An Excellent Use of Social Media

In her recent post on Tumblr, Taylor Swift practiced an excellent use of social media, particularly Tumblr.  She began the post with a headline of “To Apple, Love Taylor.”  She continued, “I write this to explain why I will be holding back my album, 1989, from the new streaming service.  I feel this deserves an explanation because Apple has been and will continue to be one of my best partners in selling music and creating ways for me to connect with my fans.  I respect the company and the truly ingenious minds that have created a legacy based on innovation and pushing the right boundaries.”

Taylor further detailed that Apple Music is offering a free three month trial to anyone who signs up for the service.  She found “it to be shocking, disappointing, and completely unlike this historically progressive and generous company (Apple)” that they would not be paying the writers, producers, or artists for these three months.  While this would not hurt Taylor, she maintained that an artist releasing a first single, a songwriter getting the first cut of a song, or a producer who worked tirelessly to launch a new release could not afford to lose a quarter of a year’s worth of pay. 

She ended the post by asking Apple to change its policy.  She offered a very astute comparison. “We don’t ask you for free iPhones.  Please don’t ask us to provide you with our music for no compensation.”

In this social media post, Taylor clearly communicated her message without a nasty tone.  She was respectful to Apple and thorough in telling the entire story.  She was factual and gave information the average person didn’t know.  Until her post, the media hadn’t been the least concerned about the situation.  Her post on Tumblr changed that. 

Tumblr is a micro blog.  Posts are smaller in size than a traditional blog, using shorter sentences, individual images, and video links, similar to Twitter.  Microblogs have grown as a resource for news media regarding real-time information.  Because posts are short, users can upload them fast.  Many social media marketers regularly employ Tumblr as a marketing and public relations platform. 

That is what Taylor Swift did.  She exposed Apple’s secret in a way only a person of her stature could do.  She tapped into the attention of fans and the media by her Tumblr post.  She knew that a this post would get wide attention.  It did.  Within twenty-four hours, Apple replied, “We heard you, Taylor Swift,” and changed its policy.  The artists, writers, and producers will now be paid during the free trial period.

While I understand you are not Taylor Swift talking to millions of fans and instantly commanding the attention of the media, Taylor’s message is an excellent example of how to use social media well.  She gave her fans and the media newsworthy information, something they did not know.  The content of her message benefited new artists, writers, and producers, and even fans, not Taylor.  She got her point across clearly and respectfully.  Following these points will give you better results on your social media posts, too.

This week's marketing trivia challenge is What excellent use of social media have you encountered?  E-mail me your answer.

Two-Way Street

I was looking at a business’s Web site recently.  Out of curiosity, I clicked on the social media icons prominently placed on its home page.  What I found amazed me.  All of the messages on all of the social media talked at whoever might be checking the message.  I did not find any attempt to engage the recipient.  The messages were ads sent via social media. 

Why do I call these ads?  An ad is a preconceived, predesigned, and prewritten communication.  It is created by the business to elicit a particular result.  This doesn’t make it bad, but in social situations ads are inappropriate.  Using an ad on social media is akin to walking into a party and giving a prepared speech.  If you did that, would anyone at the party pay attention to you?  I don’t think so.  Rather than having conversations with individuals at the party, you are talking at the entire group.   

Too many businesspeople talk at people online as a group rather than engaging them in conversation individually.  They are so accustomed to traveling a one-way street of talking at people via traditional advertising on TV, print, radio, and outdoor that they don’t stop to think the Web is different.  They don’t realize that the best use of the Web is as a two-way street.  The Web is an opportunity for conversation and interactivity.  It is a unique place to answer customers’ questions, inform them, and learn more about them.  It offers platforms to develop relationships with customers.    

Remember, social media is social.  Social does not mean directing a canned, prepackaged announcement at recipients.  Social means giving recipients a reason to pay attention because your message may pique their interest, invite their participation, or prompt their response.  They know that your message will likely be something worth their time.     

Social media is not the place for advertising.  Social media is a place for conversation.  It is an opportunity to initiate and continue an exchange of information with others.  Hopefully, these exchanges develop leads, convert prospects to customers, and prompt further purchases from current customers.

Take a look at your social media messages.  Are you talking at an entire group or having a conversation with individuals? 

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Behind the Scenes

This morning I read a press release from Arbitron and Edison Research that “a survey of digital platform usage finds that the percentage of Americans age 12 and older who have a profile on one or more social networking Web sites has reached 48% of Americans in 2010, double the level from two years ago.”

That information came on the heels of yesterday’s announcement that Facebook has added a “Like” button which enables a user to share a Web page with all the user’s friends. Peter Cashmore, CEO and founder of Mashable, a popular blog about social media, who writes a weekly column for CNN.com, thinks, “It's a simple yet powerful feature, one that delivers a significant blow to rival Twitter. Once the network effects take hold, it's frankly hard to imagine how any company could unseat Facebook's social networking dominance in the months to come. Without a counterattack, even Google may one day be dethroned.”

Dethrone Google? What’s going on? Isn’t Google the number one search engine? It is today. However, with the Web only one thing is certain, and that is change. The Web is a bubbling cauldron of activity, much of it happening behind the scenes with developers and across the lines with users. It’s very difficult to know or keep track of what’s happening. It’s even harder to know what is coming. Unless you are in touch with people in the know or you read the right blogs, how can you possibly keep track? While my mind is boggled with the possibility of Google not being on top, that possibility is real.

I’m sure Google knows that.

Think back to AOL being all the rage, Yahoo! being the major search engine, or MySpace being the social networking site. Now AOL is seldom mentioned, Yahoo! is seldom searched, and MySpace is seldom used except by musicians who dominate 80% of it. All three have lost their top positions with the general public. None of them held those positions very long.

Although the names and what they offer may change, one thing is for certain. The Web has grown increasingly important in all of our lives. That Arbitron and Edison Research survey also found that “For the first time, more Americans say the Internet is ‘most essential’ to their lives when given a choice along with television, radio, and newspapers: 42% chose the Internet as most essential; 37% selected television; 14% chose radio; and 5% said newspapers.”

It’s not essential just to kids, either. “Consumer use of social networking sites is not just a youth phenomenon. Personal profile pages are maintained by: 78% of teens; 77% of 18 to 24s; 65% of 25 to 34s; and 51% 35 to 44s.” Reread those numbers. They are significant.

Social networking is growing across all age groups.

How does this affect your business? That depends on what you offer and how you decide to use social media. Only you can answer that question. Do not ignore the question, however. As the statistics show, the Web is gathering steam and changing the way people get their information and make their purchases.

Don’t let it leave your business behind.