Behold the mind of @mkobach

I organized and distilled his last 3,000 tweets into a summary of his big ideas, in three parts...

Part : Social Media, Marketing, and Life Philosophy

Add value…
People only read stuff that will benefit them
People only care about what your brand can do for them
Posting the wrong content can cost you your audience
The more value you provide, the easier it is to attract
I got you to read this by speaking to your needs

State your value…
I’m just trying to make branded social media suck less
I’m just trying to separate the wheat from the chaff
I just try to tweet things people want to read
I try to use words to simplify complex ideas
I try to be a lighthouse for like-minded people

Follow wisely…
Follow people who are better thinkers than you
Follow people who are different thinkers than you
Follow people who are better than you at what you do
Follow what interests you
Who you are on Twitter is largely dependent on who you follow on Twitter

Pay attention…
Focus on other people’s needs, and surround yourself with people who do the same
The most flattering thing you can do is to listen to someone
Charismatic people make you feel like you’re the only person who matters
Let the other person do the talking

Understand people…
Understanding people is just as important as understanding platforms
If you want to understand how people use technology to communicate, you first need to understand how people communicate without it
Most people don’t voluntarily consume ads

Understand the medium…
We weren’t designed to use social media; social media was designed to use us
Social media would be more accurately described as social signaling
“Social media” is more accurately described as “social status media”
Use social media to channel desire

Tweet what you like…
Tweet about things you’re passionate about
Tweet about things you find interesting
Tweet the stuff you’d like to see in your newsfeed
Tweet the right stuff and eventually the right people find you

Learn by doing…
If you want to understand something better, tweet about it
A great way to better understand anything is to talk to people about it
The best way to make sure knowledge sticks is to apply it
The goal is to better understand yourself

Post, and post often…
Tweeting helps you figure out who you are
Kids learn stuff by jumping in and just going for it
The more you do it the better you get
You can’t become better at writing tweets without writing tweets
Post at least one tweet every day

Focus…
You don't need more time (you need more focused time)
You’re either doing one thing fully (or you’re doing multiple things partially)
Take the time to do only one thing, deeply
If you don’t know what you should be working on, everything is a distraction

Build for a rainy day…
Take the time to build an engaged audience so when you have something you want people to hear, they are already eager to listen
Build an engaged audience when you don't need to so you don't need to
Exercise before you have to (so you don’t have to)

Be niche and be consistent…
Start with a niche and expand from there
Building a community on social media cannot be achieved by posting one great piece of content
The value of an ad isn’t a single ad, it’s the accumulation of ads
Post content that resonates over & over

Do what currently works…
There’s the stuff that used to work and the stuff that currently works
Never be married to an idea that used to work
There are also a lot of social media “best practices” that were never true to begin with

Don’t forget, the content actually needs to be good…
Focus on relevant content
Focus on great content for social media
Know what content won’t work
Without quality, everything else is moot

Don’t forget, great content spreads…
Create something that compels people to tell their friends
Provide such an outstanding experience that people willingly share it with everyone they know
Spend time figuring out how to get people to stop and watch your content

Write well…
I scroll past poorly written tweets (and so does everyone else)
A well-written tweet is a work of art
Social media is a light medium, so write casually
Communication is about subtracting every element that fails to increase the clarity of your message

Be honest (with yourself & others)…
Being honest with who you are is a superpower
Being honest about what your brand stands for is a superpower
The more honest you are with yourself, the less anyone can hurt you
The more honest the relationship, the more enjoyable it is

Reflections on stealing ideas…
There’s no such thing as an original idea
Everyone steals ideas. I just admit it
All my best work is stolen
Don’t copy style (find your own voice)
No one can steal your ability to come up with ideas

Life advice for myself disguised as marketing advice for others…
Be generous and give others the benefit of the doubt
Life is a lot more fun when you don’t take it personally
Laugh at yourself before anyone else can
Don’t pay too much attention to the critics

In general..
If you never ask, the answer is always “no”
If people do it in real life, they will probably use social media to do it
If you want someone to date you, first become someone worth dating
If you want people to follow you, you better have something to say

In sum…
If social media feels like work, you’re doing it wrong
Pour yourself a drink
Have some @ChipotleTweets

Find the rest here...

Part : Comparing Social Networks
Part : Social Media Tips

And smash the follow button for more Big Idea Summaries https://letter.substack.com/p/the-best-of-matthew-kobach-big-ideas