Just because someone is your competitor, doesn’t mean that, on social media, they are your competition. If you’re Coke, your competition on social media isn’t Pepsi. If you’re Starbucks, your competition on social media isn’t Dunkin’ Donuts.

My friends at Twitter gave me the best slide ever to explain this concept. It was visual, visceral, and I’ve used it over and over again to great success in convincing peers and higher-ups as to what the heck I’m striving for every day.

The slide featured three pictures. One of Ellen’s all-time-record-breaking selfie. One of Lebron James, and one of an Oreo cookie. Below those pictures were the words: “What do these things have to do with your social media program?”

The answer? They’re your competition.

Traditional marketers are going to argue with me. They’re going to think this is crazy. They spend their time comparing and competing with their business rivals. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t be aware of what your competitors are doing in the social media space, I’m saying that shouldn’t be your primary concern.

Your customers are human beings. They have a life. They’re on social media to have conversations — with their friends, with their favorite brands, with celebrities (they hope) and more. If you’re going to be successful in social media, you need to stand out among all of their conversations. You’re competing for the one resource that we can’t make more of — their time.

(This is an excerpt of a post writing on LinkedIn Publisher. View the full post here.)