Monthly Archives

August 2012

Do You Really Think CEOs are not on Social Media?

By Social Media

I’ve been in a lot of meetings lately where the potential client/colleague/friend of mine says something like, “I’m doing outreach. But you know, our audience is in upper management and they’re older. I can’t reach them on social networks.” I think I heard that three or four times last week.

Every time I hear that, I cringe just a little. There’s this stereotype that social media users are all gum chewing, 20-year -olds. I know that isn’t true. And according to an article I read today, 32% of users are over 45. That isn’t everyone. But it’s a pretty good percentage. Don’t believe me? Check out AARP’s Facebook page. The baby boomers may be getting older (like the rest of us), but they certainly seem to be keeping up with the times. There’s a great article about that generation’s place in the digital age on mashable.com.

Look, there are a wide variety of networks out there. Think of the differences between Spotify, LinkedIn and Pinterest. These sites are geared to different age groups and cultures. For those whose job it is to be experts and leaders in their field, wouldn’t it make sense for them to be connected in some way? In associations, chambers of commerce, community forums, etc.

My point is that I think assuming that the more “seasoned executives” are not engaged online is a little bit insulting. The baby boomers are redefining what it means to get older, and I think it’s time we give them a little more credit.

 

 

How Twitter Might Be Shooting Itself In the Head

By Social Media, Uncategorized

Twitter APII just finished a very interesting article by Bloomberg’s Mathew Ingram covering two new and troubling moves the folks over at Twitter have made in the last few weeks. You can read it here.

The gist is that they have been cutting more and more original partners out of access to their API, which is the way apps like Instagram, LinkedIn and Tumblr USED to allow you to connect with Twitter friends. Those original partners drove a lot of growth in Twitter as users tweeted out what they were creating or reading with those apps. It made the apps better and more social. Now, it appears Twitter is starting to focus on developing media partnerships and driving revenue off of advertising purchased by those partners. In order to do that, it’s narrowing access to the API so that only these media partners (like NBC, who was the test case for this strategy during the Olympics) will be able to really take advantage of Twitter’s “follower graph,” a fancy word for the user data.

I totally understand that user data is the crux of Twitter’s value, and I totally get their desire to exploit that value. What I don’t get is why they are following the path that so many other VC-driven software companies have followed, which is to abandon the very thing that makes them great in an effort to get big and rich. By removing these API connections, Twitter’s relevance to users who remain loyal to the apps Twitter used to support will be eroded. Maybe Twitter doesn’t care, thinking their big media push will more than compensate for these lost followers. But in my experience, whenever a cool app that adds a real functional value gets hijacked by big media money, its relevance rapidly declines. It gets sucked into the financial and editorial vortex of its benefactors, watered down by quarterly reporting requirements, and quickly abandoned as another shill.

I hope I’m wrong. But when these things get too big and homogenous, users typically run away.

 

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Transparency and Authenticity: Beware the Business Buzzwords if You’re Lacking Commitment

By Communications

I majored in English with a concentration in Writing in college. I’ve taken dozens of writing courses, in school and out. A frequent piece of advice from writing teachers is to “show, not tell.”

One word that keeps repeating on corporate websites, in core values, in missions and credos is “transparency.” It worries me, a bit, that we’ve come to a place, culturally where we, as businesses have to announce our transparency to the universe. “We don’t lie!” we think we have to say, “we share all our information openly!” or “we hold ourselves accountable for our actions!”

Most of the time, sadly, transparency is something corporations aspire to — they want to be very open, but it doesn’t always make good business sense to share everything, all the time.

What I think companies are striving toward, truly, is something a bit less unwieldy: authenticity.

Much like individuals struggling with the balance between private and personal, I think companies battle the same war. I often speak about the difference between being personal as a professional, particularly in online interaction, without ever sharing what’s private. I think companies have the right to have information that’s private as well. But it has certainly been demonstrated that companies that respond with authenticity and human empathy and consideration form stronger bonds with customers and, all in all, are more successful.

When writing about your company think about the differences; are you really transparent? Are you willing to make that commitment? Or is what you are, really, authentic?

How Cost Plus World Market is Using Pinterest

By Marketing, Social Media

I’m not a person who enters contests. That’s why, when I found myself spending an extraordinary amount of time entering a contest put on by World Market — with the chance to win just a $100 gift card, I took notice.

What compelled me to go through the steps necessary to participate? Especially because it was time consuming AND the payout is relatively small? One answer: Pinterest.

Part of it is professional curiosity to see how a consumer business is using Pinterest to host a promotional contest. Other than that, I like World Market — I shop there occasionally and am doing a little home and office redecorating — an extra $100 would go a long way! Not to mention, Pinterest is fun; it’s clear I’m not alone in this opinion as it’s the fastest growing social network to date. We can focus on the gender divide that says Pinterest draws many more women than men, and what that means for your marketing strategy, but if you KNOW your customer is female, why bother?

Are you using Pinterest for your business? Why or why not? Would you consider using the tool as a way to generate attention for your products and promote your brand?

What Social Data Really Tells Us

By Corporate Strategy, Marketing, Uncategorized

This is a VERY interesting infographic from the geniuses at Pivot, presented by that other genius Brian Solis.  It highlights what Brian likes to call The Perception Gap, or the difference between what marketers THINK their customers want versus what the customers actually TELL us they want. It’s a fascinating link worth checking out. While I wait.

OK, now that you’ve seen it, here is what I took from it:

Businesses, regardless of how much they blab about wanting to use social platforms to really get to know their customers, still operate from a blind spot oriented towards their own best interests. 

Which is to say, they OVERESTIMATE customers’ interest in things that are easy for these businesses to provide, like “product information,” and woefully UNDERESTIMATE for things that are more difficult or expensive to provide, like discounts and rewards and exclusive content.

What’s the upshot? USE THE DATA, MR. MARKETER!!! Don’t hide in the sand, own the reality and give them what they actually say they want, not what’s easiest for you! That’s how you’ll get them to become loyal to you.

Happy marketing!