We’ve all heard the expression, TMI, i.e.: too much information, #tmi, etc. But what about, OSA: over share alert?

When did the cultural shift happen where we can’t eat a meal without Instagramming it, hear a funny one-liner without feeling the need to tweet or simply have a good hair day without the dreaded selfie? Gasp! Don’t get me wrong, I love a good selfie when the moment is right.

In the agency business, it’s our resposibility to provide smart, tailored and strategic guidance to our clients. Avoiding the pitfalls of over sharing is simply about being mindful of the content we are putting out there. Brands want to be interesting. They want to be memorable. They want customers to follow them, but they need to grab that attention first. Once you grab the attention of a customer, you then face the pressure of keeping them around, or more importantly, keeping them engaged.

Digital 101 tells us that engagement is not to be measured by “likes” or “favorites” but by the beloved “share” or “retweet.” That’s when value is truly seen.

One of the brilliant companies that masters this art is Proctor and Gamble. P&G has a portfolio of brands that is enviable: Covergirl, Pampers, Tide, Febreze, Gillette. The list goes on and on. Each of these brands speaks to their own audience individually through out the year but every two years P&G provides a “Thank you, Mom” campaign that somehow manages to speak to every audience beautifully. The videos are usually empowering, sometimes simplistic, but always moving.

In 2012 the “Thank You, Mom” campaign, or “Momuentary” as P&G refers to it, generated 17 billion impressions and was viewed 26,930,272 times driven largely by consumer sharing. P&G was the dominant company on Twitter, with 370 million total interactions as well as an 89% increase in people talking about P&G on YouTube during the time frame of the Olympics (Marina Maher Communications, LLC). And the sales didn’t lie either – during this time period P&G reached their goal of 500 million in incremental sales. Which proves the point that providing relevant, valuable content to a loyal consumer base pays off. Also, make a mom cry and you can be sure she’ll buy your diapers over a competitor’s.

Here’s a 2014 challenge for you: before you push post, publish, tweet, or share, ask yourself the simple question: is it share worthy?