Facebook continues to be the social media giant. It’s funny to look back at Episode 105 eighteen months ago back in May 2010 when I wondered whether recent privacy events could signal the fall of Facebook, and I went through 7 reasons the mighty giant might fail.
Needless to say, they’ve recovered from some of the issues I posed, including privacy concerns and revenue generation. In fact, the New York Times and Wired ran a stories about a group of students that were taking on Facebook with a new product called Diaspora, and it gained some pretty good buzz.
Where are we 18 months later? Well, Diaspora seems to be in alpha release still and in retrospect, was just a tiny fly on the back of a Rhino. And that Rhino would be Google Plus, which Facebook seems to be going head-to-head with and still winning.
Of course by now if you’re a brand, you have already have a robust Facebook page. You’ve updated some graphics, built up your following, and have widgets on your website to drive people to Like you on Facebook.
But now that you have fans on Facebook, how do you engage with your audience?
This week I had a great interview with with author, speaker, and social media pro Krista Neher.
As usual, for the full interview — and trust me, we had great energy and lots of fun sharing stories — make sure to download and play the podcast. The summary below highlights what we cover:
Krista’s background
- Her start at Proctor and Gamble
- Working on marketing for brands like Tide and Folgers Coffee
- Her transition to a startup
- The founding of Bootcamp Digital, which teaches companies how to use the web and social media to build their business
Her travels from Canada to Cincinnati
- What does that have to do with bowling?
Social engagement
- Not the kind of engagement you like – we’re talking on a train to New Jersey
Boot Camp Digital
- What makes a truly good social media program?
- Huge opportunity to show businesses how to do their own social media
- “You’re doing it wrong” – what is the #1 thing companies are doing incorrectly with social media
- Why “free” social media is a problem
Jim interviews Byron Bennett, owner of a NYC chocolate shop about how a small business uses Facebook, Twitter, QR codes, Websites, and his experience with Groupon.
It’s one thing for media companies to be on social media, but lately I’ve been fascinated with how small businesses are doing this. I met with Byron Bennett, the owner of The Chocolate Library, a small-business in Manhattan’s East Village and we discuss the challenges he faces.
Besides, he just happened to bring along some of his amazing inventory of chocolates from around the world. He tells me that 97% of people enjoy chocolate.
Count me in as one of them.
Summary of Topics covered:
BACKGROUND
- Byron’s background at a wine store before he started this business
- Why wine stores and supermarkets need a kiosk to help shoppers
- The similarities between wine and chocolate
- The effect of luxury goods during a recession
- The story behind the “library” classification in his store, and how he ended up on The New York Times.
Today I interview Joanna Penn of The Creative Penn and self-published author of the religious thriller, Pentecost.
- Download the podcast via iTunes
- Download the podcast to your computer (Right click, Save As) - Play it below:
For the full interview — a must-listen for anyone wanting to self-publish their own book — please listen to the podcast.
Summary of Topics covered:
Joanna’s amazing journey
Joanna Penn has had quite an amazing journey from the UK and a Theology major at Oxford (hence the religious thriller), all the way to New Zealand and Australia, and now back to the UK.
As a full-time IT employee, she started her writing career with non-fiction books such as How To Enjoy Your Job and the basic ways of marketing.
She once tried to do the full-time author route and take an extended period of time off in order to write “The Great American (Australian?) Novel,” and tried signing on with traditional publishers, but it didn’t pan out.
Intrigued with the rise of digital publishing, print-on-demand, and using social media as a marketing platform, she started a blog and podcast called The Creative Penn. Joanna immersed herself in everything going on in the industry, and became a trusted source for information, while also interviewing dozens of authors.
Passing thoughts were that a lot of commercials must have paid big money royalties to songwriters, including Kenny G, Elton John, David Bowie, Jay Z, Eminem, and the theme from Star Wars. I guess on the big stage, you want a music that people know.
I thought Bridgestone and Audi and Teleflora hit their mark, Best Buy tried a little too hard, the beer commercials were about par for the course, and the ad exec that suggested the “Pepsi Max can to the groin” should be fired. You know his defense was. “C’mon… can to the groin always works.” Sadly, he’s kinda right.
And by far the one that stopped me in my tracks was Chrysler’s Eminem spot. Beautifully shot, held your attention, and made you think. Am I going to go buy a Chrysler? Let’s say the chances of that rose from never, not a chance…. to less than 3%.
Did the November cover of WIRED Magazine get removed by Facebook due to inappropriate content? We still don’t know for sure.
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I received an interesting message from Facebook recently.
First, it was an e-mail to my Yahoo account, which is connected to Facebook. It was so generic that I had to scour it pretty closely to make sure it wasn’t spam. Then a day later, I was greeted with a popup message within Facebook with the same message to makes sure I saw it, forcing me to X out the dialog box to make it disappear. It said the following:
“You uploaded a photo that violates our Terms of Use, and this photo has been removed. Facebook does not allow photos that attack an individual or group, or that contain nudity, drug use, violence, or other violations of the Terms of Use. These policies are designed to ensure Facebook remains a safe, secure and trusted environment for all users, including the many children who use the site.
If you have any questions or concerns, you can visit our FAQ page.”
Wow, Jim, you might be asking. What the heck did you upload?
It’s easy to jump on the latest trends, but do you know when to exit the old ones?
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The tagline of this podcast is “The marketing trends that matter,” which means I’m usually looking forward at what is coming up.
But I read an interesting article in one of Wired’s sister publications, Details Magazine. The story is by David Amsden, and is called: “Introducing the First Dropper: Say so long to the Early Adopter. Today, the most influential guy in the room is the tastemaker who senses when a trend’s 15 minutes are up.”
He describes the First Dropper as someone that not only knows trends — whether it be a hot TV show, what jeans to wear, or the certain type of drink in the certain type of bar — but more importantly, he knows when these trends are overvalued.
Amsden says “Unlike most consumers, the First Dropper seems to be immune to peer pressure and the sway of marketing gurus; he’s propelled instead by an instinctual feel for when a trend has become overvalued. Think of him as a slyly influential arbiter of taste—one who operates as a covert counterweight to his better-known cousin, the Early Adopter.”
With the advent of worldwide blogs, tight social networks, and up to the millisecond trending on Twitter telling you what’s hot, it’s almost easy to be an early adopter. Is there anyone on the planet that does NOT know a month in advance when the latest iPod, iPhone, or Macbook is coming out?
Amsden makes it clear that you shouldn’t mistake the First Dropper with The Hater, who takes pride in never jumping on a new trend.
Don’t even mention your 65″ slimline 3D TV… you’ll get an earful that The Hater hasn’t even owned a TV since 1997.
Here are a few social media, tech, and pop culture items, and where I think they stand. In fact, it’s a little like Wired’s famous Wired/Tired/Expired feature.
Early adopter or safe to stay
Here are the items it’s still safe to jump on
(listen to the podcast for my reasoning on each)
- iPad, Kindle, and other eReaders
- Tumblr
- Twitter
- Facebook (Yes, even though I talked about a potential fall of Facebook)
Gone or ready to be dropped
- iPhone (see the great article by Wired Gadget Lab editor Dylan Tweney, talking about how he’d love a feature phone tethered with an iPad)
- Cable TV
- Untucked shirts and baggy hoodies (here’s a novel idea… why not grow up a bit, add some style, try some clothes that fit)
- Foursquare
- Cupcakes
What does this mean to marketers?
One prominent school of thought is to target these early adopters. After all, they’re dialed in, have influence over purchase decisions, and can help get your product on the radar. If you’ve used them successfully, congratulations.
However, better keep your eyes out for the First Dropper. Because if they start abandoning your product, that could be the sign of things to come.
I have to run, I only have one cupcake left, and I want to tweet about it from my iPad.
As someone that covers all things social media, it was almost my job — adult homework so to speak — to go out and see The Social Network, aka The Facebook movie. For me, it didn’t disappoint. I thought it was great. In this podcast, I highlight the theme of product vs. money.
Download the podcast from iTunes, or play it below:
Like many others, I rushed out to see The Social Network on opening weekend. If you recall, back in July I gave 7 reasons why “The Social Network” Facebook movie will be a huge success. And while the $23 million opening weekend wasn’t spectacular (Inception did $62m it’s opening weekend), it did land at #1.
So after viewing it as a movie-going FAN, it was time to look at it from a business and marketing angle. What I came up with was:
How The Social Network highlights the struggle between focusing on the product vs. focusing on the money in a startup business.
Can a broken arm kill Jim’s love for technology and social media? Stay tuned:
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Loyal listeners of The Hopkinson Report know a few things about me:
- I never miss a week (once in the last 118 episodes)
- I love technology, being online and all things social media
- I love mountain biking (I compared the ‘flow’ of biking to a business in Episode 113)
So when I was away for the first part of my vacation while mountain biking some epic trails in Seattle, the capable Brandon Werner filled in. But then the unexpected struck when I came back to the east coast to go biking in the rocky trails of the Pocono mountains.
On this special edition of The Hopkinson Report, Jim is on vacation, so I, Brandon Werner (Intern 1.0 for long time The Hopkinson Report listeners) guest-hosts. I explain why Social Media is the new dividing factor between Generation Y and their Baby Boomer parents.
Download the podcast from iTunes, or play it below:
On Hopkinson Report Episode 102, Jim interviewed me on my research on my generation, the millennial AKA Generation Y. This group is also called the echo-boom, as they are the children of the famous Baby Boomers. Since recording that episode, I had a revelation that will be the topic of this episode.
When I was a child, I remember my parents (baby boomers/teens of the 60′s and 70′s) used to tell me stories of how their parents “just didn’t get it”. Their formative teenage years were filled with Woodstock, the anti-Vietnam movement, Nixon… These were the years of Rock ‘N Roll and there was a sharp divide between the baby boomers and their “Greatest Generation” parents.
Through my teenage years, I never really felt that level of misunderstanding between my parents and I. In fact, my parents “got-it” almost too well. I wanted to learn drums and be in a band, my dad taught me how to do it from his own experiences, If I tried to dye my hair, my mom would show me how. The classic parent/son anti-piercing or tattoo fight? They actually encouraged them (so I didn’t really have any drive to get them). I would say I wanted to go to a Green Day concert, and my dad would ask to come with me.
From talking to my friends, this is pretty standard. Where was our rebellion or revolution? Where was our Rock ‘N Roll? Recently, after a few failed attempts to communicate exactly what I do for a living, I think I found it. Our Rock ‘N Roll is Social Media.
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