Simplicity and Social Media….Do they really go together?
In an age where advertising isn’t just about a billboard and a plan, many marketers are running around in circles trying to figure out the next platform to follow. While most large companies are looking for the next big thing, the next idea to get them ahead of everyone else, we like to remind our small business owners that simple can still be better.
What Is All The Fuss Really About
From Twitter and Facebook to Foursquare and Gowalla, there is plenty to choose from in the social media world when it comes to creating buzz without spending the cash. If you have asked yourself many times, “Why does any of this matter to me?” It’s simple. Advertising to your customers not at them, can be the best way to reach multiple demographics at one time.
While traditional advertising can still play an important role in any business owner’s marketing strategy, social media can play just as an important part in the grand scheme of things. Just as word of mouth between friends, family and co-workers can raise …Read more »
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Me, in a bad dream last week: “So, tell me why you want to be on Facebook/Twitter/YouTube?”
The phantom client: “Because everyone else is.”
Still not using a plan? Time to wake up and smell the bacon.
Me: (Shuddering)
To be fair, we spend a lot of time talking about how important it is for businesses to have a social media presence, and a lot of people are ready to get on board, which makes us really happy. However, when we see a business with a lackluster fan page or a silent Twitter feed, it makes us sad.
Social media is seductive – it’s new, exciting, and a relatively cheap initial investment (in both dollars and manpower), requiring only that you choose a clever screen name and upload the perfect photo.
But then what?
Like everything else on the web, social media is a twisting, turning, ever-transforming thing, and you have to be prepared. It’s like having a baby, but with (hopefully) fewer dirty diapers: you need to nurture it, respond to any messes, and eventually …Read more »
As first-time home buyers, my fiancé and I have discovered that we are woefully unprepared for jobs that require a certain level of handiness. While I have a small (pink) toolkit that has been deemed unfit for manly use, his tools are limited to 1) a hammer, and 2) a Swiss Army knife. Apparently, that little knife is a miracle worker.
In the world of interactive marketing, we have our own pocket-size tool complete with screwdriver and bottle opener, à la social media. Social platforms are serious workhorses that give businesses an opportunity to connect with specific people who might be interested in products or services, learn about them, listen to feedback, stay informed, build the brand, and more.
While a lot of businesses have fully embraced the new frontier, there are still a few hold-outs who want to see concrete proof …Read more »
I guess the reasoning is that becoming a “fan” is too much of a social investment for people, resulting in lower page activity than Facebook desires. I get that. There are plenty of brands, organizations, causes and such that I “like” but wouldn’t consider myself a “fan” of.
The problem is they took away fans, but replaced them with… nothing. What do you call those people now? Likers? Former fans? We have a verb replacing a noun, and it just doesn’t work. They thought “fan” was a little too high on the approval scale, but they overcompensated by plummeting to a mere appetitive whim. Blaaaaaah. It’s weaksauce (that’s right, weaksauce).
Like it or not (I’m punny), it seems to be a permanent change. So no more Fan Pages. No more fans. We’re all just people again.
But the burning question I think we’re all asking is this: where the DEUCE is our “dislike” button?
I wrote previously about my experience at OTA Sessions a few weeks ago, and highlighted some of the topics discussed. It all boils down to changes in the way we do business; whether you like it or not, these changes are occurring.
In this (holy crap it’s long) article I am going to outline what some of the speakers at OTA Sessions said about how to approach this new marketplace–and the new “consumer”–we’re faced with.
Social communication isn’t new
While social media like Twitter and Facebook are new, they are simply vehicles for an activity we’ve always engaged in. Humans are fundamentally social and always have been. We are drawn to each other and impelled to communicate and belong to social groups; something greater than ourselves.
The difference now is the marketplace is shifting to media through which human interaction is enabled–necessary, in fact–rather than muffled or disabled.
[In this guest post, Tracy Mailloux points out a trend in advertising he noticed while on his Great Education Adventure, and is kind enough to share some insight with us. Thanks, Tracy! ]
Interactive TV ad
Traditional TV isn’t dead… yet. It is, however, on a respirator, and the priest has been called in for last rites.
Digital TV, on the other hand, is very much alive. Although in it’s infancy, it is growing at a rapid pace–its steroid of choice: advertising.
Now I know what you are thinking, “there’s nothing new about advertising on TV.” True, advertising has been around ever since cavemen could sketch on rock walls. But with the digital revolution in TV, advertising is becoming more and more interactive and engaging, which is a new thing for ads. …Read more »
Last week I wrote about OTA Sessions, which I attended the week before, and gave some overall thoughts about the experience. For the next couple of posts I will attempt to dive a little deeper and find out what it all means for you and I.
Most of the ideas discussed by the event speakers can be boiled down to one thing: changes. Changes in the marketplace and marketing; changes in the “consumer,” and the “user”; changes in the way we interact as people, and changes in the way we do business because of it; changes in our thinking and our actual physiology.
So how exactly has the marketplace changed? Here’s what some of our speakers had to say about the current state of things, with a little commentary thrown in: …Read more »
Last week I went to Sioux Falls to attend the first ever OTA Sessions, and I’m glad. It was a great event with plenty of interesting speakers, attendees, and ideas.
The organizers of OTA Sessions sought to demonstrate the creativity present here in the Midwest, and to develop more of the same through presentations from regional and national names, and conversations among some of our local best and brightest.
That all makes sense to me now, but I had a hard time explaining it to people …Read more »
Using the internet is now mainstream; a way of life for the great many people who buy products and services online. In light of this, you might think more businesses would have a better online presence. So why don’t they?
Low budget = cheap website?
In my experience the top reason is budget. Businesses, usually those on the smaller side, tend to have limited financial resources to devote to web marketing. Now no one wants to settle on a poorly designed website, but some do because they think it’s all they can afford. Unfortunately a poorly designed website can often seem shady or unreliable …Read more »
For the month of March, Topeka doesn’t exist. The town of 120,000 is now officially named Google, KS. The big question, of course, is why?
Earlier this month Google announced a contest to bring Google Fiber (ultra-high-speed broadband Internet) to one or more trial communities around the country. A Topeka Facebook group urging locals to support the project spread like wildfire, and culminated with the mayor’s proclamation to change the city’s name.
Topeka’s stunt kicked off a marketing feeding frenzy …Read more »
