"I’ve long held that the new wave of marketing should be reversed. Marketers should be seeking out the pre-existing evangelists of their products, or people who like similar products, and empower them to do more truth-based marketing. For instance, I love my Macbook. I love my BlackBerry Pearl. I love my Sony DSC-T9 camera. Why aren’t those marketers finding me, and helping me rant and rave even more effectively?"
Absolutely. This is key. Every marketer should be focusing on how to facilitate the conversation.
JoeC
· 2 years ago
Businesses that see "social" as just another channel to insinuate their tiresome and relentless one-way sales pitches into my life should stick it up their soc-net.
However, if they see it as a way to really find out what I want and relate to me as a person instead of a nameless, faceless representative of a corporation, then they might be on to something.
I have to say, I'm a bit bemused by all the smoke rising around business uses of soc-nets and soc-media. At this point, it seems like a lot of the old solution-in-search-of-a-problem phenomenon.
Marti
· 2 years ago
"I" (me, blogger and author) am my "business". I sell my words. And I have seen my "business" improve using tools that are "beyond blogging".
Writing the blog was a way to share my thoughts and meet people (yes I consider the folks I meet on the Internet to be my friends). But using other social media has been a fun and exciting path to follow, and has proven to be more effective as far as converting eyes to buys. I'm not sure why (wish I did! LOL) But the fact remains that while I had steady readership at my blog,I've sold more books since engaging in social media and networks.
As always, Chris, you have a knack for tapping into ideas and questions that are percolating in my head. I've been thinking about the impact social media could have for authors. Thank you for sharing your thoughts!
Rachel Clarke
· 2 years ago
I think about them all the time - it is what I'm paid to do. How to find the evangelists, people who want to talk about the products. How to put something into networks that people want to talk about, want to share, that gives them something that makes them think well of a brand.
Different tools for different products though. What is right for some is not for other. As important is the type of client; much of my work can be education about how and why to use networks and when NOT to use. Just because they are there does not mean they are right for you.
Derek K. Miller
· 2 years ago
Thanks for the link. I find that many of the social networks, from Facebook on, are strangely bound by the conventions and environments of their developers and founders. Facebook is huge here in Canada, but here we generally don't talk about "college" or "middle school" (so much Facebook terminology is based on American usage and educational structures, and on young adults and teens rather than anyone of another age) and the whole "friend" category is a bit mystifying in its overly wide range.
For venture capitalists and entrepreneurs, I think the toughest thing about these social interactions is that it's no difficult to predict what might succeed, because success isn't necessarily based on what service is best, but on which one most people decide to use. Again, it's the real social interactions of people that decide success, not technological or design superiority.
michelle lamar
· 2 years ago
You say it so much better than I could. Really great post. Awesome that you put it all in one concise post. Thanks.
All Comments
Absolutely. This is key. Every marketer should be focusing on how to facilitate the conversation.
However, if they see it as a way to really find out what I want and relate to me as a person instead of a nameless, faceless representative of a corporation, then they might be on to something.
I have to say, I'm a bit bemused by all the smoke rising around business uses of soc-nets and soc-media. At this point, it seems like a lot of the old solution-in-search-of-a-problem phenomenon.
Writing the blog was a way to share my thoughts and meet people (yes I consider the folks I meet on the Internet to be my friends). But using other social media has been a fun and exciting path to follow, and has proven to be more effective as far as converting eyes to buys. I'm not sure why (wish I did! LOL) But the fact remains that while I had steady readership at my blog,I've sold more books since engaging in social media and networks.
As always, Chris, you have a knack for tapping into ideas and questions that are percolating in my head. I've been thinking about the impact social media could have for authors. Thank you for sharing your thoughts!
Different tools for different products though. What is right for some is not for other. As important is the type of client; much of my work can be education about how and why to use networks and when NOT to use. Just because they are there does not mean they are right for you.
For venture capitalists and entrepreneurs, I think the toughest thing about these social interactions is that it's no difficult to predict what might succeed, because success isn't necessarily based on what service is best, but on which one most people decide to use. Again, it's the real social interactions of people that decide success, not technological or design superiority.