Why we need social media

Posted in Cultural Change, Featured, Social Media | Comments Off

Digital interaction is an interesting thing, isn’t it? Through Twitter, we have meaningful conversations with people we only know only online. Our Facebook accounts reconnect us with friendships we previously thought were lost to time. We carry our friends with us wherever we go and thrive on the capability for instant interactions. Some of us are reliving our past, while others of us are making business connections. In the process, many of us have broadened our definition of a “friend” to include those people we have just met and we share the most unremarkable parts of our lives as if these friends were “long lost,” rather than “newly made.”

We humans are social animals, of course. Most of us like engage with others so that we can have an understanding of where we fit into the fabric of our culture. Yet we Americans, in particular, are finding ourselves growing disconnected from those around us. We overwhelm ourselves with extracurricular activities to occupy our time, we work too much and relax too little, and we focus on getting “things” done, rather than experience doing “things.” Overall, we have lost the personal connections to the people in America who make our “stuff,” grow our food, or frankly, those who live next door. It is almost as if our individual desires for personal independence and self-reliance have eclipsed our need for social interaction. They have not, of course. Our requirements of social interactions are just different now from before.

Today, we try to balance our individual desires with our need for social interaction by leveraging digital technologies into the mix to help us maintain our personal connections in the lulls of our daily living. We all do it, but some of us do it better. It seems to me that each generation appears to connect and build relationships differently using technology. For example, I have observed that Millennials use social media as a way of extending their daily interactions with their friends. With their mobility restricted by expansive neighborhoods and overprotective parents while growing, they had no choice but to explore new online social technologies as a way to maintain their friendships. As a result, communicating by text, Facebook or MySpace is the same as a phone call or a face-to-face conversation. Social media, and the digital technologies that supports it, are fully integrated into the life of most Millennials.

Observations of Generation X show me that they rely heaviest on cell phones for social interaction, I suspect because most were in college when mobile phones became affordable for and adopted by the masses. Texting and social media tools appear to be time-consumers that this Generation has not yet fully embraced. Instead, they are practical about the use of social media, engaging with those pieces that benefit them most (such as using Twitter to build business relationships), disengaging when there is little personal gain.

Baby Boomers appear to function best using face-to-face, phone and email communications, but are rapidly adopting Facebook. I think, they can “see” their friends and feel engaged in those lives as if they lived next door. This closeness is important to Boomers, especially as they age, because it seems to provide Boomers true “social” opportunities in the context of their primary interests: connecting with old friends, sharing political news and views, discussing religion and exploring hobbies.

Each generation has found a way to make social media technologies relevant to their own lives, to give us opportunities to connect with others regularly, as we allow our culture to put increasing demands on our time. The ability for us to bend and mold social media tools to our individual needs, values, and expectations is what makes it work so well in building and re-building our valued connections.

We need social media tools to help us maintain our ability to be human in the face of the demands made on us by our culture, our peers, and ourselves. These tools are now such an essential part of how we function as individuals and who we are together as a community, that living without social media and supporting technologies is unthinkable.

It is clear to me that social media allows us to maintain some degree of sanity in our lives. Without these tools, we would give up what little socialization we do enjoy; and I am not so sure that would be good for our minds, or our souls.

People are talking. Are you listening?

Posted in Brands, Cultural Change, Customer Promise, Featured, Social Media, Web 2.0 | 1 comment

Hearing is a funny thing.

One can hear, but not be listening.  One can listen, but not really hear what’s being said.  Either way, the conversation goes on just the same.  People are talking to you and about you, but you may not be making the connection that its “you” who is the topic of the conversation.  Take it from a guy who has had the benefit of hearing impairment most of his adult life.

Those same conversations go on about organizations and brands every day.  Everyone talks, but few organizations really listen.  It seems to me that most organizations are “hearing or listening impaired,” and the older the organization the worse the problem.  Granted, most organizations try to hear what is being said, but some are still using an old-fashioned hearing aid (ear trumpet).  There are others who let their hearing aid batteries weaken, or worst of all, still others have removed their hearing aids because they don’t like what their hearing.

Don’t believe me?  Do you work for any of these organizations?

The Ear Trumpets
Organizations listening to customers with the ear trumpet funnel many voices down a long tube where only the loudest are heard.  In an organization, this is like sending all the calls to “customer service” or the “help desk.”  The ear trumpet solution works poorly for the hearing impaired and even worse for organizations.  Think about it: just because the organization is not hearing the softer voices doesn’t mean friends, neighbors, and competitors aren’t.

The Weak Batteries
Those organizations that operate on weak batter power for their hearing device miss critical elements of the conversation with their customers.  The conversations continue, but the organization picks up only bits and pieces—like a conversation with your mom on a bad mobile phone connection.  She keeps talking; unfortunately, you’ve dropped enough of what she is saying that don’t realize you’ve been offered a free trip to the Bahamas…  and declined to go.  The same thing happens with customers when an organization only hears parts of the conversation—good opportunities are lost.

The Not Listenings
The organization that removes its hearing device, or has decided not to buy one in the first place, does not want to participate in the conversation with its customers.  It would rather yell at a customer and hope a few want what it’s selling, than open up a conversation with the customer about needs, values, and expectations.  Who likes to be yelled at all the time?  Not me, and I’ll bet not you.  Aside from great products and exceptional service, all customers really want is to be heard.

Social media tools help level the playing field for organizations that are “hearing impaired.”  It’s like having a pair of super-charged, digital hearing aids that help you amplify just those frequencies you need to hear.  This ability to listen, hear and actively engage in conversations 24/7 allow your organization unbelievable opportunities to learn from your customers, correct your mistakes, and build a loyal following.

Now, turn on those hearing aids and engage in conversation.  You’ll be surprised what you will learn when you start listening again.

The last thing you hear

Posted in Brands, Customer Promise, Strategy | Comments Off

The automated phone system in the office has six option prompts. That’s not a big number, really. Yet, when we made a small change to the last prompt recently, we noticed a 100% increase in the number of misdirected callers who hit the last prompt–the one before, “If you need to hear these options again, press the number or pound sign.”

Most told us they just punched the last prompt they heard, but 99% of those misdirected callers should have chosen the first prompt they heard. I suppose one way of looking at this is that they customer was interested enough to listen to all the prompts before deciding. I think what truly happens is customers are waiting for a better “fit” with their needs and are responding to the last thing that they hear because they can’t remember what came before.

You do this, don’t you? I certainly do. We are always looking for something that better meets our needs, so we filter information that we don’t believe is relevant at this moment. We say to ourselves, “I don’t need that now. I’ll look for it again, when I do need it.” Things you don’t need never make your radar; the last thing you hear always does–even if it’s not what you need at the time.

For marketers, this is a huge problem. What it means is that we cannot just strive to be first name that comes to mind, we must also be the last name heard.

This is a task more difficult that it sounds.

Accomplishing both means your brand has to be everywhere, or at least seem like you are everywhere your customer. To be sure, it means you have to look for alternative ways of reaching customers. It definitely means you have to go to the customer and stop waiting on them to come to you. You also have to engage in the conversation and make sure your voice is heard. You have to understand your customer better and anticipate their needs to the best of our ability. However, more than anything, this means you have to be where you’re not expected, as well as where you are expected.

Be everywhere. Be relevant. Be unexpected. Any one is good, but achieving all three will help keep your brand both first and last in your customer’s mind. That’s where you want your brand to rest. Nothing between really matters.