Best Thing Since Sliced Bread

I was recently introduced by a friend and former colleague to Ted Talks. I had always known about the conference, but not that they were hosting all of the talks via video on their site. I was amazed and so excited by it. So, I went and took a look.

After completing my profile (I was intrigued because they asked interesting things of me, not just my email address and Opt-in) that I willingly signed up. I then performed a search based on specific criteria, and I was amazed to find Sean McCullough of ping.fm, and Kay Koplovitz — media mogul turned VC listed on the site. I thought to myself, wow, you’re in good company!

Cut to I listened to the guru of all viral media (and a rather intuitive Marketer), Seth Godin. Ok, I know, you’ve read all of his books. You subscribe to his blog. I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know. But in the 20 minutes that he had to speak, he hammered home one of the MOST important differences in Marketing. It’s that we HAVE TO STOP INTERRUPTING OUR AUDIENCE. I was yelling. Did you hear me? Go and view it for yourself. View video now.

The A #1 Rule. Find the Influencers. They’re out there. We can find them. Let them tell your story…through podcasts, through blogs, through Facebook pages, through LinkedIn Expert requests. Give them something valuable and compelling to promote. Have your audience put widgets on their sites and then push content to them. Heck, start at the top and make those people your ambassadors. Don’t reinvent the wheel. It’s like that shampoo commercial that Joe Namath did back in the 70s “And she told 2 friends, and so on, and so on, and so on, and so on.” I’m not telling a lot of you Marketers something you don’t already know — or haven’t been doing. A lot of B2B and B2C Marketers have been doing this for a long time now. I’m just reiterating the importance.

That’s why I love Social Media as a part of the overall Digital Marketing strategy for a brand. Big or small — Social Media is a new avenue that we never had before where we can really talk to our customer on this deep a level. I’ve heard it quoted and I wish I could attribute it that Social Media is “The World’s Biggest Focus Group”. Why I get so excited about it is that it allows us to have conversations and really get in touch with people that are passionate about your brand. In traditional marketing (and I’m very much a fan of some of traditional marketing practices still), you are pushing, pushing, pushing. If the a tree falls in the woods, does it make a sound? Nobody knows. (That’s a whole other debate.)

But in the Social Media world, and this is where it can get sticky for larger brands…your fans will let you know exactly how they feel about you. And boy will they. But what separates the wheat from the chaff are the brands that are willing to take a dive, and be strategic of course, do a little listening, and enter the space. Have those conversations. Value your consumers. Think of Social Media as another tactic in your marketing arsenal. And don’t forget to budget for it. I’m a marketer that has worked in TV, Radio, Print, and now online. As I was telling one of my clients, On-line is becoming splintered or segmented — just like what Cable did to Broadcast. Embrace it! Amazing!

Comments are accepted and welcome!