Relevant Chews

Casual Thought Friday… in a social media world, it is not enough just to be something—your web presence should be something to do.

If Facebook and Twitter have taught me anything, its that people are looking for something to do online. People want to shop, share and socialize. And they need a reason to come back every week… or every day.

Amazon is great if you are researching products offline and then buying them online, but who goes to Amazon or eBay just because they are bored? These sites lack in ‘the draw’ what was so cool about shopping malls in the 80s—sometimes browsing, just being seen and interacting with others is the reason for being there.

The next big thing will be an online public market that is a relevant shopping destination and a compelling user experience.

Be on the lookout for PublicMarketspace.com They have some ideas on how to create something to do.

Aloha.

Myspace, Facebook and Twitter… oh my!

Is anyone else tired of talking about this Marketing Land of Oz? Social Media is communication phenomenon, but it’s not the yellow brick road to success and clicking three times will not get you home.

Why? Because if you need a social media strategy to be authentic, maybe you have a brand disorder?

The lofty new authors of “Social Media or Die” are not talking to the real people that are on these channels. If they stopped to have this conversation, they would discover a growing discontent for advertising on Facebook. The low entry cost and viral potential makes it attractive to marketers, but consider what your profile would look like if every brand in the world was marketing on social media… a big, noisy NASCAR page.

How marketing showed up and ruined the social media party…

Of course there are case studies and success stories out there, but the percentage of replicable success is low. The bell curve (something we all learned in grade school) remains true, and the early adopters that failed quickly and refined their strategy are winning. Unfortunately, a big wave of newbies is coming. This will over-saturate the medium and leave a mess in the wake.

What if the best social media channel for marketing is yet to come?

I’m not discouraging social media marketing, but a simpler theory is you don’t need a strategy to be on social media—just be real, build a healthy presence, and have a relevant and compelling word of mouth message. Your fans will do the rest.

If you’re out there already, then keep playing.  Trying to catch up on strategy is about as effective as worrying about the next thing. What will you do then?

I am not a consumer.  I am a husband, father and a hard working guy – but I could be your next loyal customer.

Do you know what I have in common with your other customers regardless of my race or demographic?

Behavior is making a comeback in the relevance of marketing.  In our online (social) media diluted society, understanding my behavioral “why” will be an opportunity for your marketable “what” to meet my changing needs and the demands of this new economy.

There are 3 online behaviors that could lead me to you.

1) Direct – keying in the direct path to your site

2) Research and Shopping – hopefully finding your site through Google

3) Social – discovering your site through my “friends”

Promotions can drive traffic, and a good SEO/SEM strategy is important.  But understanding how to reach me when I’m just hanging out is more valuable than why I’m on Facebook or how often I Twitter?

This isn’t the year to execute the same marketing strategy with less money.  You have to try something different to get different results.  Better results.

Mission Possible:  Build a diverse online presence based on why I am online.  Talk to me.  Keep it relevant to what motivates me, and then encourage me to go one step further with you.