Think Beyond 'Outside the Box' with Social Media

Too many times recently I have seen companies embrace social media through their lenses. All too obvious is the company that creates some sort of portal/blog/community/other that is only relevant to their marketing team or IT department.

This is a recipe for disaster. When will we learn.

True success is still in the hands of the customer. Give them the social media they want, on their terms. Monitor it, measure it, follow it, and most of all let the customer ‘own’ it.

It may not be obvious. A ‘soccer mom’ might not want the latest community on keeping a tidy house community from P&G, but she might be interested in how other moms are helping their Girl Scouts sell more cookies. There is potential there. How to bring it to fruition is not easy…. But essential.

A social media concept must bring value to the customer. When it delivers on that value proposition, the community builds, and you have your audience to work with. Key here, audience to ‘work with’.

One final thought, DO NOT just build the audience and then start dumping ads on them. That will work against the ultimate goal.

Are You Externally Focused?

Recently I have been catching back up on some old standby ‘life lesson’ nuggets. The ones I have been staring at recently share a common thread: the importance of being externally focused. This is one theme that is essential to being successful- both personally and professionally.

I wanted to share three quotes that help capture the essence:

“The tougher the negotiation, the more critical it is to understand that if
someone in the room has to feel okay, it is not you. If someone has to
feel not-okay, that is you.” - Jim Camp

“People listen to you for their reasons, not yours.” - Peter Drucker

“Great leaders understand the important role servant leadership plays in
helping others realize their potential.” – Dan Sanders

These can apply across all aspects of life. Your colleagues, your family, your customers, your partners, even your competitors.

Ask yourself:

1. Do you make others feel important?
2. Do you build their vision, their self esteem?
3. Do you treat others with respect?
4. Do you practice sound principles- return e-mail or phone messages, follow up on requests?

You can make the impact today. You can build customers for life. You can build enduring relationships. You can build a network of raving fans.

The rewards are great.

Engagement is Not the Answer

There is increasing noise among the marketing and advertising communities that ‘engagement’ is the measure by which we can determine on-line ROI (especially for video). I fundamentally disagree.

Engagement is a state of being that necessitates physical presence. Take playtime with my daughter. She can tell the difference between me truly being engaged in the play, vs. going through the motions. How does she determine this- by observation and interaction.

How can you do the same in the electronic world of bits and bytes? Until everyone on a system (mobile, laptop, desktop, other) is monitored by a video camera real time, the data is just not good enough.

Did we ever try to measure ‘engagement’ as a metric for television advertising? While I was not around in the beginning of the TV days, I have never heard that metric being used. Computers exposose us to the same risks… getting up to get another beverage, paying attention to something else (like another application/website), or generally tuning out while the clip is playing. In the end to get by these uncontrollable factors advertising/marketing relies on reach and frequency. Then a little roll of the dice to determine impact.

Internet marketing/advertising does help reduce the magic die outcome. It enables us to measure ROI – click-through, purchase, etc. Bottom line, fundamental metrics remain the same--- enough reach and frequency translates to outcomes--- sales. The measure is not engagement.

What is the outcome measure of my engagement with my daughter--- the relationship I build with her. Her sale, our ROI, is increasing the bond of love between us.