Not too long ago, Chris Brogan shared some fascinating insights on the nature of social media relative to branding. More specifically, he seems to make the case that the use of social media (SM) may yield different results for folks than what they intend.
The big idea is that most people treat these vehicles or tools as means for direct marketing to the masses (think soft-spam). I know I’ve made that mistake before. But, his analogy that social media connection is more akin to café-shaped conversations really struck a chord for me.
The implications of that idea are subtle and significant.
If that’s true, then when we’re communicating, we might need a little more nuance… and a bit more care… at least if we want to expand and deepen the scope and depth of our relationships.
But, if our main goal is to sell rather than solve (a far more valuable asset than a quick sale), all our blog posts and twitters and forum threads may ultimately be for not. It may actually result in erosion.
If you’re thinking, “What?! I thought social media was supposed to make my branding and marketing easier! Are you saying we shouldn’t leverage these tools to propel our brands??”, then I say you’re asking a good question.
The answer is we must use these tools. But, how we use them is what makes all the difference.
It turns out that branding and marketing is harder than it looks. Of course, we get this pretty quick when we liken it to buying a new camera. We know owning the tools will not get us great results on their own. We need to use the tools… and use them well. For some reason, at least for me, it’s easy to forget this idea when it comes to social media.
So, I’ve got some homework for us:
1) Go take a look at your online messaging over the last month. Assess it. Are you enrolling people in the idea of you? Are the messages for you or for your audience?
2) Try something new for the next 7 days… come up with one message a day through whatever vehicle you like (blog, twitter, video, fb, whatever) and commit to a week of messaging only for those who are listening… like a good conversation at a coffee shop. You get extra credit if you cross-pollinate your social media.
3) See if you notice a difference.
Bonus: Feeling alone in all this? Check out today’s episode of AskDane to get some help!
For a LIVE version of AskDane, join in for Fast Track Coaching by CLICKING HERE!
To get Coaching for FREE today only, CLICK HERE for the password!
Can’t wait to connect with you guys!
- Dane
