Social Media Compensation Plan?

Compensation Drives Behavior.. this is one of those phrases I have come to believe in; allow me to set up some context to eliminate the materialistic perception:

I understand compensation in the most ample sense; just as unique as humans are is how unique our perception of value and cost is… some of us would consider some things deeply valuable (i.e. the idea that we are keeping the world clean for someone that may not have been born yet) while others consider the concept cute at best; on the other side some would consider some tasks unbearable and impossible to achieve (i.e. the excruciating preparation for and actual performance in an Iron Man competition) while others see in it an element of “compensation” onto itself… to each its own.
My point here is: understanding that we all have a “value” and “cost” schema and that we tend to do what would give us a better “return on our investment” is extremely important in your social media efforts.

Now; there is no recipe here to easily define what is the best compensation plan for your social media efforts.. that will depend a lot on: what is that you are after, who is your target audience, what is the expected life span of your efforts, etc.

• Are you addressing gamers or volunteers? A competition versus joint achievement compensation schema could apply in one case versus the other.
• Are you targeting people building a career versus those trying to build a legacy? Resume building versus recognition schemas could apply in one case versus the other.
• Are you in for the long run, or will your efforts be short lived? (i.e. a support community versus a movie launch campaign..) in one case you can define and implement a deferred compensation schema where the community itself rewards those who deserve it; in the other the reward needs to be as instant as possible and likely included in the action you want the user to perform (i.e. I want you to help me promote this movie; what you get is that you entertain your friends by sharing this clip).

Are you thinking carefully through your “Compensation Plan” in your social media efforts? Pay close attention to the spontaneous behaviors of your target audience in the space you are aiming for, those should give you a hint of what people are willing to do and why.

What do you think?
Filiberto Selvas
Filiberto.Selvas@Gmail.Com