The strategy of leveraging audiences hasn’t changed because of social media. But how it’s done has. Or, I should say, who draws the audiences has changed. When Larry King, Jay Leno or the trade industry you belong to needs a guest or a keynote speaker, this is how they make the decision.
Choices:
A. OK Speaker + OK Content = Huge Audience
B. Great Speaker + Great Content = Tiny Audience
Eighty percent of the time leadership will choose A, because a huge audience means more people, higher ratings and increased revenue. About 20% of the time, the gatekeepers will be kind and bring in a person who has a heart-wrenching story—you know, one of those bootstrap-to-glory tearjerkers.
Yes, times have changed. Reality TV has taken over glossy, flossy actors and Twitter is allowing the average person to gain a following that will soon be comparable to Oprah’s.
But the one thing that hasn’t changed is this simple equation: Person + Huge Audience = Stage.
The advent of social media is like watching the dice in Yahtzee bouncing around, not sure how they will fall. Strategy will always stay the same; we are really just watching tactics change!
