Marketing Talk

I’ve been trying to get better lately about commenting on other peoples’ blogs. It’s a bit of a challenge for me, not because I’m an egotistical maniac (hi there peanut gallery) but because most of the posts I read are so thought-provoking that I feel like I need to write a book afterwards. Books tend not to be appreciated in comment sections. I don’t know if they’re appreciated in blogs either, but at least this is my space to soil as I might!

I mention this because yesterday I read a post by Julien Smith (co-author of Trust Agents and an amazing mind in general) about follower hyper-inflation. I was inspired not just to write a book. I was ready to write a series.

I can’t really do any justice to Julien’s post by trying to review it. What I can do is tell you what his post made me think about. So, here we go.

I just passed you on the sidewalk. Are we friends?

I have been pretty suspicious of the “fan/follower/friend” thing for a couple of years now, and I can tell you exactly why. When I first joined Facebook, it was really fun. I got to catch up with old friends, including some folks I went to nursery school with (!!). But then I started noticing some things. For example, people who had never given me the time of day in high school were asking to “connect” with me. Adding to my suspicion was the fact that none of these “friend requests” came with any message. You know, like, “I know I didn’t talk to you much during the ten years we were in school together, but I realize now that you were the missing piece in my puzzle, the balm to my soul’s wounds, and all I can ask is that you accept this request so that I may gaze upon your visage.”

No, nothing like that. Just a friend request. I gave people the benefit of the doubt. I would comment on some of their stuff, but they’d never comment back. THEN, all of my doubts were validated. People who had been in completely different social circles were now “friends”on Facebook. Now, I know it’s rude to assume that people don’t grow up, but to think that everyone suddenly had adopted John and Yoko’s Bagism philosophy was a little too much. I realized that a lot of these folks were just collecting people. I cut a ton of these mysterious people from my past (some of them allegedly from my past). I realized that the online definition of “friend” was kind of misleading.

Twitter is something different altogether. You’re not making friends, you’re collecting followers (talk about ego). As Julien points out, in order to be relevant in the world of Social Media, you need to be “popular.” Otherwise you just kind of fade into the ether. This drives competition, pressure, and guess what else? It drives authenticity away.

The power of Kevin Bacon

I’ve noticed something kind of interesting on Twitter (I seem to learn something new every week). Getting your first 100 followers can take forever if you try to do it the “high road” way, aka follow only people you’re really interested in and try to build connections/relationships. Once you get to a certain point though, your followers keep increasing at increasing rates of speed. I am now averaging about 100 new followers a week. Yippee, right?

Well…

If I had all the time in the world (thank goodness I don’t) I would examine my “follow” versus my “follower” list to see how many people I follow are following me back. I would further dissect my follower list to see how many of my devoted fans are offering me “free iPads,” “great blog posts,” “1,000s of followers,” and more. The numbers that you see for my followers category are, I can assure you, inflated.

The problem with this is two-fold. First, as you get more followers, some cool and interesting people feel more secure in following you. You might look more legit. This increases the number of people you wish to interact with. Have you ever tried to have 27 meaningful conversations at once? It doesn’t work. As many Social Media “influencers” have discovered, you end up with a better chance of ticking people off because there simply isn’t time to respond to everyone.

The other problem is that you become a target for more malicious spam bots. I had a message a couple of days ago that said, “For really good blog posts, just RT these people.” My Twitter handle was included. “That’s really sweet!” I thought. “I wonder if it’s real.”

Ah, cynicism. Saves me every time.

Turns out the link that was also included was malicious, meaning my name is now associated with a link that could cause people problems. This makes me very, very unhappy. There’s also nothing I can do about it.

Numbers are meaningless. Friends are priceless.

The general jist of Julien’s post is that the people you want to really nurture and connect with are your real-life friends. Sadly, we are now in an ecosystem where meaningless big numbers create an environment where you can’t actually do what you want. I hope to goodness that I don’t end up having to sacrifice the nice chats and asides that I enjoy with several people right now. But if influence = numbers, that’s the path that we are all on. Kind of depressing, isn’t it?

I just passed you on the sidewalk. Can we be friends? Well, sure. You’re lucky number 1,572.

First image by Svilen Milev. http://www.sxc.hu/profile/svilen001

A few years ago, if someone, sorry, when someone made a disparaging remark about Akron, Ohio, my hometown, I could say, “Oh yeah, well, this is the hometown of LeBron James! The Black Keys! Take that!” It was nice to be able to say something nice about my hometown. When I was a kid, I had a shirt that said “Rubber Capital of the World.” That’s not true anymore. The PBA Championships were at a bowling alley ten minutes from my house. Even the bowlers left us. It was easy to  joke about Akron, but it was really enjoyable to have a comeback. Now, a few years have passed, and I don’t really have a good response for when someone jokes about my hometown. You see, all of the people that had the potential to lift this town up have left.

When the going gets tough, the tough get going. Hey, where are you going?

I think what’s happening in Akron and in Northeast Ohio in general is symptomatic of a serious problem in our society. When things get tough or frustrating or depressing or painful, people immediately look for brighter pastures rather than trying to figure out what went wrong or how to fix it. One of the members of the Black Keys apparently left, in part, because the nearest Whole Foods is a 45-minute drive from Akron. Well, why not try to bring Whole Foods TO Akron? Boost the local economy. Help people live better. But that kind of thinking seems to be on the endangered species list.

With the economy the way it has been, I wonder how many people apply this kind of thinking to their job search or their company’s well-being. How many people are settling for jobs because waiting for the right one is just too painful? How many people are languishing in depression because their company or their job isn’t going the way they want?

I’m not saying that if you try really hard, everything will turn out okay in the end. Sometimes you will get defeated, and that stinks. That’s also life.  But why just lay down and die?

You don’t see case studies about successful companies who just keep getting more successful, or at least not very often. You see case studies about companies that turn it around. Companies that start from ground zero and reach the stars. There’s a challenge there. Something to really chew on. When you’re starting low, any improvement is exciting and wonderful. Hard times are where innovations come from. Hard times are where great ideas come from.

“This is our time. This is our time down here.”

Remember the 80s movie The Goonies? A bunch of silly kids face the impossible mission of saving their homes. They go on a treasure hunt and despite numerous obstacles, they end up winning the day. For all of us non-millionaire types, this is our time. It’s a time to find success and then pay it forward. It’s a time to take a little ball of clay and make a designer bowl. It’s time to take a struggling hometown and try to lift it up.

If I were ever to get famous…if I were ever to find the fame and fortune of a LeBron James or The Black Keys, I would not move an inch from my hometown. I would say, “Hey, I’m from Akron, and now that I have this success, what can we do to liven this place up?”

What would you do?

When I got my very first Social Media account, which happened when Social Media was just web 2.0, I was really excited about the opportunity to exchange all types of ideas with my friends. My account was a Livejournal blog, and I figured, “Hey, I’ll post about things I’m interested in and like discussing, people will discuss with me, and all of my far-flung friends will be sitting in the same room.”

Two topics that I find endlessly intriguing are religion and politics. This might be a bit of a shock as I have discussed neither here and have only hinted at them via my various other public accounts. When I first started posting to Livejournal, I had no restraints, so I posted all kinds of opinions, questions, frustrations, etc. And my friends didn’t participate much. I was shocked. I was frustrated. What was going on?

Some people said that they didn’t like voicing their opinions because they felt people thought their opinions were dumb. Others said that discussing such things always leads to nasty fights or “LJ Drama” as we called it back then.

Since most of my Social Media activity now is for business, I have taken that hesitation of my friends to heart. As I see some folks pumping out their political opinions, I can see the wisdom in refraining from delving into these areas. Sometimes people say things that rub me the wrong way, but I don’t feel comfortable debating the issue.

My question for you is: Is this a healthy environment? People are making a big deal out of how networked our world is. We can do business with people across and around the globe now. Don’t different religious or political backgrounds come with that as a packaged deal? Don’t we have an opportunity here to share and learn and educate in ways we never could before? The word “yes” echoes in my head, and yet the sad truth echoes as well. If you don’t like my political leanings, you might be completely turned off to the concept of doing business with me. If you don’t like my thoughts on religion, the same result could occur. All we have as introduction are words on a flashing screen. Words are powerful. Words verbalizing religious or political views are like nuclear weapons.

What are your thoughts on this issue? I know that the ladies at Outspoken Media would say that this is the exact kind of cowardice they are preaching against. Do you censor yourself? Why or why not? I’d love to hear your opinions.

Image by Aaron Murphy. http://www.sxc.hu/profile/a51media

When I was a kid, I was obsessed with the Little House on the Prairie books. I had all of them, and I must have read each one 10 times. There’s a little story in one of the books that came to my mind this morning. I can’t remember which book it was, but the general jist was that Pa had gone to town and was expected back that night. He didn’t come, he didn’t come. The family went to bed, waiting to hear the door open. Finally, the next morning, he showed up, perfectly fine and unscathed. But he had a story to tell. He had been heading home in the increasing darkness of evening when a tall black shape caught his attention. He ducked behind a tall rock and assumed that what he had seen was a giant bear. He waited all night for the bear to go away, scared out of his mind. Finally, when the sun started peeking out, Pa saw that he had been held at bay by a giant pile of rocks. He had believed he would encounter danger, and that’s what his mind’s eye created for him.

This story came to mind, I think, because I have been thinking about the whole Twitter phenomenon. Weird segue, right? Here’s the thing. If you sign up for a Twitter account, you’ll encounter tons of people who have 50,000 followers or more. You’ll notice that when they say “The sky is blue,” it gets retweeted by at least 50 of those 50,000 people. If one of these people posts a picture of French Toast, everyone comments on how well the essence of the toast was captured. You start thinking to yourself, “Man, I can do that.” Instead of seeing a bear in place of some rocks, you see your own fame reflected in others’ success. As most great motivators will tell you, if you can visualize success, you’ll find it.

Someone’s telling you you’re right

Pa didn’t have anyone with him to say, “No no, that’s not a bear.” He also didn’t have someone with him saying, “Holy smokes, that’s a BEAR!” But when you sign up for Twitter, you can be bombarded, if you want to be, about how to achieve that very level of success you see. There’s advice on how to tweet, there’s advice about retweeting, there’s advice about promotion and self-promotion. All of the knowledge you could ever want about how to become a major influence on Twitter seems to be at your very finger tips. There are blogs and webinars and podcasts telling you point blank that you can do this.

That’s just a bunch of pebbles in your hand

In fact, the sad news is that most of us are simply not going to achieve that kind of success on Twitter. Even though it seems so easy on the surface, and even though so many people go out of their way to give us information on how to do it, it’s not going to happen for us. The sad masses of us are not going to get any compliments on our photos of French Toast. Why? First of all, we weren’t here first. If you started your Twitter account in a serious way, as I did, three months ago or so, you’re so late to the game it’s not even funny. Those influencers have been on Twitter for probably four years in some cases, when most of us were saying, “What a dumb idea THAT is.” Because we haven’t been here, we are behind in accumulating knowledge. We are behind in learning. We are behind in experimenting. Unless you have real-world fame already, you are probably not going to become a major influence in the world of Twitterville.

So what is Twitter like if you aren’t a pied piper of followers?

I’ve learned a lot about how to use Twitter during the short time I’ve been working with it. So even though this advice will probably not get you to a Fast Company “most influential” list, it might get you to a place where you are content with your Twitter reality, which is still pretty good.

Holy cow, the time! This has been the biggest shock to me. You think about Twitter and the descriptions are always “micro” this and “tiny” that. If you are serious about trying to be a successful Twit (?), your time investment is neither of those things. It takes time to get to know people and for them to get to know you. It takes time to determine who you want to follow. It takes time to find questions or issues that you can comment on. This is not like Facebook where you can post a status and then leave it alone for a day or two. Facebook is to Twitter like a cat is to a puppy.

Holy cow, the pressure! Twitter also comes with a fair amount of pressure when you’re a noob. You want to respond to “mentions” or retweets or direct messages as soon as you can. You want to be there when a sudden big conversation blooms. You want to build relationships. You want to show you’re smart. You want to do all of it in a day.

You’re gonna talk to yourself for awhile. When I first started with Twitter, I often got really frustrated. I’d post something funny (or so I thought anyway), nothing but crickets. I’d post a link to a good article. Nothing but crickets. The really cruel thing is sometimes you see a mention of you and it’s just a spam bot telling you that you can win a free iPad. It can be frustrating to see all of the interaction around you and yet not be able to spark anything. Hang in there. Try to buddy up with somebody just person to person.

Those big influencers are probably not going to respond for awhile. On Twitter, it seems like everyone is on equal footing. This is really not true. Everyone has their own particular patterns of behavior when it comes to Twitter. People look for certain folks or certain subjects. It takes a long time to work yourself into either. In the meantime, you are competing with 49,999 other people who want a little attention just as much as you. Don’t get moody about it. Attention comes to those who merit it (usually). If you call out a person with a lot of influence, at most they will complain about you without mentioning you (they’re too smart to give you attention that way). Meanwhile, you’re alienating people who are actually following you and trying to engage.

If this doesn’t sound like all fun and games, what can I tell you. I have reached a point where all of this time and effort has gotten me to a place of contentment. There were definitely deep valleys and some high peaks along the way, and I’m sure that will continue. Make no mistake, though. I still see the rocks. I still see the pebbles. Though I see influential people all around me, I honor them rather than imagine myself as one of them. I don’t expect Twitter fame, and no offense, but most likely, neither should you.

Image 1: Image Credit: http://www.sxc.hu/profile/Massicotte
Image 2: Image by eila haj-hassan. http://www.sxc.hu/profile/leilahh
Image 3: Image by Hans Thoursie. http://www.sxc.hu/profile/Thoursie

Marketing in the 21st century can seem really overwhelming at times. Every day there’s a new technology, a new way to talk about that technology, a new acronym, and a new expert. This is true. I’ve looked into it. On top of that, there are now all of these marketing junkies (like me) who like to really dig into the marrow of marketing.  Fortunately, I figured out a way to filter all of this information into 20 extremely easy steps. If you can follow all of these rules, you are well on your way to becoming a marketing guru. By the way, purely by statistical happenstance, all of these rules are Twitterable. Tweeterable. Can be tweeted.

1. Be nice. You never know when you’re going to need that person.
2. Be authentic. Nobody falls for fake niceness.
3. Don’t let people think you are using them.
4. Connect to people with more influence than you.
5. Be right on top of the newest thing.
6. Be an expert in everything that has come before.
7. Hope you get complaints. Complaints are the new handshake greeting.
8. Strive for the best quality possible.
9. Be unique, just like everyone else.
10. Talk with freedom and from the heart.
11. Remember, anything you say in Social Media can and will be used against you.
12. Never say print is dead. That makes people think you don’t know about the Kindle or iPad.
13. Share as much information as you can.
14. Position yourself as a thought leader.
15. Be 100% honest at all times.
16. Compliment people and share their work as often as possible.
17. Listen to what all of the experts say.
18. Create your own way of doing things.
19. Prove that your efforts are working.
20. Never, ever try to sell anything!

Image credit: http://www.sxc.hu/profile/arte_ram

A few days ago, Chris Brogan posted a blog that suggested one consider a blog personal real estate. It’s a good analogy and very effective in terms of describing the “care and feeding” of your blog, but I view things in a slightly different way. I like to think of placement on a Google or Bing search results page as the real estate. Your presence on the internet is your house, and each individual account is a room in your house. A blog, a Twitter account, a Facebook page – these all need to be cared for or your house can crumble. But even if your house is in brilliant condition, it won’t do you much good if no one can see it.

Think Outside In

With all of the excitement about Social Media, it’s easy to concentrate hardest on your individual rooms. Some companies are beginning to push hard on integrated marketing, which would be a holistic or “house” approach. I still see a lot of questions, though, that reflect a seeming lack of focus on the search results real estate that can be gained through Social Media and other efforts. Here are a couple of examples.

Should I have a personal blog and a business blog? If your personal blog is very niche to a hobby or completely separate from your business blog, I think it’s fine. However, if you talk a lot about your business in your personal blog, you could run into a situation where you are using a lot of the same keywords, a lot of the same links, and a lot of the same reference points. What could happen? Both blogs, as separate entities, could end up fighting against each other for position on the first page of Google. People searching for you and/or your company will have to make a choice about which blog to visit. Do you want that to be out of your control?

Should a large corporation have individual accounts for each division? This question came up last night during the #custserv chat on Twitter. If a corporation has separate divisions spread across a large region, should each division use Social Media autonomously? Again, the corporation as a whole could end up in a situation where each division is fighting for first page real estate. If a company has five or more divisions, it will be difficult for each division to receive equal treatment in terms of Google real estate. Where possible, it’s beneficial to incorporate divisions into an all-encompassing account. Links to each division’s website from this master Social Media account will optimize SEO for that website, but individual Social Media accounts won’t be knocking each other out.

D-Fence, D-Fence

Social Media can also be used as a defensive measure when it comes to search results pages. A LinkedIn account, a blog, an optimized website, a Facebook page, and a Twitter account could fill out most of the first page for your company. As far as real estate goes, you could be the Donald Trump of that search term. Not only is this excellent news for your company, but this also means that wherever you show up, your competitors aren’t showing up. They say that the best offense is a good defense, and in this case that can certainly be true.

Who is in charge of your house?

Another question that comes up a lot is “who should handle my company’s Social Media account?” An argument for grabbing “real estate” is an argument for integrating as many people as possible into your efforts. Everyone should be cognizant of important keywords, powerful links that will help optimize your accounts, and what kinds of search terms your competitors seem to be focusing on. This is information that everyone can use, from customer service to PR to marketing to sales. It should become part of the lifeblood of your company. Think of it like the staff of a huge manor house. Everyone has their job, but they all work together to make sure things run smoothly.

Are you keeping an eye on your real estate as well as your rooms? If you aren’t, I can guarantee that someone else is. It’s time to think big picture.

1st image: Image Credit: http://www.sxc.hu/profile/ayeshasood

2nd image: Image by Miguel Saavedra. http://www.sxc.hu/profile/saavem