In today’s business world using social media is part of the strategy but similar to other aspects of life, some with be good and others not so. The book The Impact Equation written by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith published by Portfolio Books/Penguin, NY, 2012 will help the social media releases create impact with the formula Impact = C x (R+E+A+T+E)  or CREATE. The letters stand for Contrast, Reach, Exposure, Articulation, Trust and Echo.

Contrast is an idea has to be similar but different from what is out there. Other words are differentiation, positioning, interest.

Reach  – the higher number of people you connect with, the more influential your idea can become

Exposure is how often you connect to them.

Articulation is being understood instantly

Trust is trust but you need to know why people trust you

Echo is about the feeling of connection you give your reader, visitor or participant.

Contrast is about ideas and understanding them. The shape of an idea matters. Every idea has a sender and a receiver.The receiver must be open for the idea to take root or have resonance. They have to get it.

Human beings are powerful pattern recognition machines, we do it very well. It helps us see what works and what does not; it helps us see which of our actions are worth repeating and which are not. Contrast is about pattern breaking and the first method to do this is think about who the message is for. Thus contrast is about strong positioning of your ideas which allows it to create value. To come up with the ideas there is a process which helps

1. What is the goal of the idea? why do you need one?

2. How does this idea fit my existing framework? does it?

3. How much work does this idea add to my life?

4. What will it take to accomplish this idea? List what will it take to get your idea going.

5. What additional resources do I need to make this idea work?

6. How will I know whether to keep going or quit?  A useful resource is The Lean Startup by Eric Ries. He uses the term pivot which refers to the moment a start-up has to decide whether to press on with the original idea or pivot to a new angle.

7. When will I be done?  is the ideas temporary? what makes it a success or failure?

How will you know you have a good idea?

Good ideas make you feel ….  something, anything!

Good ideas attach themselves to other concepts in the brain

Good ideas fulfill a need.

If no need is being fulfilled an idea will die a quick death, the challenge will be to find people with the need. In terms of attachment to other ideas, emotion plays a role.

How to use Contrast if you have an existing business:

1. Judge the value propositions of the space you are engaging in. What other offerings define the space?

2. Pan out. Is your value information or emotion? Is it entertainment or education?

3. Where must you compete and what is critical in this space in order to maintain position? If you lost an entire arm of your products would you go bankrupt?

4. What can be diminished? What really matters to the audience you are targeting? Do they really care about a given product or part of your business?

5. What can be eliminated? The values you serve are not equal to all of your customers.

Linking to dividend producing stocks, as social media continues to evolve, companies need to evolve to capture spending and to grow, how is your older established company doing it?

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions.