The value of cross-promotion with social media

Thanks Kare. I like your ideas as well. It's definitely a case where finding people to partner with can really help everyone's business, which is something I think we'll need long after this economy has recovered.

Hi Karen,

I agree. It does need to be organic. The interest needs to be genuine in order for people to comment or share. Thank you for commenting on my blog.

But it is a good example of how businesses cross promote and forgive me, but you aren't a business owner. So to you it comes across as narcissistic, especially given that you don't my services or the other person's services, but part of building a strong business community is cross promoting other business and making sure you take care of each other. The success of a business is built on its connections and how actively those connections cross promote. If you were a business owner, you might feel differently about it, especially as you'd realize that the success of your business is bringing visibility to everyone you are involved in, and likewise they doing the same for you.

I see the value of your way and I use it a fair amount, but even then if I respond to someone with my own blog post, I still refer to what the person wrote to promote that person as well as myself.

Wow. That made it quite easy for me to disagree even more adamantly.

If the goal is simply "promoting business", that's more consumption-
driven egotistical avarice. I think the world could use less of that.

On the other hand, I think the world could use more authentic
relationships and collaborations. This authenticity doesn't arise
through self-serving 'You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours'
frames. Business relations are stereotyped as shallow and hollow -
because they are.

Have you studied any Greek philosophy? The Epicureans, perhaps? How
about Alain de Botton?

Written by someone who has the luxury of having his clients, i.e students provided to him by someone else's hard work. When you actually own a business and you have to network and build your business by referrals then get back to me about how shallow it is, because you don't know what you're talking about and to quote you from another post, you're over simplifying it. I've built some very genuine relationships with people I do business with and part of that is looking for each other, instead of taking the man is an island approach.

No doubt - that's how the patriarchal "world of business" has worked
for quite some time. It's more masks of authoritarianism, and that's
something that I take strong ethical contention with.

However, given the amount of emotional investment you have in your
position, I think it unlikely you'll find yourself applying a critical
lens to these flaws any time soon.

And, to close this discussion, I think you should be careful in your
projected assumptions. You have no idea in what context I am teaching
or have taught. Indeed, you know very, very little about me. What
you have done - perhaps inadvertently - is fallen into ad hominem
fallacy. FYI, that's probably not a very good way to "promote your
business".

I'm not interested in heckling you or tossing peanuts, so carry on
"promoting your business" as you see fit. And good luck with it.

You're right I don't know you well, but likewise you don't know me well and whether you intend it or not you come off as very confrontational in your remarks. It's also clear from your remarks that you really don't know what it's like to run a business, the amount of effort and work that goes into building a network and creating that support structure that makes a business successful.

Hrm... First ad hominem, now red herring.

Yes, I can imagine I would sound "confrontational" to such a person as
one who would rely on these didactic strategies while defending
hegemony.

I'll make it a point to not bother with comments next time. :)