I read Brian Clark’s Copyblogger post “The Grateful Dead 4-Step Guide to the Magical Influence of Content Marketing” a few weeks ago. Can’t stop thinking about it—perhaps because I’d love to see more people/organizations do the same.

By giving “it” away—allowing bootleg recordings of shows—the Greatful Dead became among the first bands to do social media marketing—except they did it with bootlegs, and cassette sharing, well before today’s sharing sites were even a techy’s dream.

I remember listening to bootlegs in college, while Deadhead friends compared different recordings. I learned more about the band and its music, through listening to its fans discuss the concert recordings, than I did from any other outlet. By giving its music away, the Dead grew a tight-knit, ever-expanding, dedicated audience. The Dead gave something personal to its audience, and its audience responded in kind.

However—if you have something you’d like to share, you have to make sure you share it with the right audience.

At SXSW this year, I emptied dozens of Zone bars out of my purse every evening. When I’ve received bars at sporting events in the past, after running as an example, I’ve been thrilled to have them, and have been more than willing to try a new flavor (and buy the ones I like down the road), but at SXSW, they became something else to carry. By my last day, I was doing my best to avoid Zone people eye contact. I just couldn’t handle more bars. And in the end, they stayed on my hotel nightstand in Austin, when I caught my flight home.

Point of the above? Giving something to your audience is always a good thing—just don’t throw it out there, hoping your version of spaghetti will stick to the wall. Find the right place.

What goes around usually does come back around, so figure out how you can help others, where they are located, and the best way to reach out to them—and then share. Their sharing will follow.

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