I'm not a twitter naysayer. I just don't have a couple of hours each day to follow or write on one. And it seems like I'm not the only one.
Neilsen, the folks who track TV viewing and radio listening among other measurables, just announced that 60 percent of the people who joined twitter quit after just one month. Think about it. Twitter has bragged that it has tens of millions of people jump on board every month. And 60 percent of tens of millions quit after one month. Whoa! That's a serious retention problem.
Does that mean twitter is dying. No. It's new. There will be fall out as people figure out what to do with it and what it's best for. That may take a while. And currently, there's no successful ad model for it, although us marketing folks are working on that.
Is twitter a fad? Well...remember MySpace, AOL, Prodigy? One of those is gone, the other two somewhat forgotten. The use and model for twitter will change. There will be more fallout and change, and it will eventually find it's place among Linkedin and Facebook as a new business tool.
So if you feel you need to twitter, by all means do so. Until then...I'll keep bloggin'...
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Power to keyboards everywhere...
Online communities have been around almost since the inception of the Internet [also known as user groups]. Today, these keyboard communities can help you build your brand...if you let them.
Starting an online community isn't difficult. In fact, if you have a great product or service [Apple comes to mind], communities will take on a life of their own.
If you want to start your own community, keep these rules in mind:
1. Produce a product or service that's community worthy. If it's great, people will talk about it.
2. See what's already out there. If you find communities already built around your product or service, harness their powers.
3.Give 'em something to talk about. Does your product or service have different features and benefits? Is it innovative. Do people love it or hate it? If it was perfect, you'd never get the feedback you need to make it better.
4. Keep it open. Let people exchange thoughts, ideas, and yes, criticisms. The minute you put the kabosh on the negative, your community will fall apart. Keeping things open and honest will endear you to your audience and keep your brand growing.
5. If you build it, will they come? Yes, if you get the word out there. Use blogs, twitter, the company website, and traditional marketing avenues. An online community should be an integral part of your sales and marketing efforts.
Starting an online community isn't difficult. In fact, if you have a great product or service [Apple comes to mind], communities will take on a life of their own.
If you want to start your own community, keep these rules in mind:
1. Produce a product or service that's community worthy. If it's great, people will talk about it.
2. See what's already out there. If you find communities already built around your product or service, harness their powers.
3.Give 'em something to talk about. Does your product or service have different features and benefits? Is it innovative. Do people love it or hate it? If it was perfect, you'd never get the feedback you need to make it better.
4. Keep it open. Let people exchange thoughts, ideas, and yes, criticisms. The minute you put the kabosh on the negative, your community will fall apart. Keeping things open and honest will endear you to your audience and keep your brand growing.
5. If you build it, will they come? Yes, if you get the word out there. Use blogs, twitter, the company website, and traditional marketing avenues. An online community should be an integral part of your sales and marketing efforts.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Think before you Twitter...
Just like all other social media you use for business, be careful what you say and whom you say it to. This article sums up why being the most popular on the web is not always a good thing:
http://adage.com/mediaworks/article?article_id=136049
http://adage.com/mediaworks/article?article_id=136049
Thursday, April 16, 2009
A-B-T
Always be twittering. At least that's the idea behind this newish social media tool. It's 140 characters and you can't just post and walk away. You need to stay in the conversation. If you get too involved it can be a real time suck.
So what good is it? Find a twitter group that relates to your business. At the appropriate time during your twittering session, drop your web, blog, facebook, linked-in address.
Remember to spend enough time to make your point and get out. You've got better things to do with your time, like taking care of your business.
Or you can do what this guy did:
http://i.gizmodo.com/5211135/man-builds-chair-that-tweets-his-farts-single+handedly-justifies-twitters-existence
So what good is it? Find a twitter group that relates to your business. At the appropriate time during your twittering session, drop your web, blog, facebook, linked-in address.
Remember to spend enough time to make your point and get out. You've got better things to do with your time, like taking care of your business.
Or you can do what this guy did:
http://i.gizmodo.com/5211135/man-builds-chair-that-tweets-his-farts-single+handedly-justifies-twitters-existence
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Pessimism Porn
Are you getting off on getting down? Do you constantly look for the tarnished side of the silver lining? If so, like me, you've become one of thousands who are hooked on pessimism porn. Bad news about the economy, global relations and medical stories suck you right into a pattern of masochistic mental masturbation.
Of course, bad news is hard to avoid these days with every magazine, newspaper, news service and blog screaming that the sky, economy, democracy, etc., are falling.
Break the pattern by reading some good news each day, or just avoid reading the news altogether for 24 or more hours.
Things may be bad, but are they as bad as we make them seem?
As the song goes: "The sun'll come up tomorrow..."
Of course, bad news is hard to avoid these days with every magazine, newspaper, news service and blog screaming that the sky, economy, democracy, etc., are falling.
Break the pattern by reading some good news each day, or just avoid reading the news altogether for 24 or more hours.
Things may be bad, but are they as bad as we make them seem?
As the song goes: "The sun'll come up tomorrow..."
Monday, April 13, 2009
Passion of the Twitter
Enough already! I'm not a religious person, but is nothing sacred? Will folks be going to virtual communion to avoid the long lines? Will the Rapture have a facebook page with cap of only 144,000 friends? If I had to do confession as a twitter, I'd be at my keyboard for a month.
NYC church tweeting the Passion of Christ
NEW YORK (AP) — Experience the Passion of Christ — in 140-character bursts.
In a marriage of Christian tradition and digital technology, Wall Street's Trinity Church is using the micro-blogging service Twitter to perform the story of Jesus Christ.
The main characters will tweet the Passion play for three hours beginning at noon on Good Friday. The feed also can be delivered to mobile devices or e-mail addresses.
The lower Manhattan Episcopal parish also is offering a Web version of the Stations of the Cross.
The church was founded by a small group of Anglicans in 1697.
NYC church tweeting the Passion of Christ
NEW YORK (AP) — Experience the Passion of Christ — in 140-character bursts.
In a marriage of Christian tradition and digital technology, Wall Street's Trinity Church is using the micro-blogging service Twitter to perform the story of Jesus Christ.
The main characters will tweet the Passion play for three hours beginning at noon on Good Friday. The feed also can be delivered to mobile devices or e-mail addresses.
The lower Manhattan Episcopal parish also is offering a Web version of the Stations of the Cross.
The church was founded by a small group of Anglicans in 1697.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Monday, April 6, 2009
What's good for the goose...
Those of us in Detroit aren't really pleased about the government control over the car companies. But something had to be done because the ruling class dinosaurs weren't moving fast enough to keep up with green innovations and new demand.
Unfortunately, we've also noticed the double standard with the banking bad boys. Greedy, virtually criminal decisions, hundreds of billions [if not trillions] lost, an entire global economy in the tank, and yet they've been given an almost hands-off carte blanche to receive billions upon billions of dollars that are disappearing into a bottomless rat hole. No one banking exec responsible for this mess has been arrested and few have lost their jobs.
Compare that to the auto industry. The Big 3 are being made to justify every penny going in and out and GM CEO Waggoner has been fired, with more heads to roll. They have to work against this, even though, with the right product mix and technology, most of the 3 can make vehicle that actually could make a profit.
So where's the accountability in the financial industry? When are heads going to roll at Bank of America, AIG, Citigroup and other places? I do understand that a congressional investigative committee overseeing TARP is going to make some sweeping recommendations. But we'll see...
Who's really running this country anyway?
Unfortunately, we've also noticed the double standard with the banking bad boys. Greedy, virtually criminal decisions, hundreds of billions [if not trillions] lost, an entire global economy in the tank, and yet they've been given an almost hands-off carte blanche to receive billions upon billions of dollars that are disappearing into a bottomless rat hole. No one banking exec responsible for this mess has been arrested and few have lost their jobs.
Compare that to the auto industry. The Big 3 are being made to justify every penny going in and out and GM CEO Waggoner has been fired, with more heads to roll. They have to work against this, even though, with the right product mix and technology, most of the 3 can make vehicle that actually could make a profit.
So where's the accountability in the financial industry? When are heads going to roll at Bank of America, AIG, Citigroup and other places? I do understand that a congressional investigative committee overseeing TARP is going to make some sweeping recommendations. But we'll see...
Who's really running this country anyway?
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Is your brand roadkill?
Does your brand just lay there by the side of the Web as your audience cruises right by? Well, thanks to the social networking, your audience can become active participants in your brand. Facebook, Myspace blogs, twitter and YouTube allow your them to interact with your brand bringing back to life and getting it back on the road.
Just like any new direction in marketing, there two-sides to this issue. There are traditionalists who insist that a brand should stay pure and on course. Don't let the audience in, controlling every aspect. The flip side to this discussion: Let your audience participate in your branding through comments, criticisms, critiques, video, blogs, forums, etc.
I tend to straddle both arguments. It's important that a company maintain control over a brand, controlling its essence, always defining it. But through participation in the social web, you can use your audience to refine your brand. Allowing comment or criticism, even a YouTube video done in fun, may help improve your product or service and help your audience feel closer, letting them become brand participants. This will also allow your brand to evolve as well as help keep it ahead of the competition. Yet there will always be fanatics and extremists. That's where you need to exercise some editorial control. Although many brand fanatics may take matters into their own keyboarding fingers and keep bad elements at bay.
Sure, you take a chance letting brand participants control your brand, but you also will build a loyal following as a company that is open and honest about its products and services.
If you haven't already, give your brand a needed kick in the ass and get it moving down the road.
Just like any new direction in marketing, there two-sides to this issue. There are traditionalists who insist that a brand should stay pure and on course. Don't let the audience in, controlling every aspect. The flip side to this discussion: Let your audience participate in your branding through comments, criticisms, critiques, video, blogs, forums, etc.
I tend to straddle both arguments. It's important that a company maintain control over a brand, controlling its essence, always defining it. But through participation in the social web, you can use your audience to refine your brand. Allowing comment or criticism, even a YouTube video done in fun, may help improve your product or service and help your audience feel closer, letting them become brand participants. This will also allow your brand to evolve as well as help keep it ahead of the competition. Yet there will always be fanatics and extremists. That's where you need to exercise some editorial control. Although many brand fanatics may take matters into their own keyboarding fingers and keep bad elements at bay.
Sure, you take a chance letting brand participants control your brand, but you also will build a loyal following as a company that is open and honest about its products and services.
If you haven't already, give your brand a needed kick in the ass and get it moving down the road.
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