The Image Lab » marketing

Social Media Hype

evoljennifer — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 05:17:26 +0000

When I find myself in discussions with companies about social media these days, there is one thing that is common. People tend to be focused on the hype and one specific aspect of social media they have heard of. Many people and companies are feeling the pressure to get a Facebook page and twitter to the world. Some of them have heard about wikis and are demanding these magical tools be installed at their company. Now that may sound a little harsh, but it’s really common. It’s understandable too. It’s difficult to navigate through what is happening with new web sites and services that promote and enable different and creative ways of interacting.

Our world is turned upside down. It’s a whole new level of the Internet and it’s not necessarily relevant for every single business and brand on the planet. However, everyone is feeling the pressure because there is all kinds of activity.

If you step back, you can succeed in the confusion and fray. Start with an objective and use the tactics of ‘social media’ to execute and experiment. Communication has always been important for a company to succeed. The term social media describes services and web sites that allow people to connect in ways they have not previously had access to experience.

I remember the same thing happening when I started working on the web in 1994. In a few years time everyone needed a web site. They didn’t always know why, but they needed the site. Even though that certainly is more true than is was then, it’s not useful if the web site doesn’t serve a purpose for the business.

As the Internet provides us amazing new adventures every day, it important to keep your eye on the prize. What does your business do and does that require interacting with people in new ways? Maybe connecting your employees is a good place to start. If one thing holds true, social media activity requires authenticity and full disclosure.

We are all learning, but don’t get confused by the new terms and shiny objects. Stick to your goal for your business and focus on connecting to your customer. That’s all the ‘social media’ you need.

An Amazing Opportunity

evoljennifer — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 20:37:51 +0000

Seth Godin has put out a call for you to spend 6 months with him. It’s not an internship. It’s not an MBA you have to pay for but it’s something in between. He’s coined it an Alternative-MBA.

This is the core of the experience that he is looking to provide, the best part is you get to live in NYC:

From Seth Godin’s web site:

Here’s the program I’m interested in creating:

One hour a day of class/dialogue
Four hours a day of working on my projects
Three hours a day of working on your personal project
Five hours a day of living, noticing, doing and connecting

At the end of the six months, it’s quite likely that I’ll ask one or more people to stay on. Everyone will get a letter of reference and a certificate worth framing. I think it’ll be pretty scarce.

WOW. I want to go. If you want to go you should apply, but hurry, the application is due by December 14th and Seth says he won’t look at it if it is late. So, don’t be late!

If your business model requires me to do things I won’t….

evoljennifer — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 18:12:41 +0000

You need to think about changing it.

I recently received an email from an online photo site. I have diagrammed the email to illustrate how unfriendly it is and why it does not incent me to remain a customer.

‘don’t forget to preserve your Snapfish account’ -really? It probably is a good thing they reminded me because I would have forgotten. But why do I have to preserve my relationship with them? It is not to my benefit.
‘Just a friendly reminder…..’ telling me the reminder is friendly does not make it friendly. This is essentially a scare tactic.
‘So what are you waiting for….’ Hmmm, maybe I’m waiting for you to offer me something as a customer that I might want. If I haven’t ordered from you in such a long time that you need to send me warnings, maybe you are asking the wrong question.
‘risk losing…’ I’m not losing anything.
‘Lastly, remember….’ Except this isn’t the last message, so the use of the word ‘lastly’ is just plain wrong.
And finally after all that, “Thanks for being a customer….” Thanks? If you really wanted to thank me perhaps you would stop sending hostile email and use some form of persuasion to bring me back.

They do provide a benefit to customers, free unlimited online photo storage. However, this benefit is provided at many other places and it is buried deep within the email copy.

I think this is a really good illustration of how marketing materials get created at companies but they are not really created with a customer in mind. We have much to learn about online marketing. This is a good example of what not to do. We need those examples so we can strive to be better.