. The very transparency that builds valued relationships is the same channel that draws our opponents close by. At one point, I feared following a competitor on Twitter. Did I want my competitor to think I was ‘watching’ them? Would I act as a liaison for my followers to connect with them?
During the evening, what became refreshing was coming to accept the idea that my ‘competitors’ are no different than me. We’re simply quarterbacks playing for different teams. While we market on the field of business against one another, the fog of animosity is lifted when you can talk freely around the vast similarities in your makeup. We share passions, and I quickly found that we can learn from each other without taking from each other.
When I was able to strip away the minor, singular difference between me and those who surrounded, we were able to share our opinions on the trends in the tradeshow world, discuss our beliefs in strengthening face to face perceptions and refuel passion that comes from sharing time with like minds. Sharing ideas for changing the foundation of our industry can be done without padding up and knocking heads. Business is an ever changing environment and we can’t “proprietize” our solutions for improving it. While you can and should keep your products, services and strategies for day to day business internal, your competitors can be front line allies for furthering business across the industry.
Social media is powerful. And any bit of power can be utilized in multiple ways, good and bad included. Business is business and should be such without involving competitors. But rethink what the term ‘competitor’ means to you, and don’t shutout opportunities to collaborate with others. For us, Twitter acted as a intermediary between unlikely sources. It has allowed us to connect and communicate within guidelines to maintain our competitiveness while defining our similitude.
Eric,
This is the elephant in the room when it comes to social media marketing. I think you’ve shed some light on a very important topic that is not discussed enough.
There has been way to much fear and hostility against peers in business. I don’t even like the word “competitor”, honestly. But that is the way it has been for a long time, and we won’t change it all overnight.
However, the much more friendly line we are beginning to walk with the aid of social media in marketing, can be a little ambiguous. You help to define it. If, as you say we LEARN from each other without TAKING from each other, we stand to gain much. We don’t have to give away our strategies but we can be allies in supporting our shared industry and this camaraderie can be mutually beneficial.
Your post reminded me of a great article by Tim Sanders on how he, while working for Yahoo, dealt with losing to a major deal to AOL. Thought you might enjoy it. http://bit.ly/cEZzYO
Hey Eric,
You touch on a great topic, one that often goes unspoken. I’ve always felt that there is plenty of room in the market for competition and I particularly like staying connected to folks in the same industry in the same market because it enables me to always take the higher path when talking about them. By having a personal connection, I am able to talk to prospects and clients about the competition in valid, meaningful ways that do not disparage them. It becomes a discussion of strengths and weaknesses and how I think I can help them versus what I think the others can offer. I don’t want ALL the business, just the business that’s right for me.
That’s my two cents at least
Justin
(PS – I’ll look for you at SOBcon)