Imagine a flock of Twitter geese flying in a big jumble rather that in a nice, neatly organized V, 0r a book (maybe one comprised of Faces, like a "Face" "Book") without chapters or page numbers. How do you find that one bird or that one page? You don't. If you're lucky, you come across it by sheer serendipity.
Despite the social nature of the 'net, and the ubiquity of applications that can push information directly to consumers, organizations are still choosing to give us information in a good old fashioned way; that is, they throw it all out there and hope that some of it sticks with just the right person.
In the real world, this is an expensive proposition. Billboards are everywhere in our cities and on our highways, and they hock wares and aim for 'brand visibility', but there's no way of telling who saw them or how those people were affected by them. On top of that, billboard exposure doesn't come cheap.
With television, marketers can choose specific programming blocks or channels to winnow down the market into a slightly more refined category of people, but that comes with an even greater cost.
Why can't organizations simply ask their consumers what they want to hear about, and then deliver just that? What if, on my drive through the city, every billboard spoke to my interests and the products that I want to hear about? Aside from making driving in the city a slightly more distracted endeavor than it is today, it's safe to say that 'brand visibility' would be more about 'brand relevance'.
In the online world, giving each customer exactly what they want probably seems like a very time and cost prohibitive idea, but it doesn't have to be. Some companies (like Dell) set up separate Twitter accounts for different purchasing or support interests. While it's not a perfect solution, it's a starting point on the road to the right idea.
Segmentation in social media means breaking up sales and information choices for an audience and letting them choose what they want to hear about from you. As a consumer, I feel like I have control over what I'm seeing (no more irrelevant newsletter emails, Twitter posts or postings on my Facebook newsfeed) and as a marketer, I know my message is being well-received, especially if I can track the eyes that read it and who acted on it.
This is 2010, after all. We have phones that can tell people where I'm standing, what I'm doing and what I'm buying at any given time. More than ever, our shopping habits and brand preferences are in the public sphere for anyone and everyone to see. As consumers, why are we still driving past billboards as we surf online when we can easily tell companies "Don't come knocking on my door until you have something relevant to say"?
In social media, we're telling a lot about ourselves; our interests, hobbies and shopping habits. Isn't it time that organizations started paying attention to that, got to know us a little bit and tailored their messages to us individually?
With new stats about social media being released daily (even hourly), one overarching theme keeps appearing, and it's nothing consumers, marketers and salespeople didn't already know. People love getting stuff for free and they love getting deals on the products they want and love. This has been true since Ook started a trading post in his Neanderthal cave back when "Ice Age" was the weather and not a franchise of kids movies.
Mashable recently commented on a series of studies put out by Exact Target about why consumers "like" or follow a brand, noting that "...39% of of Facebook users who 'like' a brand's Page do so to convey their brand affiliations to friends...". In the same slide of Exact Target's report (slide 3 of "Facebook X-Factors: Series #5"), that answer is only number two when asked the question "What has motivated you to 'like' a company, brand or association on Facebook".
The number one and three answers scored 40% and 36% and were, respectively "To receive discounts and promotions" and "To get a 'freebie' (e.g., free samples, coupons)". Getting information about the company and products all fall well after these big three, which is sadly how most companies use social media.
Additionally, in Twitter X-Factors: Series #4 (slide 10), Exact Target finds that Twitter users are drawn in by the same motivations. When asked what they want when interacting with brands on Twitter, consumers answered with "to receive insider information about upcoming products and services" and "to receive freebies, samples and discounts".
So, do you give away the farm in the hopes that customer who gets a freebie or deal will keep coming back for more? How can you track that customer to ensure that the investment you've made in them is bearing fruit, either from them or their community?
Consumers love to showcase their affiliation with the brands they love and admire. They wear the logo-adorned shirts, they showcase the stickers, they tell their friends and now, thanks to Twitter and Facebook, they showcase those same affiliations through follows, comments, likes and retweets. Tossing them a deal or a freebie now and then is just an impetus to getting that conversation started and encouraging the kind of word-of-mouth advertising that agencies salivate over.
So, knowing that people love deals is only half the battle. I mean, you've known that all along; even Ook knew it back when our foreheads were all reinforced with 6 inches of bone. The trick is getting the right deal into the right hands at the right time to make the most impact.
How is your organization pulling this off, or what organizations have you seen do this effectively?
The short answer is 'no' and the long answer is very long indeed. Reading through a recent article in Advertising Age entitled "Hot or Not: Email Marketing vs. Social-Media Marketing" Steve Rubel makes a great comparison to what is happening in email marketing with what everyone said would happen when YouTube and Twitter took off; namely that TV and blogging would die out.
Instead, we're seeing email marketers are starting to shift more into using social media spaces to spread their message and hit their targeted audiences.
That the same strategies used in mass email marketing don't work generally in social media is a no-brainer as mass messages just get lost in the social media clutter, which is why we devised Pulse to work with social media both in giving the user choice and control over the type of content they want and also delivering that content to their private inbox.
In that sense, big time Pulse is the next evolution in online content and marketing delivery; the adjustment from general media to social media. Users still get a private message, but they get to choose the network and the specific types of messages they want to get. Also, rather than getting them in an already overcrowded inbox, they arrive in the social medium where they spend their time, and as a private and direct message.
Pulses are all opt-in, so the user has chosen where that message arrives and has chosen (and can easily change) the types of message and related content that will come to them. They have more control than they ever had with email marekting.
Another added benefit is that users don't have to go looking through a message stream (like in Twitter) or through their NewsFeed (like in Facebook) to find messages that may or may not be pertinent to them. Those messages arrive where they can easily find them, and based on their chosen preferences, the messages are always on-topic and relevant.
Email marketing has evolved, it just has very little to do with email anymore.
Every day, I make a ritualistic trip from my mailbox to my blue bin (that’s where I like to sort through my ‘mail’ and pick out the, on average, one or two pieces of actual mail in the armful of paper), and every day I ask myself if bulk mail actually works.
Sometimes there’s a flyer for a pizza or Thai restaurant that includes a menu for delivery and takeout that goes on top of my fridge until the pile gets too deep and my wife tosses them all away, unread. We even have a weekly ritual of reading through the flyers from the big box stores that all show up at once in a clear plastic bag. I don’t actually need any of that stuff, but it’s nice to see what they have every once in a while, isn’t? And then, off to the blue bin.
The Trash folder; the internet’s guilt-free version of the blue bin
With all the advancements in web-based communications and social media, are online versions of those same flyers really the best we can do? I mean, I can go to an organization whose products I like (or at least some of them) and sign up for their email newsletter, fan page or online feed, but I’m just getting the same thing.
Think about how many email newsletters you’ve signed up to receive thinking (like I do with takeout menus) that you’ll actually read it any point. Then, when it comes in, you scan it quickly without seeing the actual product or service you care about mentioned and you delete it. You do that for a few weeks or months before you either unsubscribe or (as I lazily do from time to time) you mark it spam in your email just to keep it out of your already overcluttered inbox.
It’s the same story in social media. You become a fan of an organization in Facebook or follow them on Twitter because you want to hear about something. They either overclutter your feed with useless crap or you never hear from them and find yourself having to check back to see if you missed anything because it didn’t make the visible first page of your feed, which is already full of stuff you want to read about. You’re still looking for what you want. All the time.
Don’t tell me what my interests should be, respond to what they are
What if that big box store knew you were renovating your kitchen and wanted to information about design ideas, deals on kitchen stuff and free advice on how to get it all done? Isn’t that something the internet should be able to do by now? It would be far too cost-prohibitive to do that with old-school bulk mail, but with so many ways to reach people online, can’t I choose the information I want from an organization and how I want to get it?
As a consumer, this makes sense to me and it’s the kind of treatment I should expect from any organization that wants me to part with my hard-earned money. I don’t want to hire the roofer who put a flyer in my mailbox. I want a great roofer who gave me advice about my specific type of roof and offered me a deal. I certainly don’t want him to try and sell me a 1976 Camaro with some rust damage and a funky smell. Give me what I want, what I need and what I ask for, and maybe even give me a great deal on it.
Oh, and if you have a service that will sort my mail and clean off my fridge, let me know about that too.
Today is a very special day.
On this day man first walked on the moon in 1969, Scott Pilgrim #6 was released in 2010 and in 2001 big time design and communication inc. was born.
There were four guys at first. We didn't want to work for anyone else, and one of us needed to get into Canada on a work visa. That foreign person was me, Karim. I also had a pretty good web design contract to bring with me. All-in-all a pretty easy start. A name was decided upon (I still have a list of some really good names, if anyone needs some) and the papers were filed online. Big Time was born.
I was the only employee on day one, with three Directors who allowed me to run the operation, until I got into Canada and was given shares and a status upgrade. Amazing the opportunities in this country! Initially, it was my company to run. Adrian, came on for a few years and Ben helped out, but the dream of big time never extended far enough to pull them from other, more stable jobs, or for Dave, from being a lawyer and instigator in Vancouver.
The entrepreneurial spirit, it's safe to say, was mine and with it big time was born.
There was no Twitter, Facebook, iPhone, wifi was just new and thankfully noone had used the words "Vlog" or "webinar" yet. What a world!
A lot has changed in nine years. We've gone through at least four logos and seven website redesigns. More importantly, I've learned more than I can write down. I've messed up quite a few times but also done some things right. It's been a struggle and I have the grey hairs to prove it. Hard work, a commitment to my principles and ideas are what has helped big time to last this long. I haven't made millions, very very very far from it, but the opportunities I've had and the people I've worked with are far greater rewards.
It's not easy running a business and don't let anyone tell you it is. With a little luck and as I said, a lot of hard work, you can do it. It's not impossible, just difficult.
It took me a while to realize that to be successful doesn't mean doing everything, it means doing what you do really well. I've had great people around me for a number of projects but now, it's starting to become official. New people have signed up to help me grow big time into what it was supposed to be. Trevor, Dave and Ameet all add a wide set of skills to big time which I don't have.
This next year will be crazy. big time Pulse is gaining momentum. TTCFail has launched in private beta and will be changing for the good. There will be more blog posts! In early September, a new product will be born which we think will be pretty awesome. Plus, we've got a list of countless other ideas to work on. We're an idea factory!
Thanks to all the supporters and detractors. Mostly, thanks to my wife and family. It's a rocky road sometimes and you need support.
I am very proud of the nine years I've committed to big time and can't wait for the future.
Peace.
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Toronto, ON- March 8, 2010 - big time design and communication inc. is pleased to announce the official launch of big time Pulse, which gives consumers the power to opt-in for segmented messaging through social media.
Pulse empowers companies with the ability to segment information, promotions and messaging so that customers can choose what is relevant to them, and only receive that information. “Pulses” are sent discreetly via Twitter Direct Message, Facebook notification, RSS, email, SMS and/or MSN Live Messenger Alert. Pulse provides a single interface for messaging and analytics with multi-channel social media and mobile in mind.
“Before Pulse, social media marketing was handled much like traditional advertising; getting exposure anywhere and anytime without being concerned with relevance of message or brand.” says Karim Awad, Director at big time. “Customers were saddled with the burden of seeking out the information that mattered to them in the sea of social media chatter. Now, they can ask for that information and receive it outside of that chatter.”
Used either as, or in conjunction with an existing social media marketing plan, big time Pulse takes the personalization power of social media to the next level.
###
About big time design and communication inc.
Since 2001, big time has created original graphic and web solutions for customers in a variety of verticals. Our current product offerings include Pulse, a powerful social media marketing solution and DOC, a document, schedule and media management system.
For more information, please visit http://www.bigtimedesign.ca.
Contact
big time design and communication inc.
Dave Duncan, Director; Marketing and Communications
(416) 720-7403
dave@bigtimedesign.ca
http://www.bigtimedesign.ca
EAVB_XAYFYGXAPQ
An idea is a very powerful thing. Much like a gun, it can be used or misused for good or bad, and it can backfire in your face without even a hint of what's coming. Also like a gun, when something goes wrong, it's not the actual idea's fault, but the person pulling the trigger. Ideas don't kill people; people kill people.
There are very few things I eat covered in ketchup that I don't also cover in mustard. Since the invention of both condiments, people (including Kramer on Seinfeld) have tried to find a way to put them both in the same bottle. It would save people time and money, which makes it a brilliant idea.
Sadly, when you mix red ketchup and yellow mustard, you get something that looks identical to butterscotch pudding and smells nothing like it. The idea falls apart in the execution. To complicate matters, people can often think of at least one thing they like to eat with only ketchup or mustard, and they're now looking at three bottles in the fridge where there used to be two.
This is the point where an idea isn't dead, but it's on life support. The original idea in its entirety just won't work as intended and you have to either pull the plug and move on to peanut butter and jam in the same bottle, or come up with a way to make "Mustechup" viable.
Maybe instead of bottles, you sell it in single-serve packets. Maybe a bit of oil in the ketchup keeps the two from mixing. Maybe it's still two bottles, but you can choose from two halves that mix or don't.
Rethinking an idea takes time and effort, and not all of them are worth it. It takes time and experience to know when to pull the plug or how to let go of your original vision and tackle it from a new direction.
What has your experience been with comatose ideas?
A lot has changed in nine years. We've gone through at least four logos and seven website redesigns. More importantly, I've learned more than I can write down. I've messed up quite a few times but also done some things right. It's been a struggle and I have the grey hairs to prove it. Hard work, a commitment to my principles and ideas are what has helped big time to last this long. I haven't made millions, very very very far from it, but the opportunities I've had and the people I've worked with are far greater rewards.