This is the first in a series of excerpts from ROTOMA—The ROI of Social Media ‘Top of Mind,’ a brand-new book I just co-authored with Spencer X. Smith. The book is now available at Amazon.

The excerpt:

Unselfish Selfies.

I continue to learn a lot about how to work the levers of social media simply by watching the master at work. Spencer’s the man when it comes to all this stuff, and understanding and implementing the many techniques and posting styles he uses to fill his feeds is imperative to max out your ROTOMA potential.

Seriously, the dude does not quit—and hasn’t met a name he couldn’t drop. This simple picture says a heck of a lot more than the few accompanying words attached to it.

It’s not just self-promotion when you’re sharing and promoting others. Really smart point, Spencer. And yes, I know it’s not technically a selfie.

Here’s how I break it down:

A. Here I am, Spencer, at a major ‘thought leaderish’ event. Since I’m attending, that makes me a ‘thought leader’.

B. I legitimately praise the speaker, mentioning that I am a longtime reader of one of the world’s leading publications for startups and agility-oriented companies. Once again, that implies that I am a citizen of the Fast Company startup and agility-oriented business universe.

C. I’m happily promoting the multi-day conference on day one, thereby making this a valuable promotional shoutout for the conference #WITreps.

D. The name pile-on at the end? That’s a bunch of folks I met at the conference who might like (literally) any number of things about this photos, such as:

A. I liked because I attended the same event;

B. I liked the keynote;

C. I like Alan Webber;

D. I like Fast Company magazine;

E. I am a citizen of the FC business universe;

F. I like that Spencer gave me/people I recognize or follow a shoutout for being a ‘thought leader;’

G. I like seeing myself (and others I recognize or follow) recognized for any reason;

H. Spencer always likes my posts, and I reciprocate right back.

And the list could go on for a lot longer. 21 people (including Spencer) are mentioned in that post, and it already received 23 likes within the first three hours—and while the conference was still in session.

Now that’s not Kim Kardashian-level liking, but then Spencer’s no KK (sorry dude, truth hurts). But it’s pretty good for under 3 hours on LinkedIn, especially given the subject matter.

Minimal effort. Maximal effect.

So how much time did it take Spencer to get, process and post this to LinkedIn? I’m guessing minutes—maybe 10 at most. And yet the networking and personal-brand promoting effect of those ten minutes is surely worth far more.

Spencer effectively promoted:

1. The speaker;

2. The conference and its organizers;

3. All the conference’s sponsors;

4. The attendees;

5. The topic;

6. The city of Madison as a top-tier innovation center;

7. And only after all that, himself.

That is what I call an ‘unselfish selfie,’ and as Spencer points out in Make Conferences Count on page 183, it’s one of the easiest ways to fill your feeds with sharing, value, and laser-focused, relevant personal and professional promotion. If you ask me, that’s doing social—smart.

From ROTOMA—The ROI of Social Media ‘Top of Mind’ by Spencer X. Smith and D.P. Knudten. Now available on Amazon.

The extra:

Click here to download a FREE companion worksheet full of additional tips for using this top technique for filling your social feeds with relevant content, but with a minimum of fuss.

Get the shot, go online, and get it posted; That’s the way to make your ROTOMA (return on top of mind awareness) rise. And check out ROTOMA the book on Amazon.

– D.P. Knudten • Chief Collaborator • COLLABORATOR creative

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D.P. Knudten, the Chief Collaborator at COLLABORATOR creative, is a ~25-year veteran in advertising and marketing. Providing everything from highly personalized marketing consulting; custom copywriting; content marketing strategy, creation, execution; and his NonFiction Branding™ system, D.P. collaborates creatively to identify, craft, and tell the true brand stories of complicated products, services, and companies, and share his personal POV about all the above—and more—via speaking opportunities to groups throughout the U.S. He is also the co-author (with Spencer X Smith) of ROTOMA—The ROI of Social Media ‘Top of Mind.’