Is it someone who’s smart, connected, and understands your business? Or is it this guy?
This was posted under the heading “Worst Tragedy Related Misunderstanding You’ll Read All Day.”
Yeah, pretty much.
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: you can outsource writing, you can outsource scheduling, but you can’t completely outsource content marketing. This is what happens when you do.
Posted in Facebook, Marketing, Social Business, Social Media, Strategy, Twitter, Web 2.0 | Leave a Comment »
Photo by Michael Loke
You want more traffic, right? So how do you get it?
There are lots of ways, but one of the most effective is by creating sharable content.
“But Ann!” you wail. “Wouldn’t it be easier just to show up at the top of the search engines?”
Ah, young padawan, one result begets the other. More on that later.
Why You Should Care About the Social Web
So, the web is social.
That means that one of the main ways we’re exposed to new content is through our online friends.
I have a niece who always finds the most interesting and/or thought-provoking and/or unabashedly feminist stuff on the interwebs. She’s also really good at finding adorable cat videos.
Every time she posts on Facebook, I’m right there, because I know she serves up quality content.
Well, quality to me. And that’s the beauty of the social web:
1. Shared links are embedded with social proof.
When a person shares your content, whether it’s a blog post, or a video, or a tool, that share comes with built-in social proof.
That person is saying, “I found this useful/interesting/hilarious and I think you will too.”
When the person sharing the content is someone I trust, that makes me trust you.
Cha-ching.
2. Your target market sorts itself.
You create content. You put it out on the web. It gets shared.
Sure, some people click on it, and some people don’t. But the people who clicked on it self-selected.
Look, you’re a big kid, right? You know that getting everyone to like you is impossible. What you do just may not appeal to everyone, and that’s okay.
The clickers looked at your content, evaluated the person who shared it, and decided it was worth a click.
Hopefully many of them then shared it with their networks, of their own volition and with no strings attached.
You didn’t force anything on them. And that’s a good thing.
By creating consistently sharable content over time, you will create a dynamic market that’s pre-disposed to receiving your messages.
Cha-ching, part deux.
This target market may overlap with the target market that buys your products or services, or it may consist of influencers or referral sources.
It’s up to you to decide who you want to go after and to create content that will appeal to that market.
Have I convinced you?
Come back tomorrow, and I’ll show you how to create sharable content that gets you noticed.
Posted in Blogging, Facebook, Marketing, Social Business, Social Media, Strategy, Twitter, Video, Web 2.0 | 1 Comment »
“Ann, you’re everywhere!”
This is my second favorite compliment. (First prize: “Ann, I read every word on your website!”)
I find it rather amusing that people think I’m everywhere. Most days, it seems like I’m sitting at home in pajama pants, writing and munching on cold pizza.
But people do say this, so I guess I’m doing something right.
Do you want to be everywhere? Here’s what works for me:
1. Engage online. You don’t have to spend hours on Facebook or Twitter to get great results from these tools. A little consistency goes a long way.
My best advice is to show up every day, or maybe a few times a day, and comment on what other people are saying. Share a friend’s post. Say something funny. Just be yourself.
Hint: This only works if you genuinely enjoy your friends. Don’t try to fake it.
Over time, if you’re engaged on a daily basis, even for just a few minutes, people will start to think you’re there all the time, and being there equals accessibility, the holy grail of modern marketing.
2. Consistency helps people find you. I answer to Ann Bevans, Ann Selig, Ann Bevans-Selig, Mommy, Dolly and Hey You! But in my business life, I’m Ann Bevans.
My web address is annbevans.com. My twitter handle is annbevans. My vanity URLs for Facebook and LinkedIn include annbevans. When I attend an event, I make sure my nametag says Ann Bevans.
Also, all my avatars are the same. If you’re looking me, you know it’s me. Impressions, impressions, impressions.
3. Do make an effort to engage offline. I have many clients I’ve never met, but it’s a treat when it happens.
It’s true that much of my “everywhere” status is supported by online activities, but it IS important to show up offline as well. You don’t have to be a social butterfly (I’m not).
I do, at most, one evening event per week (childcare and all), plus a couple of daytime things. It’s a matter of choosing wisely and, you guessed it, being consistent.
You too can be everywhere! Even in pajama pants.
What are some of your favorite be everywhere strategies? Tell me in the comments.
Posted in Marketing, Social Media | Leave a Comment »
You can’t outsource content marketing.
This is a problem that has been plaguing me for months, if not years.
I’m a very good writer in a world where many people struggle with writing. I should be able to make crazy money ghost blogging and ghost tweeting and ghost facebooking.
Oh, damn you, scruples! Why can’t I convince myself that’s okay?
Because it isn’t.
Because you can’t outsource content marketing.
“People can smell a poser from a mile away”
That’s a line from Gary Vaynerchuk’s book, Crush It. So true.
Listen, I can spin a pretty yarn, but I am not you. I’m not passionate about lug nuts or rocket boosters or pizza kits. You are. That’s why you do what you do.
Say you outsource your blog to me. It’s my job to invent the topics, write the posts, and promote them. You approve them from afar. That’s what you want, right? Approval, with no effort.
Now imagine you’re one of 30 ghost blogging clients, all of whom are in completely different industries.
Here’s a clue: under those circumstances, I will never sound like you do when you talk about the thing you love. I don’t know your subject matter well enough. And I don’t care enough, because I’ve got 29 other posts to write today.
(You’re starting to see why I can’t condone this).
If your blog is written by someone who doesn’t care, who doesn’t know her stuff, who is punching a clock…no one will read it.
You might as well throw your money out the window.
The only way I can truly manage your blog with so little input from you is if I spend a lot of time with you. A lot of time.
Which means you’d better get ready for a big fat salary and a sharp uptick in the coffee consumption in your office, because I don’t come cheap.
What if you’re not a writer?
Easy for me to say. But what if you’re not a writer?
Hang with me here, because I’ve got an important distinction coming.
DON’T: outsource your blog or twitter stream to a writer (or, god help us, a “social media expert”)
DO: hire a writer to draft and edit your blog posts, or cull your content for tweets.
What’s the difference? When you outsource your content, you’re handing the whole process over to someone else. Topics, research, writing, execution: it all goes to a third party.
If somebody promises you that you won’t have to do a thing but approve it, run away.
The content for your blog, or your tweets, or your facebook page HAS to come from you. That means you have to write articles, or at least write outlines. You have to find the intersection of what matters to you and what matters to your audience and spend some time there.
That’s the heavy lifting of content creation, and it’s your responsibility. Once that’s done, feel free to hire someone like me to make it sound good.
Creation vs. Distribution
Here’s another way to think about.
YOU: Content creation
ME: Content distribution
You are the creator, the source of the original thought that will appeal to your audience. I’m the conduit for that thought.
I can take your ideas and whip them into shape. I can blast them out through any number of channels.
But they’re your ideas. They have to be.
What do you think? Tell me in the comments.
Posted in Blogging, Facebook, Social Media, Twitter, Writing | 2 Comments »
When you walk around day and night with social literally attached at the hip, talking to other social-savvy people, it’s easy to forget that the vast majority of business owners still have absolutely no idea what they’re doing.
Don’t be ashamed. I’m here to help.
Three Things Social Media Isn’t
There are many common misconceptions about social media, and I’ve heard them all. Here are a few things social media is NOT:
This is counter-intuitive if you’re interested in social media primarily as a marketing tool. But successful social marketing requires engagement, also known as “talking to people.”
(You remember how to do that, right?)
Social requires you to listen, ask questions and respond to others’ content in a meaningful way. There’s no way around it.
“I can’t open up my wall on Facebook! People will complain! And then other people will complain! And it will all be a big mess. I’d rather just use it to make announcements (read: to broadcast propaganda).“
Guess what? When people complain, that’s an opportunity.
You don’t like our packaging? Wow! Can you tell me more about that? It’s difficult to open? Huh, we didn’t realize that. Or maybe we did, but other options are more costly. Would you pay $2 more if our product were in a better container?
Etc.
People pay thousands and thousands of dollars for market research like that. Suck it up. Open the wall. Listen and respond.
Can you turn on your computer? Can you navigate to a website? Can you recognize the letters on your keyboard and press the keys in the right order, thereby creating a string of characters that is recognizable to other people who can read your language?
You can do social media.
The problem with social – the reason people don’t do it – is that they don’t have anything to say. Or they’re afraid that what they say will make them seem stupid.
Or, to put it another way, people don’t do social because creating content is hard. So stop telling yourself that story and man up.
And One Thing That It Is…
Yes, using social media is time-consuming.
Committing to a blog or Twitter or LinkedIn or Facebook means that you will have to think about your customers and what they care about on a regular basis. You’ll have to learn what others in your industry are doing. You’ll have to listen and respond.
Yes, it’s going to take time.
Do you have something better to do?
Posted in Blogging, Facebook, Marketing, Social Media, Strategy, Twitter, Web 2.0 | 1 Comment »
I’ve been thinking a lot about vulnerability.
Maybe too much.
Maybe so much that it’s making me start to question the wisdom of thinking so much about vulnerability.
Wait here while I get a grip. Okay, back.
Suppose that vulnerability is a willingness to be seen as you really are. Take off your mask and show yourself.
Gee, that sounds an awful lot like what the social media types call “authenticity.” But it’s not quite the same, is it?
What if vulnerability and authenticity are opposite sides of the same coin? If vulnerability is a willingness to be seen as you are, then maybe we can define authenticity as talking and behaving in a way that’s congruent with that same self – a kind of outward expression of vulnerability.
If that’s true, can you have one without the other?
It occurs to me that some celebrities (and regular people too) suffer from a desire to be authentic without being vulnerable. They spill their secrets into their performances (and their tweets) but they don’t really want to connect with anyone. They don’t want to be seen. Listen to me, but don’t look at me! I’m not a role model! Etc.
If you want people to know you, you have to allow them know you. If you want people to understand your world, you have to open the window and let them to peer in.
Moreover, your public demands it.
Authenticity, Vulnerability and You
Collective “so what?” You didn’t tune in for my philosophical ramblings.
Relationships are the cornerstone of your brand-building strategy. Authenticity and vulnerability work together to help you build and strengthen relationships. Here’s how:
It’s easier to be authentic than it is to be vulnerable. But be brave. You deserve it, and so do your fans.
Posted in Social Media, Strategy, Web 2.0 | 2 Comments »
I spent much of 2010 waiting.
I waited to have surgery. I waited to get better. I waited for my vacation. I waited to get home. I waited for bedtime.
And then there were the more insidious waits – shorter in duration but, taken together, adding up to more lost time. I waited for replies. I waited for comments. I waited for follows.
In 2010, I waited to be noticed.
Introverts are tricky. We don’t like to be the center of attention. But, at the same time, we want to feel special. We want to be admired.
We could spend our whole lives waiting.
How Do You Know You’re Waiting?
There are two types of waiting:
1. Distracted Waiting
Distracted waiting is when you try to pretend you’re not waiting by watching television, or noodling on your guitar, or making another pot of coffee.
Distracted waiting sometimes looks a lot like “being,” or mindfulness, which is a focus on the present moment. That’s good for you. The difference is expectation.
If you think you’re being still, but you’re carrying around expectations about what will (or should) happen next, you’re not really focused on the present. You’re focused on the future. You’re waiting.
2. Busy Waiting
Busy waiting is when you pretend you’re not waiting by doing things that ostensibly serve you, but really they’re just busy work: checking your mentions on twitter, balancing your checkbook, crunching data ad nauseum.
You’re waiting, but you’ve convinced yourself you’re not waiting by doing anything but the thing that will move you forward.
Be brutally honest with yourself. We rationalize a thousand ways. This thing you’re doing right now, does it serve you? Or are you waiting for something better to come along?
How to Stop Waiting
It’s January 3. All this is new to me, but here’s how I’m thinking we might escape the waiting game:
Create
“The whole difference between construction and creation is this; that a thing constructed can only be loved after it is constructed; but a thing created is loved before it exists.” – Charles Dickens
The act of creation is a great way to move yourself forward. Keep plugging away at your blog. If you’re lucky enough to work in a creative profession, take joy in your work.
Not challenging enough? Create a personal blog. Or a community. Or a book club. Or a recording. Or a video.
Create anything.
Engage
I had coffee with my friend Michael today. I told him, “I’ve been tweeting and blogging for a while now, but I’m not getting the sort of response I’d like.”
He said: “What’s your ratio of talking at versus talking to?”
That prickly beast, social media, starts with “social” for a reason. You are probably not the sort of celebrity that people will follow whether they reply or not. If you want people to engage with you, engage with them first. Be authentic. React and respond.
Be vulnerable
The other day, I came across this amazing talk by Brené Brown. In her talk, Brené says that, although many people see vulnerability as something to be feared, others (“the whole hearted”), don’t see it that way. They don’t think of vulnerability as good or bad, just necessary.
Whatever you do, don’t try to be perfect. Don’t be afraid to create work that is ambitious. Don’t be afraid to publish it, even if it sucks. Especially if it sucks. Comment with abandon. Appreciate others by reacting to their work.
2011 Is the Year of Not Waiting
If I have anything close to a new year’s resolution it’s this: 2011 is the year of not waiting.
Not waiting will require vigilance. It will require me to determine what’s really rest and what’s just more waiting. I will have to do things I’d rather not do in order to be the person I need to be.
What are you waiting for?
Posted in Blogging, Facebook, Marketing, Motivation, Personal, Social Media, Strategy, Twitter, Video | 5 Comments »
In part 1 of this post, I introduced four cutting edge marketing strategies that can help your company stand out against the 21st century landscape. Here are three more:
05. Re-Engineering
Re-Engineering is a fancy name for a simple strategy that’s gaining in popularity. The idea is to reduce research and development costs by inviting the public to purchase your product unfinished. It sounds a little crazy, but your customers just might jump at the opportunity to participate in the development of your product.
As early adopters begin to interact with your product, they discuss and refine ways to make the product better. You listen, implement the best suggestions and release improved products. Easier said than done, since most of us aren’t really that great at the listening part. But there’s no better way to build trust in your brand.
06. Strange Loop
A strange loop is the holy grail of modern marketing.
A strange loop is an infinite loop that gives you the impression that you’re actually moving forward. It’s like walking along the surface of a Möbius strip, psychologically speaking. At no point should it be clear you’re in a loop, even when you’re back at the start.
It’s not cheap or easy to do this, but it’s so profitable if you succeed. A good viral marketing campaign has built in strange loops to prevent the campaign from reaching critical mass. There is always forward motion.
In a practical sense, this means, not only creating content the recipient will want to pass on, but creating content he or she NEEDS to pass on. It means your content has some built-in element that compels the receiver to spread it.
To date, social networks are the biggest pioneers here. A social network is only good when the network is big enough. A viral network will attract users. a strange loop will force those users to bring more users.
07. Buzz Monitoring
Once you’ve implemented some of the six strategies I’ve described so far, you’ll be well on your way to seeing a serious return on your investment. But, don’t forget one vital, overarching strategy — buzz monitoring.
Buzz monitoring isn’t just about measuring results, although that’s important too. Buzz monitoring allows you to track and respond to what people out there in the world are saying about your brand. A failure to monitor and respond to chatter about your brand has lead to many fatal or near-fatal media catastrophes.
One key metric to consider in buzz marketing is influence. Every forum, social network or blog has a different level of influence. If a tiny business blog in Mongolia mentions your website, that’s not worth as much as getting featured on Smashing Magazine’s site. The concept of influence will help you prioritize your responses as people begin to notice and interact with your brand online.
So there you have it! Seven marketing strategies you may not have thought of!
Which of these strategies have you put to work in your business? Tell me in the comments…
Posted in Marketing, Measurement, Social Media, Strategy, Web 2.0 | 3 Comments »
Welcome to the 21st century, people.
Yep, we’re ten years in, but many businesses are still marketing according to 20th century principles. In the 21st century, $10,000 can do what used to cost $100,000, but the moves are more complex, mistakes are harder to recover from, and the worst move you can make is to be boring!
Here are some of the cutting edge techniques you can use to stand out against the 21st century landscape:
01. Viral Marketing
Yeah, so you’ve heard of this one, but you might have a hard time defining it.
Viral marketing is about getting your customers to spread your message for you, just like a virus. The rewards can be huge as your brand spreads exponentially. But be warned, it’s actually one of the hardest strategies to pull off.
In general, people have a grossly inflated impression of how the public perceives their businesses. For this strategy to work, your message, whether it’s in the form of a video, article or blog post, must be worth spreading.
Getting a stranger to tell a friend about your business is a complex psychological game, and you have to be clever to be worth talking about.
02. Undercover Marketing
Undercover marketing is one way to kick start a viral marketing campaign, but it carries a lot of risk. Essentially you are starting off a conversation by pretending to be a client or customer. Although this approach is, at best, borderline ethical, it is surprisingly common.
Sometimes actors are hired to infiltrate online chat rooms, parties, coffee shops — anywhere there are potential customers. They find natural ways to introduce the brand, plant the seed and get out.
Undercover marketing can easily backfire if the ruse is detected. For this reason, I don’t generally recommend this technique to my clients.
03. Anchor Advertising
Anchor advertising is a psychological technique that involves purchasing strategic advertising space and creating a brand image that your audience will have no prior emotional attachment to. The key here is anonymity and a complete absence of message. Yes, that’s right… NO message at all.
Strategically place your new icon in various advertising media over a period of about three months. More nefarious campaigns may use flyposting, graffiti or wheatpasting to great effect. After the three months are up, wait for your seeds to grow.
If you manage to place your mark where the customer browses the competition — a supermarket shelf, a comparison website, etc. – your brand will have instant appeal. Even though the mark is not understood consciously, its impact is immediate and extremely powerful once you launch your full campaign.
04. Alternate Reality Games
This is where modern marketing gets weird! This trend is really taking off, and it can create a customer experience like nothing else.
An alternate reality game (ARG) is an interactive scenario based in the real world, and the customer helps propel the story. A designated ‘puppet master,’ usually the marketing agency, runs the game as secretively as possible. The game only works while the puppet master is completely invisible. The user must be able to interact with the fictional elements of the game in a realistic way without seeing behind the curtain.
An example would be selling a plumbing service by running an ARG about a mythical creature who lives in pipes, and the users must find it. The users must be able to browse real websites, visit real locations, and call real phone numbers to find the pieces of the puzzle.
This one is NOT for the faint of heart. It requires some serious planning, but the payoff is immense.
Come back tomorrow for part two of this post, where I’ll reveal even more cutting edge marketing strategies you’ve never heard of!
Posted in Marketing, Recession, Social Media, Strategy, Web 2.0 | 9 Comments »
Talk about your wasted opportunities.
I grew up in Baltimore, hon. In Charm City, when you say you’re “goin downy oshun,” you mean you’re going to Ocean City, Maryland. Ocean City is the Mecca of the family beach-going set, complete with a boardwalk, kiddie rides, and skeeball.
I have many fine childhood memories of Ocean City: sitting on the porch at dawn, seagulls pooping on my grandmother’s blue dress, my little sister getting stuck in a stall in the Tony’s Pizza ladies’ room…
But I digress.
I was so happy and excited when I saw this Ocean City tourism commercial.
Annoyingly, the video is only available on Facebook, so apologies if you can’t see it. More on that in a minute.
The star of the commercial is Rodney, one of Ocean City’s heroic lifeguards. Rodney has made it his personal mission to rescue people from boredom by scooping them up and whisking them away to Ocean City. He’s very serious, and the concept is very funny and effective.
With these ads, the Ocean City Visitor’s Bureau has put a face on the OC experience. Visitors now have a person they can relate to and interact with in the social media space.
Except they can’t, because this awesome idea is totally under-executed.
If you go to the town’s official Facebook page, you get a landing page featuring Rodney. There’s also a Rodney Saves! tab. But there’s no Rodney. Just some recycled print ads that you can click on to access the woefully boring Rodney Saves page on the OC website. I’ll spare you. It’s just a list of hotels with “special deals.”
Why doesn’t Rodney have his own Facebook profile? Why isn’t he interacting with visitors on Facebook and on the official OC website? Where’s Ask Rodney? Where’s the place where I can post how bored I am so Rodney can come save me?
It’s awesome that the “Ocean City, Maryland – the Official Page,” wants to know about my favorite OC memory, but it would be SO much better if Rodney wanted to know.
Meanwhile, the Rodney ads? Not on YouTube. Seriously? Have you seen the Old Spice commercial? Of course you have. As of this writing, that video is approaching 13,400,000 views. You don’t get much more viral than that.
Could Rodney do that well? Probably not, but he’s not even getting the chance.
The Ocean City Visitor’s Bureau is doing a lot of things right. They have a nice site and they have good interaction on their Facebook page. But in a way, they’re succeeding in spite of themselves. They benefit from 30-somethings like me who spent their summers “downy oshun,” and plan to do the same with their kids.
Let Rodney out of the box, man. You can do so much better.
Posted in Facebook, Marketing, Rubber Hits Road, Social Media, Web 2.0 | 3 Comments »
Theme: Kubrick. Blog at WordPress.com.
Entries (RSS) and Comments (RSS).
