The basis of his post states that if you can’t get the rice right, you won’t be able to serve good sushi. Translate that to the marketing world and this becomes a poignant message. Unless you are really good at the MOST important things, you will not succeed with the latest marketing tool etc.

I take this into the realm of social media since that is the buzzword of today and the number 1 thing marketers are flocking to. Every day it seems as though new self-proclaimed “social media experts” and consultants are popping up. It becomes scary to think that someone that spends a great deal of time navigating this technological space believes that he/she is now qualified to coach businesses through using these tools as a marketing platform. Perhaps they are extremely technologically savvy and constantly in the know about the up and coming social networks. They may also grasp the idea of social media and why it is so important for a marketer to pay attention to it. Even still – without solid expertise on the basics, these efforts will fall flat.

The basics boil down to the principles of marketing and communication.

Do you know what your customers want? Do you know your target market? Do you know how to effectively communicate a message? Do you have the ability to look beyond the digital realm and realize how social media efforts play a role in overall branding and marketing? Are you upholding brand image with every piece of communication?  Are you creative?

As marketers, these are questions that we need to be asking every day. These are also questions that potential buyers of social consulting need to ask their potential consultant. Let’s never lose sight of the basics.

1) Keep it short!
People are skimmers. Get your point across with the shortest amount of text possible.

2) Use a relaxed, friendly tone.
Don’t take the copy from your traditional advertising *think radio ad* and use it on social media. (i.e. For more information call 1-800-685-5058) If you feel the need to do this you are probably using a sales-y approach as opposed to generating interesting content. Show your brand’s personality not robotic posting.

3) Change it up.
We have the ability to post links, photos, videos, status updates on Facebook. Use them all (especially photos and videos). Change it up and keep things interesting.

4) Keep it relevant.
People want to read current, relevant content that is on topic to your brand and business. Don’t stray far from your area of expertise. Instead, get creative with your posts!

5) Tag appropriately.
Tagging is a powerful tool for business pages on Facebook. If appropriate, be sure to utilize this tool.

Here are some things to think about when you’re in a content generation rut.

- Don’t post just to post. Sometimes silence is better than posting something half heartedly just for the sake of posting something. I wrote another blog post about this topic. Forcing a conversation is worse than no conversation at all.

- Share! If you’re not doing this already, take the time to share someone else’s article or piece of content. Perhaps enlist a guest blogger. Begin a discussion from another person’s content.

- Ask Questions. I’m not talking about the meaningless “How are you doing today?” type of questions. (see first point: Don’t post just to post.) I’m talking about genuine questions to ask your target audience. If you’re not sure what type of content your fans/followers/readers are interested in, ask them. Get that valuable feedback! Remember: social media isn’t about you, it’s about your audience.

- Strategize and re-group. We always, ALWAYS recommend a strategy before entering into the realm of social media. It is easy to get side-tracked, overwhelmed and waste time when a plan is not in place. It may be time to take a step back and re-evaluate your strategy (if you already had one in place) or take the time to map out a strategy. A well-thought out plan, clear direction and purpose will greatly assist in taking away “content rut” syndrome.

On the surface, these automation tools offer a seemingly convenient way to “be everywhere” while doing half the work. The problem is, your audience realizes this and the personal nature of the tools is completely lost. I have attempted communication with brands on Twitter that are operating through Facebook to Twitter automation and have rarely received a response.

If you are tempted to take this easy route of automation, consider the following:

1) A “set it and forget it” attitude does not work on social media
Setting up your profiles and pushing out information is not effectively using social media. It is apparent to the user when a brand has the “set it and forget it” attitude. Posts on Facebook walls and Twitter replies are ignored. Generating relevant content is a large piece of social media, however it cannot stop there. Availability and monitoring conversations about your brand are all part of making it work.

2) Focus on the portal where you want to spend the time.
Social media may be free in the monetary sense, but it is far from free when it comes to time. If the automation is simply a matter of not enough time, try to focus your energy. Instead of doing a middle-of-the-road job on multiple portals, devote your time on what appeals to you the most. It is more important to foster a network of truly loyal, engaged people instead of pushing out a message to every portal out there without taking the time necessary to make it work.

3) Facebook and Twitter both have their own language.
A hashtag on Facebook makes absolutely no sense. Not to mention, multiple posts per day on Twitter is perfectly acceptable, but inundating your Facebook following with multiple status updates is the quickest way to get your page “un-liked”.  When you can’t get the point of a tweet across in 140 characters, it is not appropriate to post. Take the time to learn how the audience on each portal communicates and act accordingly. Remember: Social media is about the USER not your brand.

In Conclusion: If you want to publish the same content on Facebook and Twitter, customize it.
No doubt, there are times when the same content will be published by your brand on both Facebook and Twitter. This is fine, but do take the time to customize each message for the particular portal.

According the the “Social Break-Up,” a study that surveyed 1,500+ consumers about their online behaviors and motivations for unliking or unfollowing brands on social media, the number one reason a business page will get “unliked” is as a result of posting too frequently. Other deterrents included, boring and predictable content, overcrowded newsfeed, and only taking advantage of a one-time offer.

This chart from mashable.com gives a great visual breakdown of why a business will get unliked on Facebook. Check out this fantastic post entitled, Top Reasons Why Consumers Unsubscribe Via E-mail, Facebook & Twitter by Erica Swallow.

So how much is too much? This is a debated issue and is truly dependent on your particular audience and brand. For one brand, one post per day may be plenty, but for another 3 is a good number. No matter what, be sure to space out your updates. Nothing is more annoying than a crowded newsfeed filled with updates from one particular brand!

The end-user has the ability to “Check In” at your business through apps available for all smart phones. You can offer incentives and promotions for checking in and/or, your location’s mayor (the person who has checked in the most).

Those who check in also have the option to offer instant feedback about your business through the “Tips” feature (ie. try the french fries!). With the world of advertising going more social by the minute, it is hard to determine which networks work and which do not. Foursquare has cemented its place as a necessity, especially in a time when consumers rely mostly on customer feedback to make their buying decisions.

Foursquare has carved out their niche very well; you can tell because Facebook released a competing service (Places) this fall. Regardless of their efforts, Foursquare is still the king of geo-location and probably will be for quite some time.

image courtesy of sylvainpaillard.com

I found this awesome quote from Dustin Curtis on Stage Two. He says,

Customer experience is the new brand.

I’m not referring to a brand as a logo and a typeface. I’m referring to the new kind of brand, the one is formed by the entire experience of a customer’s interaction. That experience gets branded into his or her memory and leaks into the buzz of modern culture. If you can’t make a good customer experience from start to finish, you’ve failed to generate brand value that will attract customers to come back for repeat business and tell their friends to come back, too. That’s how good customer experience directly affects the bottom line.

I wanted to share this quote, because as advertisers and marketers sometimes it is easy to get caught up in the frills – the pretty ad, the funny campaign, the cool website, the unique direct mail piece, the awesome Facebook landing page, etc.- but we lose sight of what TRULY builds a brand. It boils down to the customer experience. Visual elements do play a role, especially when it comes to initially catching attention and creating an emotional connection in the minds of consumers. However, if that is not followed by a rock-solid customer experience, your well-designed pieces and clever campaigns will be wasted.

In this digital age that we live and breathe everyday, customers now have a voice unlike ever before. Immediately, their networks are informed about bad customer experiences. We’ve all heard the phrase “Word of Mouth is now World of Mouth” – and it’s true!

If you are not getting the desired results from your advertising or your social media efforts, perhaps it’s time to take a step back and evaluate the customer experience. What kind of customer service are you providing? Does the user-experience match what you are promoting (online and off)? Do you go above and beyond when pleasing your customer? If you don’t know the answers to these questions – ASK! Customers will tell you what they want if you are willing to listen.

In virtually any discussion about social media this point is bound to come up- Social Media for business = Conversation. Is this correct? In part, yes, but it’s time we move past this idea and get to something deeper.

How many of us see the posts on Facebook coming from a business something along the lines of “What are you doing today?”, “What’s your favorite color?”, “We like strawberries, do you?” …you get the idea. I applaud the companies efforts at facilitating conversation, but why force it? In my opinion, forcing a conversation is worse than no conversation at all. In some cases, what I mentioned above can be beneficial. Companies asking relevant questions and allowing the members of their Facebook communities to disccuss amongst themselves is awesome! What I’m talking about here are the seemingly forced conversations. Do I really want to tell Joe’s Bike Shop (made up business) what I’m doing on New Year’s Eve?

The point is-  give me exciting, relevant content. Give your customers and social media audience something of VALUE to chew on. If conversations happen as a result, then great! If there is a crisis to solve or an issue that needs customer service provided through SM, these portals provide a seamless way to do so. But don’t try to force us to talk just because you feel that a “conversation” must be happening at all times.

As marketers it is very important for us to stop and ask this question. In fact, we should be doing that all the time. Social media (and traditional advertising for that matter) should be all about the consumer. If you don’t know what makes your consumer tick, then your marketing strategy is bound to fail.

People crave social media for multiple reasons! I condensed my thoughts into points that I feel are the main drivers. Please open up for discussion!

We have an inherent desire for connection and belonging. As humans, we have a need to be in a “community” with others. We are social creatures that desire acceptance as part of a group. Social media easily allows people to seek out specific interests and like-minded individuals. For example, I am gluten free and very grateful for the online Twitter and Facebook communities for gluten free individuals to converse, share information, and support one another.

We want to keep in touch. Friends and families are spread all over the world, but now we can easily and seamlessly keep in touch and be part of their everyday lives. Keeping in touch is simple because it makes communication about the seemingly mundane aspects of our lives acceptable. I enjoy keeping on top of what my siblings in other states are doing and feel close to them although we are geographically distant.

We want to share our opinions and have a means for personal expression. Say you have a great experience at a restaurant and you can’t wait to share what happened. It is so much easier (and more fun) to post that information via social networks. People can sometimes feel like they have no voice and their opinion doesn’t matter to anyone.  Social media gives a platform for a chance to be heard.

We want information and entertainment. In addition to keeping in touch and connecting with other people, we want good information and content. We also desire to share good information and content when we come across it. This is the reason videos, tweets, photos etc. go viral. If we have something of value to offer others, we want to pass it along! Who doesn’t enjoy receiving an excellent piece of information through social media or seeking out information we desire?

We want to be “in the know”. No one wants to feel left out or like they are missing out on something. Being on social networks allows you to keep on top of what’s current, what your favorite brand or business is working on, what your friends are up to, what products are most loved by consumers, etc.

I would love to hear your thoughts about other reasons why we crave social media!

You cannot watch television right now without seeing an ad for the new Windows 7 Phone. They look like fun, easy to use little creatures. But do I want to buy it? Not sure. I’m still pretty loyal to the iPhone4 (which has changed my life, again). And they promised that.

The current Windows 7 Phone commercials are a parody of those of us who can’t seem to peel ourselves away from the devices that have allowed us to communicate all too frequently. They present a series of anecdotes where the “smart phone” user is presented with extreme situations (like dropping the phone in the urinal they’ve just used, then retrieving it) and an on-looker quips, “really?”  They are begging the question, do we really care this much about these devices?

Windows 7 Phone is the answer to all of our smart phone woes. They claim the phone is designed to “get us in, get it done, and get out”.  They’re giving us our lives back. It is the phone that will save us from our phones.

To this I beg the question: “Do we want to be saved?”

Though I found this particular set of spots to be very entertaining and often saying, ‘hey, I’d do that.’ I don’t think the over-all message is successful. See, we’re not on our phones so much because of a lack of logical functionality, we’re on them because we need to be! Windows isn’t really solving this problem. My girlfriend loved these spots because she hates how much I use my phone (and complains to me quite a bit about only seeing the top of my head). I admit, I’ve gotten much better about not staying “connected” while out at dinner or with friends. BUT – it doesn’t mean I’m not going to pick the thing up at the next available “acceptable” moment.

By the way, she wants to upgrade her phone as soon as AT&T allows us…yup, to an iPhone4! Remember, she is the one who related most to the ad.

Any new smart phone won’t really save us from our phones — unless it disconnects us.

So, while the ads are entertaining and do a wonderful job pointing out a pretty bad habit facing society today, they don’t really give us a reason to buy. Although, Windows did sell 40,000 in day 1. So maybe I need to pull my head up and look around a bit more.

Perhaps, I’d want to spend less time on the phone if it ran Windows.

A great lesson here. Before you spend bank on your next set of clever ads, be sure you read all the possible messages they’re sending. Don’t sacrifice your dollars and potential customers in the name of being cute. Be cute… but be smart!