While having respect and visible support from big names is beneficial- it’s the average, moderately connected person that can make a world of difference. Guy Kawasaki’s Enchantment points out that the nobodies are the next somebodies when it comes to your brand.
People who have reached celebrity status in a particular field don’t have time to review your product, let alone USE your product in everyday life. This is why, according to Guy, you need to focus on planting seeds, or asking for small amounts of feedback from people WITHOUT a great cloud of influence. These people may have just a puff of influence, but those small bits add up and your brand will have exposure in lots of small, close-knit communities where each person has a high degree of influence on the others.
With this concept, Guy also focused on the importance of “Showing Up” and responding to as many people as possible, even the nobodies. He used the ever relevant story of when the gentleman found many starfish washed up from the sea and went one by one to toss them all in. While he may not make a difference to the general starfish population as whole, he sure made a difference in the lives of each of the starfish he threw back in.
Everyone should have this same mentality when responding to requests. Do your best to respond to all of them, even if it’s just “I’m sorry, I can’t help you right now.” From a job-seeker point-of-view and a social media lover, I appreciate the “Sorry’s” and the simple “Thanks.”
Being acknowledged is half the battle for us little people.