Over at Marketing Roadmaps blog, there’s an interesting post that addresses something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately.
All the new marketing and PR tools like web 2.0, social media, Second Life, blogs, vlogs, etc. are great.
Love em.
Read em.
Use em.
But, without a strong, compelling message, they just contribute to the noise like traditional marketing and media. the true value of viral marketing is in the message. It comes in when Seth talks about turning the funnel. It’s when people NEED to tell people because they can’t help not telling them.
As time goes on, I realize more and more how important a strong message is. I realize how important asking “why” and “how” is. I realize that if we are doing something, we need to determine why, and how we can go further.
Have great customer service? Excellent, but that’s just the price of admission. How can you have unbelievable customer service? What about it makes people tell their friends? That’s the germ that will start the virus.
If the message isn’t compelling, the virus won’t spread and your/our businesses will just be quarantined.
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Something that didn’t dawn on me initially, but has since found its way into the mush I call a brain about the Apple / Podcast situation is this:
Does Apple even have a podcast?
Now, I don’t have an iPod…I have an iRiver. Why? Well, FM radio, recording ability, etc that iPods just don’t have. So, I’m not in iTunes, etc but I did search the Apple website for a podcast. Nothing.
So, if someone knows about a podcast they do, I apologize, but I can’t find one.
That said, they are looking to control the name of something that they don’t even feel has enough relevance/importance to participate in themselves! Why wouldn’t they go the other way and try to somehow incorporate their name/logo into a standardized “podcast” logo that anyone/everyone with a podcast can use?
This is “old time” business practices gone bad. The heavy-handed, do what I want or I’ll sue type stuff. Bad form.
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Also read…Blog title.
I love the “revolt” among the Cluetrain types, and many other marketers truthfully, that approaches marketing from a personal perspective. It is an approach that says, “Tell me what you have to say…and say it like a person.” Great. Bravo.
Customarily, the most wordy, bloated, fluffy element of a corporate culture has been the mission statement. It seems that for most of them that you read, the thought was, “Well, there’s all these words out there, let’s see how many of them we can use without really saying anything.”
I don’t know where the thought came from that says you have to seem superior to anyone who reads a mission statement. And, as an extension of that, what makes you superior because you can use four-syllable words to make a vague statement?
We need to truly foster the revolution in business to make businesses seem like people.
Blogs do that.
Podcasts do that.
Second Life can help do that.
Fluffy mission statements do not. They do nothing but prop up the “top dog” and make them feel important.
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Today Steve Rubel points us to an item on the Wired site about Apple issuing a “cease and desist” letter to Podcast Ready saying they cannot use “Podcast Ready” or “mypodder” terms because it infringes on their copyright.
Anything and everything with “pod” right Steve?
I guess that the peas of the world should look out. Those damn little green vegetables. I’m sure they especially stick in Jobs’ craw because of the whole fruits vs. vegetables thing.
Come on Apple.
It amazes me how people will fall at the feet of the so-called “Apple gods” even when they pull stuff like this.
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I don’t have TiVo. I have a DVR through Dish Network, but not TiVo.
The other day I was thinking about social media, communities and other “Cluetrain” stuff and the thought about these services dawned on me…why isn’t TiVo or other subscription DVR services (assuming they aren’t) allowing people to “send” their recordings to their friends?
Now, I don’t know the technology end of it, but wouldn’t it be great if I recorded something, say the Green Bay Packers winning a game, and you missed it. Now, you may have wanted to see that because it’ll be a rare event this year. We both have TiVo, so I could “send” the recording to you, it’d load in your unit and you could watch it at your house, on your time.
I would think that networks would be helping with this because it would greatly enable evangelists for their newest shows.
Just a thought.
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I understand the importance of blogs.
I understand the necessity of blogs for information dissemination.
I get that.
I think one of the biggest “difficulties” of adoption for blogging is topic. Some industries certainly lend themselves to blogging.
Tech.
Politics.
Marketing.
They all work well and are rarely, if ever, at a shortage for topics or information. I think one of the barriers to adoption for many corporate types is often topic. “No one is interested in that.” “It’s not interesting enough for someone to read about.” and on and on.
For example. I work in insurance and I am trying to implement some of the new social media tools. But I’m struggling to find a “hook” or an interesting angle to engage people in a topic that they rarely want to think about.
I think that is one of the most difficult things about starting and spreading a blog. It’s important to be relevant and interesting…which is definitely a challenge for some industries.
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So, last night the phone rings.
I look at the caller id. The number is from another state…don’t recognize it. I figure I’ll answer it because they’ve called before and I ignored it.
“Hello?”
Recorded, female, “the time is…” voice says, “This is not a sales call. Please hold for the next available operator.”
Cue cheesy hold music.
I figure I’ll wait to see what in the world this is about. Then it hangs up.
Wow.
Now, not only do they dump you right on hold when you call them, but when they call you!
I’ll bet whatever company that was (never did find out) has “quality customer service” listed on their website.
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How important is a message?
How important is the offering that your message is about?
It’s been done over and over, and yet so many companies simply think that marketing is just “saying” things about your product. For so many companies the “status-quo” is just fine. They don’t see innovation or making a kick-ass product as anything more than an expense.
“We’ve been doing it this way for so long, and it’s worked so far.”
Everyone knows that competing on price is stupid. Worse than stupid.
Someone can always (and will always) come along and undercut you on price. But, knowing this and doing something about it are two very different things. Sure, you can say you won’t compete on price, but if your higher-priced offering is not “stand-out” different from the competition, people will buy on price. Always.
If you’re truly going to compete, it has to stand out. Too many companies SAY they’re innovative, great at service, superior, blah, blah, blah. Don’t tell me…show me.
If your competitive advantage is service…make it an advantage. Don’t just have friendly people that understand the business. That’s the cost of entry. Make it a truly amazing experience to deal with your company that everyone HAS to tell someone about.
That’s an advantage.
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Lately, for selfish reasons, I’ve been thinking a lot about the current barriers to adoption of social media like podcasts, Second Life, etc.
In reading Life After the 30-Second Spot by Joe Jaffe (great read by the way) he cites the availability of broadband Internet as one of the key elements leading to the demise of the 30-Second spot. While I agree, I struggle with this because the fact remains that there are many people without broadband access. Sure, many people may have access at work, but many of the new, exciting tools can’t really be used at work easily. (Heck, I can’t even access flickr at work!)
The reason this hits so close to home is that we moved 4-5 months ago and we CAN’T get any high-speed, cable or broadband. That’s right kids, we’re stuck in the dark ages of…dial-up!
So, as much as I LONG to get in Second Life and listen to podcasts every day, I can’t since I changed jobs and am not able to access these at the office.
I think the “next big thing” is finding a way to remove these barriers to adoption. Because, as up on blogs, podcasts, etc as we all are, I am surprised at the number of people that have either never heard of them or have never participated.
As an aside…anyone with solutions to a lack of high-speed capability please speak up!
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You had to know the majority of blog posts today would focus on the date and the significance thereof.
It’s hard to think back to that day and realize the gravity of what really happened.
It’s days like today that make me wonder how people can lose their resolve about the military and the efforts we are taking to ensure our freedom.
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