I get called “Big D” sometimes and I like to flatter myself that it is because I like to think big, however, I can’t pretend that my 270 pound, “more of me to love” frame might not have a little to do with that nickname. So big guy, what’s your point? Well as an XXL type I’ve learned to distrust the one-size-fits-all approach in clothing and frankly, just about everything else.
I think there is one-size-fits-all epidemic in social media marketing. There are too many experts and enthusiasts pitching solutions without regard to your business needs. I’ve got nothing against e-books, teleseminars, and online courses, but I get nervous when someone is advising that you do what they do and then point to things like numbers of Twitter followers or extensive lists of “friends” as proof of their effectiveness. Truth is they might very well be effective at what THEY do, but unless you do what they do it may be a moot point. Worse it can sometimes be harmful to approach your market with tactics that are out of alignment with you brand, products and services.
The point is different businesses work different ways, and the marketing that makes a success of one might make a flop of another. Here in Atlanta it can get hot – it’s in the 60s in December today, and in July… forget about it! When it’s hot a big guy like me likes to have a little lemonade to cool off. Atlanta is a great town for a lemonade stand. Pick a busy corner, put up your stand, set your price and keep your inventory in step with demand. The marketing approach is simple, easy to break down into component steps and therefore a very reproducible model. You could extend it to fruit punch or sweet iced tea, however it is a lousy platform for selling enterprise software. It’s hard to pitch 3 months of integration while sweating in the open air. It flops for selling shoes – not enough shelves, too hard to relocate with changes in traffic patterns. You get the idea.
If you’re enticed to jump in on the program of a social media marketer ask yourself if the one-size-fits-all formula they are promoting applies well to the services you provide. Are you in a similar price range? Are you prepared to apply all of their tactics? Are your purchase decisions made on an equivalent timetable? Are the ongoing relationships with your customers and prospects the same type of relationships that they are cultivating? Are their multi-level approvals/buy-in required to get the win? Or can you just mix up a cold batch of product and sell it by the glass?
If the answers to these questions don’t line up well with the formula being offered, then you may be buying into magic beans – strained trust, wasted time and brand damage, not a recipe for effective marketing.
Last Post 2009: The Beacon Principles
Well I thought I would slide one last post under the door before saying goodbye to 2009. It’s been a hectic year, but in some ways a great one for solidifying thoughts, testing theories, falling flat on my face, dusting off and most importantly meeting some amazing people. People, in my view, are beacons. They may not always be switched on, but when they are they can do amazing things. They guide, they warn, they show the way. Sometimes they’re in lonely places, but that’s part of the price when your job is to shine.
Look at another beacon, a lighthouse: It stands out from the shoreline, jutting up from the rocks, clearly different from the surrounding landscape. It’s context gives it meaning – put the same building in a city skyline and it becomes lost and unable to function. Move it to the middle of a field and it loses purpose. And what is that brilliant beam that emanates from the beacon? It is focused energy – energy with purpose, a purpose clearly understood by all, but for some an absolute necessity.
Understand the beacon principles and you understand the essential questions you need to ask yourself to build your brand:
1) How are you different? Difference is the soul of branding. Where you’re different your competitor can’t touch you. Different is what makes you memorable and can even make you indispensable!
2) What’s your context? Context is what gives meaning to your difference. Context is understanding that your difference might be irrelevant to some, but essential to others. Identify the core market, the defining context that makes you essential!
3) What’s your focus? Focus has two faces: where you put your energy and where you put your audience’s attention. Emphasize your strengths and be conscious of the expectations you set – they are the criteria by which your brand will be judged. Do what you’re good at and get help with the rest. Start a fire by hyper-focusing your energy – once you have ignition you can spread the flame, but you’ll never catch fire if you don’t begin with focus.
As you tuck 2009 to bed and begin to the live the excitement and promise of a new year, I hope you will ask yourself the beacon questions: How am I different? What’s my context? What’s my focus? I hope you will be a guide.
I know you will shine.
Happy 2010 everybody!