Never Stop Marketing...

Starting a Movement via Facebook…Or Not

jer979 — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 20:24:00 GMT

When it comes to cultivating and activating your fans, Facebook is a great marketing platform. No question.

But, when it comes to the all important challenge to marketers in an attention economy ('what movement are you starting?'), it's sorely lacking.

In a movement, like in a political campaign, you are trying to create a network of loosely affiliated units which operate with some degree of autonomy, but at the same time, are part of a larger eco-system.

Take, for example, the current effort that Gretchen Rubin (full disclosure: my client) is undertaking to help her "Raving Fans" start Happiness Groups around the world.

If Facebook were a true "movement platform," then it would be relatively easy to set up a group "The Happiness Project" and then set up offshoots of that group under the larger umbrella.

It would be easy for people to search and find groups within their local areas or according to their specific interest (say Happiness for Lawyers).

It would also be easy for people to say, "hey, I don't want to start a group in Denver, but if someone else starts, I'd join," which would give a prospective future leader some confidence of the pent-up demand in his/her area.

Unfortunately, we can't do that now.

So, instead, we have to use other tools and processes to cobble together a solution like a "Group Directory" (which is functional, but not so aesthetic) and a "Group Leaders Forum," where those who have started a group can get together with each other.

I'm sure the day will arrive, it's just not here yet.

So, the issue we all must address is: how to effectively start a movement and enable its scalable, automated, and user-friendly growth while the tools for doing that are still lacking.

Good news: There is a business opportunity here for someone (or maybe Facebook itself).

Become a Follow-Up Master

jer979 — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 17:32:00 GMT

I wonder how many opportunities are missed because people don't follow up.

And when I say follow-up, I mean "striking while the iron is hot," follow-up.

There is a brief window (and yes, it varies) from the time you receive (or better, offer) a follow-up item and when you have a chance to really make an impact on the mind of the person to whom follow-up is due.

It's not always easy, but following up as quickly as you can is a true competitive differentiator. It's a branding opportunity. It makes a VERY big impression.

Most of the time, however, we let it slide, figuring we'll get to it.

And even if we do, the impact of the follow-up is lost.

Sometimes, the person doesn't remember the context or the momentum is lost.

I think the closer you are to the actual event, the exponentially greater the impact of the follow-up.

Anatomy of Buzz (Must Read)

jer979 — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 03:30:00 GMT

If I ever become a professor of Community Driven Marketing, my syllabus would have two must-reads on it.

These are the two books that explain, above all else, the fundamental macro-shifts that our economy is undergoing.

These are:

To those, I now add a third.

Emanuel Rosen’s book The Anatomy of Buzz Revisited: Real-life lessons in Word-of-Mouth Marketing

Rosen breaks down in a way that no one else has for me, how word-of-mouth is generated and how it spreads.

Honestly, I just wish I could download the ideas in this book directly into my brain and my model for driving marketing success, it is that good.

He talks about the difference between network hubs and expert hubs and where and when to use them.

How to actively seed a network (and thinking of buzz in terms of networks) plus other ways to accelerate “natural contagion.”

He challenges many assumptions, including my own, about whether advertising still matters (he says it does and he does so quite convincingly).

And the book ends with some concrete examples of what to do.

I feel like I need to read this about 5 more times.

Journalism 2.0 and Your Ability To Adapt

jer979 — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 17:20:00 GMT

At some point, your busines will face what Andy Grove, the former CEO of Intel, calls a "strategic inflection point."

You will hit a day where everything is going to be different.

The question is: will you be ready and how will you adapt?

It's no secret that the newspaper deathwatch is in full swing and the "strategic inflection points" are well behind them. (Just ask Jeff Jarvis!)

But I'd been struggling with the question of: "Ok, if papers are dead, what happens next? What does Journalism 2.0 look like?"

Chris Brogan offered up some good ideas in his post on "the Next Media Company."

But, it was after I became connected with the folks at SmartBrief (and they let me be a guest blogger) did I start to see the model evolve.

It's an outsourced newsletter model with targeted advertising.

"What? Email newsletters is like 1996!" you say.

And it is, sort of.

But, these are newsletters that help Associations and Companies deliver really high-value and relevant content to their audience which is not self-promotional or kitschy and which is assembled by a team of editors.

The three legs of journalism (advertisers, content, and audience) are no longer held under one roof.

Plus, the targeting that is built into the system gives it the possibility to be highly relevant in its content and advertising.

I spoke with Mary Ellen Slayter, the SmartBrief editor over coffee one morning and after hearing their model, I walked away saying "wow! now I have my answer."

Soon after that meeting, Seth Godin summarized it well:

Mark this down as another job for the new economy: someone who can collate, amplify and leverage the work of writers and turn it into cash.

What I love about this story, however, is that it refutes the idea that journalism and editorial oversight is dead. It refutes the idea that there's no money in the business anymore (oh yeah, they are making money) and it shows that instead of crying about what's gone, you're better off inventing the future.

Are you baking digital cupcakes?

jer979 — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 17:16:00 GMT

I've generally used the term "drip irrigation" to describe the process of nurturing relationships over time. You make a point of "dripping" a little bit over a long time and eventually, your network/prospect/client gets the full picture.

Well, my friend, Debbie Weil has a better analogy. She calls them 'digital cupcakes.'

I think it's a more appealing visual and accurately summarizes what we all need to be doing.

What business are you in?

jer979 — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 17:10:00 GMT

One of the classic questions in business is just that.

"What business are you in?"

And the classic example is when railroad companies failed to recognize that they were in the "transportation" business and not in the "railroad" business.

Frame it in the terms of why your customers are buying from you.

So, while I love the concept of Community Driven Marketing, that is not what my clients buy.

What they buy is "a very cost-effective way to find new customers, keep existing customers, and deliver measurable sales results that make the investment more than worth it."

And, what business are you in?

Remarkable Ad Copy…

jer979 — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 20:21:00 GMT

Every single interaction with a customer, no matter how small, is a marketing opportunity.

Whether it is your business card or the “waiting to install” screen, you have a chance to be remarkable.

To give your network a reason to talk about you.

Kudos to Costco and AT&T for this ad in Costco Connection (perhaps the best retailer magazine I’ve seen…it’s the only one I read, that’s for sure)

I liked you better virtually

jer979 — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 20:37:00 GMT

While chatting with Connie Bensen of Techrigy a few weeks back, we discussed the phenomenon of meeting people online as "social network friends."

Then we shared some stories of how fantastic it is to meet people face to face after a long period of time and feeling like "you already know them."

I've had enough good experiences along these lines (see the Venkatesh story-when I first 'met' him and then in person) that I'll accept friend/link requests from pretty much anyone.

Then, my discussion with Connie took a turn to the, shall we say, less than positive experiences or, as she put it so well:

"I liked you better virtually."

She'd had a set of expectations built up and they weren't met because, in her mind, the person didn't really represent him/herself in an authentic way...and that led to disappointment.

Not the best way to build relationships.

Call it the Age of True Accountability (as I did--I love blogging, since you can quote yourself :-) ] or "Are You Too Good Looking Online?" as Rohit did, the fact is that if you (or your company or your product or your organization) misrepresents itself, you will be outed.

For restaurants it's Yelp, for books Amazon, or any type of reputation management system (a la Rapleaf)

And that's going to hurt a lot more than the initial pain of just saying "this is who I am" or "what we are about" and accepting the fact that some people won't like it.

If someone becomes a Raving Fan and then find out that she did so under what she considers to be false pretenses, you've got a Raving Critic.

Not worth it.

The Age of True Accountability…

jer979 — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 20:07:00 GMT

My wife prefers that I not post any pictures of our kids online. So, when I got back from my sister’s wedding a few months ago, I had the tough job of telling her, “I didn’t post any pictures of the kids from the wedding, but 12 people already have.”

That’s the age we live in now.

You don’t control your own privacy anymore.

And that can be scary.

Very scary.

I was inspired to write this post because of something I read on Mitch Joel’s blog a few months ago, When You're Online Even When You're Not Online. His fictitious story is one that is going to happen to all of us sooner or later.

The fact is…you can’t hide anymore. It’s one of my survival strategies for the Attention Economy, in fact.

And, if you aren’t paranoid enough thinking about what your friends/network “innocuously” are sharing about you, here are 25 things that Google knows about you.

As Sun CEO, Scott McNealy reportedly once said, “Privacy is dead, deal with it,” so you as a Global MicroBrand, and as a would-be world-class marketer have a choice.

You can bury your head in the sand and wish that the world was different.

Or, you can accept and embrace it.

What this means, of course, is that you need to be prepared to defend your actions, live and act consciously, and recognize that some people will not like what they find out about you or your company.

But, others will.

Others will admire the way you live your life and the way your company drives towards its noble mission.

You got it, your Raving Fans.

Stick with them, cultivate and cherish them. Then, when those moments of Accountability come (assuming you’ve been open and honest and earned the trust all along), you’ll have an army of supporters standing by your side.

One Easy Way To Build Your Global MicroBrand…

jer979 — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 17:36:00 GMT

Tell 5 friends about this blog.

Ok, that’s not quite my style, but headlines still matter, don’t they?

Seriously, I hope you find value in this blog.

And I hope you find it Remarkable enough that you feel that your Global MicroBrand will increase in value if you share it with your friends.

And now, for a bit of Community Driven Marketing…

So….

If you are self-identified as a Raving Fan of this blog.
And you feel that through the delivery of solid, valuable content that we’ve ‘cultivated’ a relationship.
Perhaps I can “activate” tell 5 of your friends that they should subscribe by email or RSS for a week (free) trial! [You can copy and paste that last part :-)]

Of course, you recognize, Identify, Cultivate, and Activate as the 3 stages of the Community Driven Marketing engine building process!

Thank you for your endorsement.