Thursday, March 7, 2013

Arrogance or Stupidity? Marketing Your Brand

Thank goodness for +Google Maps, WHY? Because I'm a man, and real men don't like asking for directions, now thanks to google maps I don't ever have too.  But what did I ever do before google maps and the mobile craze? Well if I knew where I was going I would plan out the trip with the good old paper maps (that were the size of the dinner table and impossible to fold back up) and follow the street signs along the way.  It was a piece of cake (mostly because I'm a man and directions are a sixth sense for us), but once we get out off our route and start "winging" it that's when "it" hits the fan and all of a sudden english starts to look like chinese.



Is a man's attitude arrogance or stupidity? (easy women don't go too crazy with that question) When it comes to social marketing do we have the same attitude or do we suck it up and ask for the directions?  The old saying is still relevant, "You don't plan to fail, you only fail to plan".  How many of us know where we're going with our brand or our companies brand?  The most common answer is EVERYWHERE, we want to be everything to everybody. WRONG!!!! If this is your plan then refer to the pic above or the dog chasing his tail in my previous post.  Whether you're doing it for yourself or your company you need to establish a plan and goals.

1. What are your objectives? Where do you want to go and why do you want to go there?  The cheshire cat said it best in Alice in Wonderland, "If it doesn't matter where you want to go, then it really doesn't matter which way you go"

2. Build a strategy - Just like the table sized maps of the past, you must take the time to plan out your trip.  Expecting to do everything all at once is impossible, but breaking your objectives down into steps gives you or the company the building blocks needed for an overall successful strategy.

3. Buy In - In a large corporation or a one man show you need to have everyone committed to the plan.  This is obviously much easier to do the smaller you are but gaining acceptance and support throughout company culture is imperative to success of the strategy.

4. Focus on a specific area - The first area that should always be mastered first is LISTENING, CAUSE IT'S ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT ASPECTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA.  Once you've got that covered branch into specific areas like engagement or content.

5. Take small steps that make the biggest impact - Whether it's spending 15 min a day posting content and engaging users, or hiring a social media manager for the company these steps bring results. It's amazing how many people and companies want to have a million "likes" or "follower" and put no time into it.  People and companies online are successful because of their efforts and engagement.  It doesn't just magically happen because it's the internet.

6. Be authentic - How many people roll their eyes when they get the response from a company saying something along the lines of, "Thank you for your patience, we're working as hard as we can to provide you with the best services available" BARF!!!!!  You know it and so does everyone else.  You need to change this, authenticity will take you way farther than any type of canned response.

Breaking into a new industry can be tough, just ask Apple and their maps fiasco, but they listened to their customers and responded publicly telling their users to use other services for the time being and that takes GUTS.  I tip my hat to them for not just giving the canned responses when their users were upset.




When companies or people ignore their customers/followers you have to wonder if it's shear arrogance or stupidity, either way it does not help their cause it only kills it.  Where are you with your brand? Are you on track with stable growth and excellent user engagement or giving the cold shoulder in arrogance or stupidity?

Plotting out YOUR trip can make the difference in reaching your destination or remaining lost and bitter about the situation.


ANY comments, followers or shares are ALWAYS welcomed.

Having a plan will help you recognize what's right in front of your face.






2 comments:

  1. Personally I have found that number four is the foundation for building successful long lasting relationships. I would also add that it is equally important to know when to shut your mouth and stop talking. We can sometimes get wrapped up in what we want to share with out clients that we can miss the cue to stop talking.
    4. Focus on a specific area - The first area that should always be mastered first is LISTENING, CAUSE IT'S ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT ASPECTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA. Once you've got that covered branch into specific areas like engagement or content.

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    Replies
    1. For sure. There are lots of people that get caught up in the moment, don't know when to stop and then wonder where they went wrong.

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