The Ask

We've been through this before, but it never hurts to have another review of the obvious. Social media, is, well, social. Friends want to help friends. All the way back to the @ThanksArk and Ryan Mallett social campaigns, traffic and interaction grows when you ask folks to do something.

A great reminder of this key principal today with numbers to back it up on the crucial need to put an ask -- a call to action -- in your social.

So obvious, but so often overlooked: ask your fans to retweet you.

It goes right along with some of the basics -- increasing frequency of tweets or posts.

But, some folks refuse to see the social forest for the potential of "incremental revenue" trying to SELL, SELL, SELL through Facebook in particular. I'm sure I didn't disguise my disgust well when told that the Vote Mallett campaign was getting in the way of the all important tee-shirt sales for the on-line store.

Remember, the ask must have that oh-so-important 1:5 or 1:10 ratio of giving before requesting. Share five or 10 items of genuine info or insight before asking once for your followers to do something for you.