Squeaky Wheels
Some people recognize that in these early days of social media, complaining will get them some attention. It can be frustrating to interact with these squeaky wheels, especially when you suspect they’re just trying to get attention or free stuff or to hear themselves talk, but you have to take the high road. You can’t ignore these people; you have to care, no matter what. That said, you have to be a good judge of when it’s time to move on.
The Biggest Mistakes Companies Make with Social Media
1. Using tactics instead of strategy
2. Using it exclusively to put out fires
3. Using it to brag
4. Using it as a press release
5. Exclusively re-tweeting other people’s material rather than creating your own original content
6. Using it to push product
7. Expecting immediate results
Anyone Who Cares About Legacy Must Take the TYE Seriously
Mr. Buffett, if you want everything you’ve built to last long after you’re gone, make sure that your companies are introducing Thank You Economy sensibility into their business practices. Actually, any investor would do well to heed the same advice. If you’ve inherited a family business and you want it to be strong for generations to come, it’s up to you to start shaking things up and instilling TYE culture from the top.
Fish the Small Ponds
Facebook is not the only significant social media platform, but many people think they have to fish in the big ocean and ignore the pond. The ponds are rich sources of revenue. Before we launched Vaynermedia, AJ and I were going to start a fantasy sports site. Had we chosen that path, we probably would have spent much of our money on Facebook ads, but we also would have spent countless hours engaging in the fifty most prominent fantasy sports blogs and forums. They wouldn’t have had as many eyeballs as Facebook, but those eyeballs would have been a committed, dedicated potential audience. It is time for companies to allocate to the ponds some of the money they’re pouring into the big oceans.
Why Big Companies Focus on Big Platforms
Right now in big companies there are four people or perhaps six people on staff making decisions with a $40 million budget. They spend their money on agencies, bringing in consultants, paying outside people to come in and execute their campaigns. Of course they have to focus on the big platforms—they need a huge payoff to justify all the money they’re spending. So what you hear in these meetings is “Let’s get this one platform right before we do the next one.”
It’s going to take a lot more people. You can’t have just one person flying a plane and dropping sixty bombs; you need a lot of people on the ground going one-on-one. Businesses have to quit outsourcing everything and start building up their internal teams around these new platforms.
Why People Respond to Social Media
I’m not saying that business leaders don’t know how to run their own businesses; I’m saying that they can do an even better job. Eventually, the marketing shifts that merely give them an advantage now are going to be prerequisites for success. We connect on a human level, and consumers are going to expect that kind of connection when they deal with you. A lot of people who have been in the hospital will complain that they sometimes didn’t see their doctor for days, and then when she came in she was aloof and academic and studied her patient like an interesting case, not a human being with feelings. It’s the nurses that often make people feel better when they’re in the hospital. When patients leave, they’re often eternally grateful to the doctor or surgeon who saved their life or made them feel better, but they often hold deep-felt affection and gratitude to the nurses who brought them extra pillows and took the time to explain things, who altered their regular shifts to make sure they were on the floor when their patient came back from a procedure. When these people talk about their experience, they’ll recommend the doctor, but they’ll rave about the hospital nurse and the care they received. They needed the doctor for her expertise; they loved the nurse for her compassion and care. Brands that win in the Thank You Economy will figure out how to provide both—what consumers need and what they want.
PART V
How to Win in the Thank You Economy, the Quick Version
Care—about your customers, about your employees, about your brand—with everything you’ve got.
Erase any lines in the sand—don’t be afraid of what’s new or unfamiliar.
Show up first to market whenever possible, early the rest of the time.
Instill a culture of caring into your business by:
Being self-aware
Mentally committing to change
Setting the tone through your words and actions
Investing in your employees
Hiring culturally compatible DNA, and spotting it within your existing team
Being authentic—whether online or offline, say what you mean, and mean what you say
Empowering your people to be forthright, creative, and generous
Remember that behind every B2B transaction, there is a C.
Speak your customers’ language.
Allow your customers to help you shape your brand or business, but never allow them to dictate the direction in which you take it.
Build a sense of community around your brand.
Arrange for traditional and social media to play Ping-Pong and extend every conversation.
Direct all of your marketing initiatives toward the emotional center, and to the creative extremes.
Approach social media initiatives with good intent, aiming for quality engagements, not quantity.
Use shock and awe to blow your customers’ minds and get them talking.
If you must use tactics, use “pull” tactics that remind consumers why they should care about your brand.
If you’re small, play like you’re big; if you’re big, play like you’re small.
Create a sense of community around your business or your brand.
Don’t be afraid to crawl before you run.
* * *
PSSSSSST!
Hey…
Thank you for reading. Here is my email:
[email protected]. Let me know if I can be of help.
* * *
NOTES
A survey of parents: W. David Gardner, “Facebook, Twitter Influence Purchases,” InformationWeek.com, July 27, 2010. http://www.informationweek.com/news/
software/web_services/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=226300075.
another survey, conducted in early December 2009: Bilal Hameed, “Facebook, Twitter Influences Up to 28% of Online Decisions,” StartupMeme.com, December 14, 2009. http://startupmeme.com/facebook-twitter-influences-up-to-28-of-online-buying-decisions.
Meanwhile, at its peak: Eric Caoili, “Farmville Sheds Another 9 Million Users in Latest Facebook Rankings,” Gamasutra, June 10, 2010. http://www.gamasutra.com/
view/news/28913/FarmVille_Sheds_Another_9_Million_
Users_In_Latest_Facebook_Rankings.php.
As the 1980s rolled into the 1990s: Emily Yellin, Your Call Is (Not That) Important to Us (New York: The Free Press, 2009). 80–81.
In the event they could dig up a phone number: Yellin, 73–74.
According to Facebook: Rick Burnes, “Twitter User Growth Slowed from Peak of 13% in March 2009 to 3.5% in October,” Hubspot Blog, January 19, 2010. http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/5496/Twitter-User-Growth-Slowed-From-Peak-of-13-in-March-2009-to-3-5-in-October.aspx.
In reply, Galante received a voice mail: Nilay Patel, “AT&T Warns Customer That Emailing the CEO Will Result in a Cease and Desist Letter,” Engadget.com, June 2, 2010. http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/02/atandt-warns-customer-that-emailing-the-ceo-will-result-in-a-cease.
He finally received (and accepted) an apology: Giorgio Galante, So Long and Thanks for All the Fish. http://attepicfail.tumblr.com.
If there were a particularly juicy angle to the story: Yellin, 5.
Even industries that have long resisted: Jere
my W. Peters, “Some Newspapers, Tracking Readers Online, Shift Coverage,” New York Times, September 5, 2010. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/06/business/media/
06track.html?_r=1&emc=eta1.
What’s extra special about the Wufoo notes: Examples of Wufoo cards: Drew McClellan, “Marketing Tip #75: Handwritten Notes Are Magic, Drew’s Marketing Minute, July 14, 2010, http://www.drewsmarketingminute.com/2010/07/marketing-tip-75-handwritten-notes-are-magic.html. Also see Gene, “Wufoo Loves Their Customers,” Period Three Blog, March 13, 2009. http://blog.period-three.com/2009/03/13/wufoo-loves-their-customers/.
They choose to invest in innovation: Julia Kirby, “Wall Street Is No Friend to Radical Innovation,” US Airways Magazine, July 2010, 17–18.
Though girls ages fourteen to seventeen can still out-text anyone: Shane Snow, “The Rise of Text Messaging,” Mashable.com, August 2010. http://mashable.com/2010/08/17/text-messaging-infographic/.
As of May 2010: Amanda Lenhart, “Cell Phones and American Adults,” Pew Internet and American Life Project, September 2, 2010. http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2010/Cell-Phones-and-American-Adults/Overview.aspx.
Over the next two decades: Nina and Tim Zagat, “Nina and Tim Zagat,” Slate.com, June 1, 1999. http://www.slate.com/id/29583/entry/29585.
The decidedly hip site: Heather Maddan, “Casting the Net,” SFGate.com, June 18, 2006. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/06/18/LVGO9JDMdv1.DTL
&hw=yelp&sn=001&sc=1000.
Yelp reports five million unique visitors: Yelp.com, Press Page, “Company Announcements.” http://www.yelp.com/press/announcements.
The Zagats try to sell their business: Paul Tharp, “Zagat-about-’em,” NY Post.com, September 8, 2009. http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/
zagat_about_em_FyHeEMEeS2WHoNCUhv1UAK.
Yelp reports ten million unique visitors: Yelp.com.
The Zagats take the business off the market: Tharp, “Zagat-about-’em.”
Zagat holds steady as one of the top ten iPhone apps: Jillian Reagan, “Zagat Me, Baby!,” The New York Observer, July 7, 2009. http://www.observer.com/2009/media/zagat-me-baby-new-mobile-app-will-tell-you-where-eat.
Yelp, which is still free: Yelp.com.
Zagat.com, which charges a $25 annual membership fee: Tharp, “Zagat-about-’em.”
“Yelp has the chance”: Peter Burrows, “Hot Tech Companies Like Yelp Are Bypassing IPOs,” Businessweek.com, February 2010. http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/
10_07/b4166023271880.htm.
Modeling Foursquare, Yelp adds: John C. Abell, “Yelp Takes on Foursquare in latest iPhone App Upgrade,” Wired.com, January 19, 2010. http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2010/01/yelp-iphone-foursquare.
Foursquare users can earn a “Foodie badge”: Jenna Wortham, “Foursquare Signs a Deal with Zagat,” New York Times, February 9, 2010. http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/09/foursquare-inks-a-deal-with-zagat.
Zagat Integrates Foodspotting: Zagat.com, Press Center. http://www.zagat.com/About/Index.aspx?menu=PR192.
Every time a seismic shift: Joshua Cooper Ramo, “Why the Founder of Amazon Is Our Choice for 1999,” Time, December 1999.
“Most Brands Still Irrelevant on Twitter”: Michael Learmonth, “Study: Most Brands Still Irrelevant on Twitter,” AdAge.com, July 27, 2010. http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=145107.
“Social Networking May Not Be”: Charles Hugh Smith, “Social Networking May Not Be as Profitable as Many Think,” DailyFinance.com, July 20, 2010. http://www.dailyfinance.com/story/media/social-networking-maynot-be-as-profitable-as-many-think/19560291.
When Nielsen conducted a study: “Friending the Social Consumer,” Nielsen Wire, June 16, 2010. http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/online_mobile/friending-the-social-consumer.
According to an IBM study: Maureen Stancik Boyce and Laura VanTyne, “Why Advocacy Matters to Online Retailers,” IBM Institute for Business Value Distribution, November 18, 2008.
Blackshaw deck, “Are Consumers Willing to Engage and Be Spokespeople for Our Brands?,” 2.
Blackshaw deck, “Loyalty Is No Longer Enough,” 3.
Ibid.
According to Jason Mittelstaedt: Lora Kolodny, “Study: 82% of U.S. Consumers Bail on Brands After Bad Customer Service,” TechCrunch, October 13, 2010. http://techcrunch.com/2010/10/13/customer-service-rightnow.
Blackshaw deck, “Are Consumers Willing to Engage and Be Spokespeople for Our Brands?,” 3.
In the press release, Steve Hasker: “Nielsen Unveils New Online Advertising Measurement,” News Releases, Nielsen.com. http://en-us.nielsen.com/content/nielsen/en_us/
news/news_releases/2010/september/
nielsen_unveils_newonlineadvertisingmeasurement.html.
In 2010, Adweek reported that Vitrue: Brian Morrissey, “Value of a ‘Fan’ on Social Media: $3.60,” Adweek.com, April 13, 2010. http://www.adweek.com/aw/content_display/news/digital/
e3iaf69ea67183512325a8feefb9f969530.
It wasn’t until 1922: “KDKA Begins to Broadcast 1920,” A Science Odyssey: People and Discoveries, PBS.org, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aso/databank/entries/dt20ra.html.
http://www.adi-news.com/comscore-twitter-overtaken-myspace-for-the-third-spot-among-social-networking-site-facebook-still-on-top/25263.
To prove them wrong: Leslie Goldman, “Ann Taylor LOFT Ditches Models for Real Women,” iVillage.com, June 21, 2010. http://www.ivillage.com/ann-taylor-loft-ditches-models-real-women/4-a–213041.
“I love LOFT and I soooo appreciate”: LOFT, “How LOFT Is Wearing Our Favorite New Pant,” Facebook, last updated around July 2010. http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=183697&id=26483215676.
She then wrote an entire blog post: www.rachel-levy.com/music-and-the-impact-of-a-tweet.
“Ben, first of all, thanks for your note”: “This CEO Sucks Less: John Pepper of Boloco,” The Consumerist.com, January 25, 2006. http://consumerist.com/2006/01/this-ceo-sucks-less-john-pepper-of-boloco.html.
“I say many times”: John Paul Morosi, “Joyce, Galarraga Make Up After Blown Call in Near-Perfect Game,” June 3, 2010, FOXsports.com. http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/Jim-Joyce-Armando-Galarraga-make-up-after-blown-call–060310.
As was to be expected: Tom Verduci with Melissa Segura, “A Different Kind of Perfect,” SIVault, SportsIllustrated.com, June 14, 2010. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/
MAG1170587/3/index.htm.
By the next day: Ibid.
Only a few weeks: “Joyce Tops Survey; Players Nix Replay,” ESPN.com, June 13, 2010. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=5281467.
For example, sales of Old Spice Body Wash: Noreen O’Leary and Todd Wasserman, “Old Spice Campaign Smells Like a Sales Success, Too,” Brandweek.com, July 25, 2010. http://www.brandweek.com/bw/content_display/news-and-features/direct/e3i45f1c709df0501927f56568a2acd5c7b.
but some seem to question: Joseph Jaffe, “Sugar and Old Spice,” Adweek.com, July 27, 2010. http://www.adweek.com/aw/content_display/community/
columns/other-columns/e3i45f1c709df050192d35f3e8e86cc5a79.
Ad Age published an article: Edmund Lee, “Old Spice Fades Into History While Samsung, Ikea, Twitter Scale Viral Chart,” AdAge.com, September 23, 2010. http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=146030.
When YouTube user Pierce Ruane: “Rapper 50 Cent Invites Dorky YouTube Fan ‘Sexman’ to NYC to Hang Out,” Gawkk.com. http://www.gawkk.com/in-nyc-with-50-cent/discuss.
According to MailerMailer’s metrics report: Anthony Schneider, “Open Rates and Click Rates Are Declining,” Email Transmit Info Center, July 29, 2010. http://infocenter.emailtransmit.com/2010/07/open-rates-and-click-rates-are-declining.
They have also changed: “Web banner,” Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banner_ad.
At that time, banner ads: Frank D’Angelo, “Happy Birthday, Digital Advertising!” AdvertisingAge.com, October 26, 2009. http://adage.com/digitalnext/article?article_id=139964.
Today,
banner ad CTR: Dirk Singer, “Happy Birthday Banner Ad…Bet You Wish Click Through Rates Were Still 78%.” http://liesdamnedliesstatistics.com/category/click-through-rate.
Over 60 percent of Americans: Andrea Larrumbide, “Cone Finds That Americans Expect Companies to Have a Presence in Social Media,” Cone Inc., September 25, 2008. http://www.coneinc.com/content1182.
for example, Burger King estimates: Erik Qualman, “Social Media ROI: Socialnomics,” YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypmfs3z8esI&feature=player_embedded#!
In the restaurant world: Kerry Miller, “The Restaurant-Failure Myth,” Businessweek.com, April 16, 2007. http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/apr2007/
sb20070416_296932.htm.
A flash mob of 161 Foursquare users: Pamela Seiple, “Restaurant Owner Increases Sales by 110% with Foursquare Swarm Badge Party, Hubspot Blog, March 8, 2010. http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/5697/Restaurant-Owner-Increases-Sales-by-110-with-Foursquare-Swarm-Badge-Party.aspx.
At the time of the swarm event: Ibid.
“This restaurant in particular”: Augie Ray, “Word of Mouth and Social Media: A Tale of Two Burger Joints,” Augie Ray’s Blog, March 28, 2010. http://blogs.forrester.com/augie_ray/10-03-28-word_mouth_and_social_media_tale_two_burger_joints.
For example, while any staff member: Kathryn M. Kantes, “Joie de Vivre and the Art of the Hotel,” Hospitality.net, March 5, 2010. http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/4045696.search?query=joie+de+vivre%2c+dream+maker%2c+word+of+mouth.
According to a 2009 Pew Research Center report: Pew Research Center, “61% of American adults look online for health information,” Pew Research Center press release, PewInternet.org, June 11, 2009. http://www.pewinternet.org/Press-Releases/2009/The-Social-Life-of-Health-Information.aspx.
But Loïc Le Meur is very interested: BusinessWeek Tech Team, “The 25 Most Influential People on the Web,” BusinessWeek.com, September 2008. http://images.businessweek.com/
ss/08/09/0929_most_influential/1.htm.