This document discusses reciprocity and how to utilize it in social media. Reciprocity is defined as exchanging things for mutual benefit, like returning favors. It matters for building relationships through recognition and being recognized. To use it on social media, one should be genuine, learn to listen then act appropriately through gestures like following or commenting that are in line with one's goals. This allows building strong relationships through ongoing give-and-take over time. Examples given are Buffer gaining users through guest blogging and Redbull passing out free drinks.

1. RECIPROCITY
D R . R AV I S I N G H

2. WHAT WE WILL COVER
• WHAT IS RECIPROCITY
• WHY RECIPROCITY MATTERS
• HOW TO UTILIZE RECIPROCITY IN SOCIAL MEDIA
• COMMON RECIPROCITY ENGAGEMENT GESTURES
• REAL WORLD EXAMPLES

3. WHAT IS RECIPROCITY
• Reciprocity is defined as the practice of exchanging things with others for mutual benefit,
especially privileges granted by one person or organization to another.
• When reciprocity is mentioned, people often think of doing something nice for someone,
after they have done something nice for you. We often call it “Returning the favor”.
• People feel a sense of obligation to do something for you when you’ve done something for
them.
• Reciprocity is all about our need to feel important and that through recognizing and being
recognized, we build relationships with those around us.

4. WHY RECIPROCITY MATTERS
• Most B2B businesses that are successful in todays market are those that focus a big
part of their efforts on building real relationships with their leads, prospects and
current customers.
• They are building those relationships, whether they realize it or not, through
reciprocity.

5. HOW TO UTILIZE RECIPROCITY IN
SOCIAL MEDIA
#1 BE GENUINE
• Let me caution you, reciprocity is not to be used as a marketing tactic. One of the
biggest mistakes you or your business can make is to treat reciprocity like a
gimmick or ploy.
• Reciprocity must come authentically and genuine to be effective.
• Remember that reciprocity is a shown gesture that expresses a desire to draw others
into a social relationship with you or your brand.

6. #2 LEARN TO LISTEN – THEN ACT
• To ensure you providing appropriate gestures to the person or brand you wish to
a relationship with, it is important to first take the time to engage in social listening to
get to know them.
• If you engage in a manner different from theirs, they will do one of two things:
– Ignore the gesture all together
– label you as phony

7. # 3 BE APPROPRIATE
• SMP users are tired of fraud or bot accounts, inauthentic posts and the general lack of
transparency, especially in the newly popular, influencer marketing.
• But while a gesture might be genuine, you must also ensure it is appropriate. The gesture
needs to be appropriate for both the situation as well as for the platform it is being
expression on. Inappropriate gestures can be insensitive and disrespectful or forgettable.
• When making a gesture ask yourself, Is this…
– genuine
– appropriate
– in resonance with the target audience
– in alignment with my goals and brand values?

8. #4 BUILD STRONG RELATIONSHIPS USING RECIPROCITY IN SOCIAL MEDIA
• Reciprocity, done properly, is not a gimmick or fad. It is an ongoing give-and-take
relationship between you and your followers.
• It allows you to build relationships, based on mutual recognition of each other’s need to
be acknowledged, but to most importantly, to feel important.
• Businesses usually either don’t understand reciprocity or treat it as a marketing tactic. This
leaves a large gap that can be filled by businesses (and individuals) who know how to be
genuine with their gestures to build strong and solid relationships, ultimately resulting in
more sales and profit in the long run.

9. COMMON RECIPROCITY
ENGAGEMENT GESTURES
• connecting, following or friending someone
• subscribing to someone’s YouTube channel
• tagging or @mentioning someone in a social post (when appropriate)
• reacting (liking), commenting or sharing someone’s social post
• reacting (liking) or commenting on someone’s comment
• commenting on someone’s blog posts
• sharing someone’s blog post
• introducing two people who would benefit from knowing each other
• providing a testimonial, skill endorsement or recommendation

10. REAL WORLD EXAMPLES
• Now that we have discussed the basics of Reciprocity, lets take a look at some real
world applications.

11. BUFFER
• In a recent interview with the co-founder of BufferApp, mentioned that the 100,000
users gained through guest blogging were the result of about 150 guest posts.

12. REDBULL
• Redbull uses Reciprocity by having brand representatives pass out free Redbulls!

13. THANK YOU
D R . R AV I S I N G H
# D R R AV I
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