There’s a lot of talk about how to evaluate social media but less so about how much an individual connection is worth or even how much you’d be willing to pay for one. How often have you picked up a gem of a business tip, a sales lead or bypassed a gatekeeper to start a conversation with a key influencer thanks to a social media connection? The chances are quite a few times if you are a member of the Twitterati or a Linkedin advocate and these acts can be worth a fortune in both monetary and time senses so we’ve decided to run a little experiment to see how much people will pay for a good connection.
Now I’ve grabbed your attention I’ll come clean. I need your help. I’ve only gone and said yes to a client when maybe the answer should have been thanks but no. You’d think I’d have learned better by now. In the past I’ve said yes to taking part in ticket barrier checks at train stations for First Group, dressing up as Funky Monkey for the Co-Op and being savaged by kids, abseiling down Blackpool’s Sandcastle dressed as Batman (pre-Father’s for Justice I may just add) for Crimestoppers. To top that I’ve been photographed in my boxer shorts for a Jockey ‘Men Not Models’ campaign and taken part in a two day urban adventure Rat Race all in the name of client work. But that was then and this is now and I’m well into my 30’s, a tired father of a 20 month old and carrying (ahem) an extra pound or two. Yet I still said yes to taking part in the Taskers Charitable Foundation annual bike ride.
On May 14 I’ll be one of 50 invite only business people riding around Formby trying to spot red squirrels and playing my part in raising a minimum £25,000 charity donation  – I’ll save you the hassle of doing the maths, we each have to raise at least £500. So rather than simply raiding my son’s bank account and emailing all my contacts begging I thought I’d do something different.
If I could persuade all the people I’m connected to  on social media to give as little as a pound each I’d easily nail the target and much more. But then I remembered the Facebook school ‘friends’ who I’ve not actually seen or spoken to since ’93 and all the ‘ladies’ with the big boobies who randomly follow me on Twitter and I realised it wouldn’t be quite that simple.
So instead I thought we’d ask people to make a donation relating to whether or not they rate my connection and if I’ve ever been of use to them. So now I’m in their hands and I just hope I’ve paid enough forward to get a little back this time.
If you’ve read this far, just take one more moment to think what my connection is worth to you and subsequently charities across the UK and I’ll let you know how the experiment goes.
Avoid being pruned off my friend lists by please digging deep for my chosen charity, the children’s hospice Zoe’s Place and donating online here.
Thanks for helping to make a difference.