Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Social Media Peaks
Seems like we've been here before. At least I know that I have. E-commerce? Mobile marketing? The end of brick-and-mortar businesses? Remember April 2000? P2P: Who needs it?
Yes. Social media tactics are important today. We all know that. But, what some of us might not know (or care to acknowledge) is that the return on the investment of time and dollars is not relevant for many businesses and organizations.
The Feb. 7 BusinessWeek "Generation My Space is Getting Fed Up" article sums it up well: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_07/b4071054390809.htm?chan=search. It hits the highs and lows, and it is pretty balanced. I don't know about you, but I've found BusinessWeek to be pretty credible over the last couple of decades.
At Mason, we offer clients the full array of social media and Internet marketing tactics. We also are savvy and experienced enough in brand strategy and management to realize social media's limitations.
What successful marketing is all about is understanding how the brand connects with its users and potential users, solving potential barriers then mapping the brand's contact points so that target customers easily experience what they need from it.
While one may believe its cool to advertise in Facebook (and Facebook ad spending is still growing), do your brand fans expect or even want you to be there? Maybe it's cooler not to be there and to engage customers somewhere else where it really matters. I'd suggest you take a close look at the return on your social media efforts and analyze what impact they have had on your market share and revenues.
We're always looking for case examples that work, too. So please share if you have the time. I need to go now so that I can: update my Linked In, Facebook and Second Life profiles; check my three e-mail accounts and client blogs; and, consider joining Naymz.
Yes. Social media tactics are important today. We all know that. But, what some of us might not know (or care to acknowledge) is that the return on the investment of time and dollars is not relevant for many businesses and organizations.
The Feb. 7 BusinessWeek "Generation My Space is Getting Fed Up" article sums it up well: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_07/b4071054390809.htm?chan=search. It hits the highs and lows, and it is pretty balanced. I don't know about you, but I've found BusinessWeek to be pretty credible over the last couple of decades.
At Mason, we offer clients the full array of social media and Internet marketing tactics. We also are savvy and experienced enough in brand strategy and management to realize social media's limitations.
What successful marketing is all about is understanding how the brand connects with its users and potential users, solving potential barriers then mapping the brand's contact points so that target customers easily experience what they need from it.
While one may believe its cool to advertise in Facebook (and Facebook ad spending is still growing), do your brand fans expect or even want you to be there? Maybe it's cooler not to be there and to engage customers somewhere else where it really matters. I'd suggest you take a close look at the return on your social media efforts and analyze what impact they have had on your market share and revenues.
We're always looking for case examples that work, too. So please share if you have the time. I need to go now so that I can: update my Linked In, Facebook and Second Life profiles; check my three e-mail accounts and client blogs; and, consider joining Naymz.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Add a Healthy Dose of Remorse to Sex Scandal Formula
If a picture says a thousand words, today's newspaper photos of Silda Spitzer next to husband Eliot Spitzer says at least five thousand. Her sadness is so evident, it's hard for me to look at her. And, as for him, he doesn't look like a remorseful man in the least.
He conducted yesterday's news conference with a tone of discussing any other day-to-day business and ended with, "I will report back to you in short order." We'll have to wait and see if No. 9 does indeed do that. When he does I can only hope that he takes a cue from a veteran PR professional experienced in crisis communication and not just his attorney.
Nonverbal communication is critical, in fact even more important, than what you say. We teach this in media training and it's even more crucial in a crisis situation to express genuine empathy and in his case remorse.
Nobody is expecting him to admit guilt or start bawling. However, this is someone who built his reputation on fighting corruption and then getting repeatedly caught on wiretaps discussing bringing a prostitute to his Washington hotel with his career at stake. To make matters worse, his wife of 20 years is standing by his side and he has three teenage daughters at home. You would think it wouldn't be too difficult to convey some sense of sorrow and shame.
He conducted yesterday's news conference with a tone of discussing any other day-to-day business and ended with, "I will report back to you in short order." We'll have to wait and see if No. 9 does indeed do that. When he does I can only hope that he takes a cue from a veteran PR professional experienced in crisis communication and not just his attorney.
Nonverbal communication is critical, in fact even more important, than what you say. We teach this in media training and it's even more crucial in a crisis situation to express genuine empathy and in his case remorse.
Nobody is expecting him to admit guilt or start bawling. However, this is someone who built his reputation on fighting corruption and then getting repeatedly caught on wiretaps discussing bringing a prostitute to his Washington hotel with his career at stake. To make matters worse, his wife of 20 years is standing by his side and he has three teenage daughters at home. You would think it wouldn't be too difficult to convey some sense of sorrow and shame.
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