Marketing is focused on getting people to notice brands and behaving in a favorable direction. So, how can this be accomplished?
Research psychology has defined a framework called ABA (applied behavioral analysis). It is simple and effective. Any situation can be viewed and modified using this framework to generate real and measurable results.
The first step is to identify the behavior that you want. Then look at the real life context of this behavior as it is happening at the moment. Consider these three sequential components
The Antecedent
Think of this as a signal for the behavior to occur. Examples of antecedents on the web include basic links, display ads, headline titles and Twitter/Facebook posts.
The Behavior
After the antecedent, of course, comes the actual behavior. Desired online behaviors include clicking on links, making purchases, sharing content, commenting etc.
The Consequence
Behaviors need to be reinforced. This is the most important part of ABA. It can make or break what you are trying to accomplish. Consequences need to be rewarding in ways that matter to the individual. Also they need to be provided on a regular basis. This is the only way to get desired behaviors to occur with greater frequency.
Examples of consequences: the acquisition of helpful or valuable knowledge, feeling recognized, the discovery of an ideal product, service or connection.
Using ABA
These concepts are deceptively simplistic. But don't be fooled. Understanding these concepts on a mental level is completely different from applying them in real life strategies. Every encounter that customers have with your brand should be positively rewarding and meaningful in ways that are important to them. Every one of these instances cultivates an ongoing a mental and emotional association with your company.
This is why regular content and conversations through social media matter are important. They provide more opportunities for audience members to interact with your brand. But it is up to you to determine what elements are reinforcing for the people you are targeting and to provide this on a consistent basis.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Oliver Peoples Online
Oliver Peoples is one of those brands that I've always been familiar with, but never paid much attention to. This changed when I came across their online presence.
I follow them on Twitter and came across a link to one of their videos explaining how to select the right frames for different face shapes.
I think it is important to note this video. It provides viewers with a personable, interactive experience, while showcasing the product. This is quite different from a more direct sales driven approach of just displaying the items along with their prices. It's inviting, not pushy.
Another video features Elijah Wood and Shirley Manson in an artsy vignette which highlights Oliver People's eye wear in ways that are subtle and charming.
In addition to their videos, Oliver Peoples has a lifestyle blog which engages the viewer much like a glossy magazine.
Blogs and videos are very simple solutions available to everyone. One of the take away lessons we can learn from Oliver Peoples is that the difference is in how well they are executed. The end result should make people want to stick around.
I follow them on Twitter and came across a link to one of their videos explaining how to select the right frames for different face shapes.
I think it is important to note this video. It provides viewers with a personable, interactive experience, while showcasing the product. This is quite different from a more direct sales driven approach of just displaying the items along with their prices. It's inviting, not pushy.
Another video features Elijah Wood and Shirley Manson in an artsy vignette which highlights Oliver People's eye wear in ways that are subtle and charming.
In addition to their videos, Oliver Peoples has a lifestyle blog which engages the viewer much like a glossy magazine.
Blogs and videos are very simple solutions available to everyone. One of the take away lessons we can learn from Oliver Peoples is that the difference is in how well they are executed. The end result should make people want to stick around.
Friday, June 18, 2010
Tool verus Solutions- An Illustration
One of my previous posts discussed the difference between tools and solutions. Again, there are the tools themselves. And there is the result of using these tools. I thought it would now be fun to illustrate this distinction. Understanding concepts is a completely different experience from seeing actual examples.
Pencils
Pencils are cheap. They are readily available. Most of us think of them as a tool for writing. But they can also be used for drawing too.
Anyone can create this.
But what about something like this?
(image courtesy of jamesjean.com)
The Piano
Of course, the piano is considered an instrument, not a tool. But nonetheless, it is something that requires skill.
Beginners start off learning simple tunes like Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. With practice and a sincere passion for music, it may be possible to sound more like this.
Social Media
There are countless examples beyond the ones I gave above. But I didn't want to let this post get too long. The lesson is this.There's more to the advanced levels than just technical prowess. It takes imagination and inspiration to come up with results that make us go, "wow!"
Back in February, I wrote about a company called Threadless as an example of a social media campaign to learn from. They harness the power of collaboration with their customers to create products that sell.
And if you follow my tweets, you will also learn about other successful campaigns. Cultivating the intangible in an extraordinary way is how you get the most out of tools and instruments. It's an inner game.
With this said, I'd like to leave you with a quote by Spike Humor, a speaker, author and consultant.
Pencils
Pencils are cheap. They are readily available. Most of us think of them as a tool for writing. But they can also be used for drawing too.
But what about something like this?
(image courtesy of jamesjean.com)
The Piano
Of course, the piano is considered an instrument, not a tool. But nonetheless, it is something that requires skill.
Beginners start off learning simple tunes like Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. With practice and a sincere passion for music, it may be possible to sound more like this.
Social Media
There are countless examples beyond the ones I gave above. But I didn't want to let this post get too long. The lesson is this.There's more to the advanced levels than just technical prowess. It takes imagination and inspiration to come up with results that make us go, "wow!"
Back in February, I wrote about a company called Threadless as an example of a social media campaign to learn from. They harness the power of collaboration with their customers to create products that sell.
And if you follow my tweets, you will also learn about other successful campaigns. Cultivating the intangible in an extraordinary way is how you get the most out of tools and instruments. It's an inner game.
With this said, I'd like to leave you with a quote by Spike Humor, a speaker, author and consultant.
"Great things come to great people who create great value."
Monday, June 7, 2010
Upgrade Your Social Strategies By Understanding Network Theory
You might already be familiar with the book by Albert-Laszlo Barabasi, Linked: How Everything is Connected to Everything Else (2003). He explains that the fundamental principles behind network growth and maintenance are universal. These principles are at work, not only in social media, but also in technology and the natural world as well.
Understanding these principles will help you make effective decisions for your social media strategies.
The basics of network theory are quite simple.
Components
Networks are made of nodes. Nodes can be thought of as people. In social media, they would include our Twitter followers, Facebook fans etc. When nodes connect, they form clusters or hubs. The entire network is held together by the connections (i.e.interactions) between the nodes.
A collection of non-interacting nodes does not constitute a network.
Strong Networks versus Weak Networks
Strong and weak networks are defined by the number and strength of their connections. Strong networks have lots of strong connections among members. Weak networks can have lots of weak connections.
Weak networks, made of casual connections with many individuals, yields more value to members because more information can be shared. (i.e. the strength of weak ties, Granovetter 1973). In other words, it's more advantageous to be connected to lots of people who aren't necessarily your closest, dearest friends.
Check out these links if you'd like to explore more details:
The Value of Influencers
In network theory, certain people (nodes) are more influential than others. As influencers, they are connected to lots of other people. Familiar examples might include mom- bloggers, celebrities and high profile organizations. These types of individuals add immense value to networks. Not only do they have large audiences, but also their messages have a higher degree of impact on their followers.
What this all means
Building a network of people around your brand or idea is a way to build loyalty and trust. People are more likely to be receptive and share your messaging.
Forming a network is not solely about collecting numbers of followers, fans and friends. As we learned from network theory, connectivity is what drives value.
Network building is more dimensional in nature as opposed to the linear strategy of aggregating quantity x to yield outcome y. It's like building a house ( a three dimensional form), where you are proactively constructing a desired environment. A home is one example of an environment. But it can also be thought of as a set of conditions that fosters particular outcomes. In social media, having the right set of conditions will enable positive outcomes such as word of mouth dynamics and conversions.
Simplicity and Strategy
Network theory is deceptively simple. The fundamental ideas are easy to grasp. The real challenge lies in the actual creation of thriving networks, which is contingent on interaction. Strategic actions might include:
Numbers and marketing are always going to be inseparable. I'm not saying that you should spend your entire work day aimlessly socializing online. However, there needs to be a balance between quantitative goals and qualitative strategies that contribute to overall brand growth.
Understanding these principles will help you make effective decisions for your social media strategies.
The basics of network theory are quite simple.
Components
Networks are made of nodes. Nodes can be thought of as people. In social media, they would include our Twitter followers, Facebook fans etc. When nodes connect, they form clusters or hubs. The entire network is held together by the connections (i.e.interactions) between the nodes.
A collection of non-interacting nodes does not constitute a network.
Strong Networks versus Weak Networks
Strong and weak networks are defined by the number and strength of their connections. Strong networks have lots of strong connections among members. Weak networks can have lots of weak connections.
Weak networks, made of casual connections with many individuals, yields more value to members because more information can be shared. (i.e. the strength of weak ties, Granovetter 1973). In other words, it's more advantageous to be connected to lots of people who aren't necessarily your closest, dearest friends.
Check out these links if you'd like to explore more details:
The Value of Influencers
In network theory, certain people (nodes) are more influential than others. As influencers, they are connected to lots of other people. Familiar examples might include mom- bloggers, celebrities and high profile organizations. These types of individuals add immense value to networks. Not only do they have large audiences, but also their messages have a higher degree of impact on their followers.
What this all means
Building a network of people around your brand or idea is a way to build loyalty and trust. People are more likely to be receptive and share your messaging.
Forming a network is not solely about collecting numbers of followers, fans and friends. As we learned from network theory, connectivity is what drives value.
Network building is more dimensional in nature as opposed to the linear strategy of aggregating quantity x to yield outcome y. It's like building a house ( a three dimensional form), where you are proactively constructing a desired environment. A home is one example of an environment. But it can also be thought of as a set of conditions that fosters particular outcomes. In social media, having the right set of conditions will enable positive outcomes such as word of mouth dynamics and conversions.
Simplicity and Strategy
Network theory is deceptively simple. The fundamental ideas are easy to grasp. The real challenge lies in the actual creation of thriving networks, which is contingent on interaction. Strategic actions might include:
- reaching out to more influencers
- becoming an influencer
- combining offline and online tactics (e.g. events)
- enhancing the level of your offerings (giving people more to share and talk about)
Numbers and marketing are always going to be inseparable. I'm not saying that you should spend your entire work day aimlessly socializing online. However, there needs to be a balance between quantitative goals and qualitative strategies that contribute to overall brand growth.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
How to Come Up With Great Content Ideas
Great social media campaigns provide quality and engaging experiences for audiences on an ongoing basis. This is different from just shoving out (whatever) messages to as many people as possible.
Providing these ongoing and engaging experiences requires creativity. My last post was about social media being more of an inner game. Creativity is certainly a part of it.
Creativity can seem like a daunting, unattainable, fleeting quality to some. Others might feel strange or intimidated if they have never thought of themselves as being creative. I've seen people get pretty competitive and egotistical over it, as in, "who's the most creative of all?" Creativity is not a source of power that puts you ahead of everyone else. As kids all of us had easy access to it. It's the conditioned adult mind that covers it up.
For now, let's just focus on your campaign. If you are interested in coming up with fresh, ever evolving material practice these tips.
Brainstorming
Brainstorming is a great way to access ideas that normally don't occur during the course of your regular day. There is no right or wrong way to do it. This is why I am noting the points below in bullets as opposed to numbers.
I personally like to use blank sheets of plain paper. But if you'd like, you can use a journal instead.
- Clear your mind of any thoughts and feelings centered on obligations (e.g. I have to come up with the greatest ideas and insights in order to be successful at this, or I am just going to get this over with)
- Write your question or focus at the top. Don't pressure yourself to come up with great ideas. Simply jot down whatever comes to mind, no matter how unconventional or strange it may seem. Many times little epiphanies don't even have words attached to them. They occur as little blips of insights that you need to translate into words. These are often more valuable than actual statements that come to mind.
- Pay attention to how these ideas feel to you in your gut. Do they feel like something that has been rehashed from another source? Do you experience a strong sense of conviction about them? It's important to really be genuine and honest about how these ideas genuinely feel to you.
- Put away your paper or journal and let the ideas marinate in your subconscious. Revisit the ideas again the following day and again, see how these ideas and insights feel. You may come up with a flurry of other enhancements and new possibilities. It's really important to refrain from judging yourself or feeling fearful and constrained by other people's opinions (i.e. "what will they think).
- Practice jotting down ideas and revisiting them as many times as you can. The more you do this, the easier the process will become. It's really important to go back to what you have written down so that you can see it with fresh eyes and make any refinements and adjustments as needed.
- Enjoy the process. Try to put yourself in the exploratory frame of mind of being a kid as opposed to an adult trying to get to the next level. The more you can put yourself in this flow, the better the results will be.
Use the tips in the above to create new material for your campaign. As you'll notice, my second bullet was about clarifying and writing down your focus. For your social media objectives, ask yourself what your audience would genuinely be interested in hearing or knowing about. New media is a two way dialogue, as opposed to just pushing sales driven messages.
Go ahead and practice the brainstorming tips above. See what ideas come about.
Another angle you can take is to go through your saved bookmarks and links. Write down, or note what qualities you liked about these materials. Are they humorous? Unique? Daringly honest? Ask yourself how you can incorporate these qualities within your own content strategies.
Maybe even start a compilation of links and sites you don't like. Practice what you preach and use these insights in your own campaign.
Alternatively, you can also note all the links you chose to share with your friends or associates. What was it about this material that compelled you to do this? Does your existing content reflect these qualities?
Practice, Practice Practice!
If this all seems new to you, you might feel a great deal of resistance to these suggestions. The practice of brainstorming may frustrate the heck out of you. If this is the case, just put away whatever you've written. The important part happens each time you revisit your ideas and continue to refine them and align yourself with your gut instincts.
Commitment
Don't just keep these ideas in the back burner. Incorporate them into your work process. Turn them into tweets, blogs, videos, podcasts, or whatever outlet you feel is important. You might find it necessary to schedule out your ideas. And once they are out, brainstorm some more!
Monday, May 10, 2010
The Inner Game of Social Media
I think most of us know how fun it is to go online, post or share content and connect with others who share our interests.
If you really look at those who are successful at building actively engaged audiences, it's pretty evident that they truly enjoy what they do. Social media gives them a chance to share their perspective. They can show others who they are and what they do best.
The other day, I posted a tweet about how some of the most recognizable names that we hear on the internet are actually kids- like Justin Bieber and Tavi from Style Rookie.
Kandee Johnson is a popular make up artist on You Tube. She joined You Tube in January 2009. As of now, her videos have received 41,611,838 views. And she has 255,950 subscribers.
In the grown up world, we think of mom bloggers as examples of powerful influencers Marketers love to connect with them because they have a lot of engaged followers and they are able to invest time in quality posts.
On the business side, the question is always, how can we build a massive audience of loyal "users" and be able to monetize these efforts?
With the examples I gave above, I don't think these people really approached social media from the same angle as business professionals. I just can't see them fretting obsessively over their ROI and traffic stats on a daily or weekly basis.
What is common to all of them is that they are passionate about specific areas of interests and enjoy sharing what they do. And if you don't like the examples I gave, by all means, feel free to pick your own. Either way,you will notice the same dynamic as well. Top online influencers invest most of their time and energy on their interests, with the sincere desire to share this with others.
Harnessing the power of social media for business brands would not follow the same dynamic through stringent and overly organized efforts (I'd like to emphasize the word "overly." While being systematic and organized is a good thing, going to extremes can be stifling). The results are often artificial and contrived.
As much as people love to think that social media successes are the exclusive result of having the coolest, most sophisticated technology around, I will take the stand that social media is ultimately more of an inner game, where you need to harness the fun energy and balance it within a business framework.
Unless you are in a position of not having to worry about finances at all, you still have to create an organized system of action to channel your passions and interests in a given area. Being able to tap into the joy of wanting to share, create and communicate is something that is not easy for many people to accomplish at will. Oftentimes, the fears of not being able to meet certain goals and objectives becomes the driving force of many social media campaigns.
If you really look at those who are successful at building actively engaged audiences, it's pretty evident that they truly enjoy what they do. Social media gives them a chance to share their perspective. They can show others who they are and what they do best.
The other day, I posted a tweet about how some of the most recognizable names that we hear on the internet are actually kids- like Justin Bieber and Tavi from Style Rookie.
Kandee Johnson is a popular make up artist on You Tube. She joined You Tube in January 2009. As of now, her videos have received 41,611,838 views. And she has 255,950 subscribers.
In the grown up world, we think of mom bloggers as examples of powerful influencers Marketers love to connect with them because they have a lot of engaged followers and they are able to invest time in quality posts.
On the business side, the question is always, how can we build a massive audience of loyal "users" and be able to monetize these efforts?
With the examples I gave above, I don't think these people really approached social media from the same angle as business professionals. I just can't see them fretting obsessively over their ROI and traffic stats on a daily or weekly basis.
What is common to all of them is that they are passionate about specific areas of interests and enjoy sharing what they do. And if you don't like the examples I gave, by all means, feel free to pick your own. Either way,you will notice the same dynamic as well. Top online influencers invest most of their time and energy on their interests, with the sincere desire to share this with others.
Harnessing the power of social media for business brands would not follow the same dynamic through stringent and overly organized efforts (I'd like to emphasize the word "overly." While being systematic and organized is a good thing, going to extremes can be stifling). The results are often artificial and contrived.
As much as people love to think that social media successes are the exclusive result of having the coolest, most sophisticated technology around, I will take the stand that social media is ultimately more of an inner game, where you need to harness the fun energy and balance it within a business framework.
Unless you are in a position of not having to worry about finances at all, you still have to create an organized system of action to channel your passions and interests in a given area. Being able to tap into the joy of wanting to share, create and communicate is something that is not easy for many people to accomplish at will. Oftentimes, the fears of not being able to meet certain goals and objectives becomes the driving force of many social media campaigns.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Tools and Solutions Are Two Different Things
"Social media innovation will no longer be limited by technology. We will see a move to leverage existing assets, turning information to wisdom and insight to action."- ReadWriteWeb on trends for 2010.
Technology is cool. It has created numerous new possibilities for us. However, let's keep in mind that these innovations are just tools. Tools are good. But skill is even better.
In the area of social media, many professionals are enchanted by fancy technology. Before they even have an audience, they are wondering how they can track and measure conversations around their brand. Before they have a real bona fide community around their brand, they are looking at what implementations would really pimp their social network.
Losing sight of the big picture is not the best scenario. I've seen many instances where clients spend a fortune on the technological side of their marketing and have no budget left for a solid marketing campaign. A few months down the line, they are crying and upset that their plans are not going in the direction they intended.
Tools and solutions are two different things. Besides social media, I also love music and art. Being able to play or compose riveting music and art pieces requires passion, skill and talent. Anyone can buy a piano or violin. Anyone can buy a paintbrush and a paint set. But its skill and the desire to produce quality performance that drive these tools and instruments.
Going back to the world of social media, it's important to think about how technology can be used to help deliver quality messaging about quality offerings. If you really think about it, social media itself is really just a tool to help brands reach their audience. It cannot replace the need to evolve your offerings and create effective messaging. If you are not excited about your brand and how it's different from everyone else selling the same product or service, then no one else will be either.
A while ago, I wrote a post titled after the book, In Search of the Obvious. The list of quotes are a great place to start thinking beyond the scope of just having technology and actually turn insight into action.
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