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How do you define social equity?

Enterprise Social Media, Social Media 04 Feb 2010
13 Comments

I got an email from a colleague at work today asking the broader team about the definition of “social popularity.” It was an excellent question and I have been thinking about it all day. I am still not sure what the right answer is but I think the term “popularity” is a little fluffy and vague. Unfortunately, I see many people today using tools like Twitter to “gain popularity” using shady tactics; and all it really amounts to is their perceived influence over others merely by their follower count or the ego they try and down play in their bio. Twitter is just one example but it happens all over the web, and even in person.

Without going overboard in its definition, I believe that social equity happens organically and is the net result of relevant content, in any form, that is produced and that the community finds valuable and shares.  The way to increase social equity is to do just that:  create relevant and valuable content. And, just like the value of a home, social equity can go up or go down.  The best example that is top of mind for me is my friend Chris Brogan. I think we can all agree that he is a very popular guy with a significant following.  But more importantly is his ability to create relevant and valuable content, consistently; which is why he is where he is today.

At Intel, we talked about this concept when referencing the social equity of Intel employees who participate on the social web.  In fact, I learned just the other day that Intel has over 1,000 employees who have completed the social media training and are now engaged online and all over the world.  It’s a huge milestone and other organizations should take note.  Yes, Intel the brand has significant social equity for this reason and they should be applauded.

What’s your definition of social equity?

About the author

Michael Brito

Michael Brito is a Senior Vice President of Social Business Planning at Edelman Digital. He helps his clients transform their organizations to be more open, collaborative and socially proficient; with the end result of creating shared value with employees, partners and customers. Prior to Edelman, Michael worked for Intel and Hewlett Packard in various social media marketing roles. Opinions posted here are his own. Feel free to follow him on Twitter, subscribe to this blog or read some more of his content on Social Business News.

  • http://www.facebook.com/shari.weiss Shari Weiss

    To my mind, any definition of “Social Equity” should include a measure of how supportive an individual, team, or organization is to its community.

  • theoutsourcebot

    Yes this is a true defination

    Pariuri Sportive

  • http://twitter.com/Britopian Michael Brito

    @Shari – yes you are right on with that. thanks for the comment.

  • http://twitter.com/JoeyFratantoni Joey Fratantoni

    Hey Mike,

    This was an excellent post and one that happens to be very controversial in the social networking world. I totally agree that in order to increase your social equity you must, on a continual basis, provide the community with useful and highly relevant content. Quite frankly it pisses me off to see all of these goofballs who think they are going to last by chasing loop holes and using the latest and newest software to get 'friends.'

    Developing a strong following and especially a large readership on a blog is a gradual process. The suckers who think they can beat the system won't stick around for long. Thanks for sharing. I'm going to subscribe and stay in touch. -Joey Frat

  • http://www.karmasnack.com/ Alex

    I think diversity of content is huge here.

  • http://digitalmarketing.mehtainc.com/ shreya mehta

    there will social equity has big potential and social media is a right plat form for that to define a social interaction.

  • socialmediaexpert258

    Social equity implies fair access to livelihood, education, and resources; full participation in the political and cultural life of the community.

  • chelseaw

    I think that you captured a lot of the important characteristics of having a real social equity, or in my opinion social integrity. You always know a few of the those type of people and website developers that twist and manipulate things to scam people or gain friends or popularity the wrong way, and they try and take advantage of the social media networks.

    What they actually gain in the long run from fake or fraud popularity is probably miniscule and worthless. Anybody who judges another person on the amount of Facebook friends or Twitter followers isn't the kind of individual you want to aquainted with or in any way connected to. In all reality people who aren't trying to gain something or get something from you in order ot satisfy their needs. Mutually beneficial relationships are what I am trying to develop and maintain thru social media tools.

    Your post helped me realize what are we doing with these social media tools? Are you using them for your own personal benefit in a way that may harm others? Are you using social media networks in a positive way to impact the lives of people in your community?
    Think twice, check your motives!
    Thanks,
    Chelsea W.

  • socialrevo

    Hi Michael,
    Thanks for the post, I agree with what you said and what your belief of “social equity” means. I work with a small advertising agency that focuses largely on social media. The key to their success in this arena is due to a constant upkeep of their clients information and making sure everything is relevant and truthful. This creates a positive outcome for the client, their customers and our business, which in turn raises the “social equity”. http://www.mediarevo.com/services/social

  • http://www.firstpagegoogleresults.com/ home builders seo

    The concept of social equity is one that the Academy has addressed fully through the creation and support of a standing panel on Social Equity in governance …

  • http://memcatch.com/ Emre

    Hi Michael Brito I read your blog today and found it really informative. I wanted to connect with you because I think you and your readers would be interested in MemCatch. It’s a new platform that has some great features. MemCatch has developed a very easy and simple way for you, and the general user to get started, and be productive with their social media activities across Twitter, Linkedin, and Facebook. We have also developed metrics to track the content you share. MemCatch includes the sharing component that can be found in some other apps, but our platform also offers functionality for collecting content across the web. We have packaged all of the basic social media steps together into one user friendly platform.

  • http://firstpagegoogleresults.com/ home builders marketing

    A good example for social equity. The main point of importance is creating consistent, valuable content and …

  • http://www.naturalk9supplies.com/Brand/spa.aspx Spa Dog Shampoo

    Without going overboard in its definition, I believe that social equity happens organically and is the net result of relevant content, in any form, that is produced and that the community finds valuable and shares.

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