Archive for October, 2009


Where’s your truckstop?

Oct 30th

3 comments

This begins a new series of five articles on getting more from your existing marketing program for little or no money.
My hometown of Knoxville seems to be the epicenter of the U.S. Interstate highway system and, most logically, mega-truckstops have sprung up at the intersection of major routes. These truckstops offer ACRES of every possible good, service and convenience for the trucker: clothes, food, showers, truck accessories, parts, repairs — anything you can imagine.
I’ve fantasized that being a marketing manager for a product aimed at truck drivers must be the greatest job in the world. Think about it — all you have to do is get your product on the store shelf and hundreds, maybe thousands, of customers drive to see you every day! Wow. What could be easier than that?
Marketing your business might not be THAT simple, but there is a lesson here. Where’s YOUR truckstop? Where do YOUR customers congregate?
If you can answer that question, it might lead to important insights that can make your marketing initiatives more effective, focused and inexpensive.
Where do your typical customers gather to get their news and information? Entertainment? Recreation?
Where do they shop, dine, exercise, worship?
What Internet sites would they most likely visit? What magazines do they read?
Are there businesses similar to yours where your customers buy goods and services?  Could those “truckstops” also offer YOUR products and services in a partnership?
There are several relatively inexpensive ways to conduct this simple research and it might lead to ways to create competitive advantage through your targeted marketing efforts.
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Warning: Social media may be hazardous to your health

Oct 29th

13 comments

A lot has been written about the “danger” social media poses to companies and brands, but what about the real threat it poses to us as individuals?

Immediate, transparent, global, free communication is one of the most breathtaking information advances since the telephone. But when there is an opportunity for human corruption, there probably WILL be human corruption. Here are the biggest threats posed by the advent of social media:

Risk to personal security. For fun, I follow a few celebrities on Twitter, the digital Post-it note. The other day, one of them tweeted: “Down at Gino’s having a pizza with my boys.” Earlier in the day he had established the city he was in. With this kind of shoot-from-the-hip public broadcasting, it’s only a matter of time before we see the first Twitter-related crimes. Even for non-celebrities, how safe is it to post to the world, “My husband and I are off to Boston for the Web 3.0 conference.” Not very … unless you want your next post to be “Our house got wiped out by crooks while we were away!”

Risk to public safety. People are easily duped and through social media, we are creating the most effective rumor mill in the history of mankind. We caught a small glimpse of the destructive power of viral misinformation when rumors of swine flu being caused by eating pork spread around the globe in a nanosecond. The innocent pork industry is still recovering. Numerous experiments have shown the ease of planting falsehoods that become reported as fact, even by legitimate news agencies. What happens when a sinister prank goes out of control and creates a panic far beyond a loss in pork sales? It will happen. What can prevent it? Nothing.

Risk to personal finances. Every time you register for a site, sign up for an app, or populate a social media profile, you are adding to a databank all about you. Strangers can find names, birth dates, family members, school and work history, e-mail addresses and much more. One blog writer recently quipped, “Honestly, it doesn’t take a genius to steal a person’s identity online.” Even more severe than identity theft and the obvious financial ramifications for an individual — we will begin to see online crimes being committed under the alias of another person.

Risk to personal reputation. Thankfully, nobody was holding a video camera in my face during my college years. But the lives of today’s youth are explicitly documented on You Tube, blogs, photo albums, and social media sites, creating a permanent online record. One corporate recruiter told me that a web search is more important to him than a resume. How will your Google-image affect your future job prospects, personal relationships, political aspirations? Did you read about the teen girls who took pictures of themselves in their bras at a sleepover, texted them to friends and then hours later ended up on porn sites? How do you erase something like that? Google never forgets.

Risk to data and information. A few weeks ago, a computer worm, using Twitter, infected tens of thousands of computers as it replicated itself across the Internet. The worm was created by a 17-year-old to “expose the vulnerabilities” in Twitter. The red-hot social networking/microblogging service has been scrambling to plug cross-site scripting and other Web site vulnerabilities to thwart worm attacks but, as one researcher points out, it’s much easier to misuse the Twitter API as a “weak link” to send worms squirming through Twitter.

Risk to personal health. Neurologists and doctors warn that obsessive immersion in screen technologies and social network sites will lead to short attention spans, sensationalism, inability to empathize, weight gain, and a tenuous sense of identity.

Risk to personal productivity. A friend recently told me that he needed to find a way to block himself from social media sites at work. “I’m hooked,” he said. “I can’t stop myself from getting online every minute that I can.” According to a U.K. study, British firms are losing $264 million A DAY on lost productivity due to undercover activities on Facebook. Businesses are starting to look for ways to deal with the social networking problem. Several companies in America already block social media sites.

So, where does this lead?
I’m a fan of social media. These new platforms have connected me to countless interesting people, opportunities and ideas. The purpose of this article is to serve as a counter-point to those who seem to be hypnotized by the hyperbole and beat the drum of social media while ignoring these certain consequences. There is virtually NO dialogue on the risks of the inevitable corruption that will result from having a free and pervasive window into YOUR life.

I’m hoping the dialogue will start now …

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Five social media myths that MUST STOP NOW!

Oct 28th

43 comments

Sometimes I read the “rules” being written about social media marketing and think, “God bless this person for trying, but he must have never had a real job in his life.” And then these opinions get repeated and re-tweeted until these mindless jingles become part of the social media mantra. It’s time to bust the myth-makers, folks. Here are five beloved social media “rules” you should throw in the trash:
Myth number one: “To be effective in social media, you must give up control of the conversation.”
Why do you assume you ever HAD control of the consumer conversation? You didn’t, you don’t, and you won’t! So, in reality, nothing has changed. You don’t control consumers. On a good day, we only hope we can influence them.What DO marketers control? The message. Nothing has changed there either. The equity of a brand is usually a company’s most valuable asset. A core brand image must be tightly controlled, constantly nurtured, and tenaciously defended, no matter what communication channel you’re using.What HAS changed is that we can now more effectively listen to how people are responding to that marketing message and react to that response with speed and compassion.
Myth number two: “It’s all about the engagement.”

Another equally ridiculous variation is “It’s all about the conversation.” No, it’s not. It’s all about the MONEY.

Why are major brands pouring millions into social media marketing? Just to see how many followers they can get? Because they’re “nice people” who want to “engage?” PUH-LEEEZE. They are trying to make a return for their shareholders. And if they’re not, they should be fired.

Stop fooling yourself. If social media marketing does not contribute to brand equity and/or shareholder value, the dollars, the effort, and the “engagement” will stop. Marketers have been engaging with their customers since the dawn of advertising because it helps feed our families. Please, let’s be honest. We’re all just trying to make a buck. And that’s OK.

Myth number three: “Never sell.”

The reality is, everyone sells, all the time. Behind every business tweet is a person using social media to craft a personal brand image of friendliness, helpfulness, authenticity and intelligence so you will trust them and eventually buy from them. What’s wrong with that? As long as you don’t BLATANTLY SELL, I’m cool.

Myth number four: “Emphasize quality over quantity.”

Wrong. You must have both. You’re not going to earn much of a following if you only blog once a year … even if it’s a really, really good one! Look, this is not like buying a Mercedes Benz that you can drive around for years. In social media, the cars are free so drive like a wild man and if you crack one up, hop on another one and do it again. Quality counts but size matters, too.

Myth number five: “Social media is all about authenticity”

Social media is about being polite and likable. Nobody really wants you to be authentic and hear how bitchy you feel today because your husband snored all night.

Recently a bunch of Chris Brogan’s readers got on him because they thought he was too mean. Hell I loved it when the uber-blogger had a fit now and then. THAT’S authentic! But instead Chris announced he will try to be nicer … that’s what matters around these parts.

I think the goal of most people immersed in social media is the opposite of authenticity. Their goal is “try not to suck.” Everyone is doing their best to channel their inner Oprah. It’s a popularity contest, pure and simple. Call it what it is, folks.

So there you have it. Are you with me on this? Let me know what you think.

And no need to be polite. : )

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Three chronic problems emerging for social media professionals

Oct 27th

20 comments

Over the past two weeks I’ve had the chance to personally interview a dozen leading American companies on their use of social media. The SM success stories are starting to emerge, but so are the problems. Here are three chronic problems I heard in almost every interview:
Sponsorship. A true story: One of the most talented and successful social media marketers I have known recently got sacked because his boss thought his whole program was “stupid.” I have had many people ask me, “How do I explain this to my boss?” While individual or “grassroot” efforts can work under the radar for short periods of time, without executive sponsorship from the top, the effort will eventually wither.
Measurement Systems. Here’s the dilemma: Lots of free statistics are available, but who has the time to collect, organize and interpret all this data? Emerging “listening” platforms are too expensive for many small companies. What the world needs is an inexpensive, comprehensive, cross-platform social media measurement dashboard. Are there any out there?
Time. All of the people I spoke to have been in their traditional marketing jobs for some period and took on social media as an extra effort. Every single person is struggling with the time soak of social media. Companies typically aren’t hiring extra people to work on social media, especially in this economy. What are your strategies for social media time management?
Do these issues ring true for you? How are you coping?

Story behind the photo: This is a shot I took at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London a few years ago. I can’t recall the sculptor. Natural colors — no PhotoShop! : )

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