A great TED Talk from earlier this year by mathematician,Cédric Villani… a man who is so far beyond what I can comprehend, yet very clearly done:
Enjoy!
Posts Tagged ‘Social Media’
Indecision may or may not be my problem…
April 17, 2016That quote from Jimmy Buffett sums up my writing efforts the past couple of weeks. I have been working on several topics to post, but for whatever reason, have not been able to get them to gel. So I thought that thinking through it here, on electronic paper, with you, might help.
Photo courtesy of workplacepsychology.net
They are all difficult topics, and all have been written on already (in some cases extensively). So one of the hang ups for me has been attempting to make the post unique…to not be just another “me too” post. There is an incredible irony here because as you can see on the list of topics I would like to write about below, Paralysis by Analysis is the very first one on the list.
Paralysis by Analysis or Why Action is Necessary Today in Order to Conduct Viable Research – We just don’t know enough about the way the consumer thinks, and more specifically behaves in the digital space, especially when it comes to mobile. Not only is mobile is changing rapidly, it is changing the consumer mindset as well. This has become a market where past history does not mean a great deal, so (thoughtful and intentional) action is required.
Alienation – Everyone is writing about alienation in one form or another…alienation due to social media attachment, alienation due to technology, alienation due to lack of empathy. I feel a strong need to write on this topic, but mine will be more about alienation in time and space, or maybe just geography.
Content Marketing– No, I do not want to write about the wonders of content marketing or the 7 things that make it work or the 5 things you must avoid. I’m more of the mind to write here about why people who claim to be writing content for their audience are often deluding themselves. In many ways, I feel that the content emperor has no clothes. The appropriate situational content has great value. However, it is also arrogant to presume we can write content our audience wants when we make little effort to find out what content they want, or if they even want content beyond a simple answer. I suspect that post will annoy a few people…
Why Growth Hacking is Not Marketing (or is it?) – There are definitely two sides to this discussion, both with very strong points of view. To my thinking process, it depends on whether you are talking mind set or tool set. Growth hacking is also certainly contextual, and not a great deal different than the old concept of guerilla marketing or from online marketing on steroids.
So there you have a few of the topics that have been swirling around in my brain, but have not yet fleshed out enough to put into coherent words on paper. Or at least coherent thoughts that are strikingly different than the content that is already out there….
Build engagement, not dominance with your customers…
March 28, 2016
A man who is happy with his mobile experience
“As the consumer’s device of choice, mobile is almost always on hand. It’s the brand’s first point of contact with the consumer, but that doesn’t mean forcing them to walk around with the entire website in your pocket. Rather, the mobile experience needs to address the context of a mobile user.” ~ Carin van Vuuren, Usablenet
Fit the technology to the user, rather than the other way around. An important thought to live by in this era where many organizations still view technology, rather than engagement, as the path to competitive advantage.
Consistency is a full time job….
April 22, 2015“You have to stay true to your heritage; that’s what your brand is about.” ~ Alice Temperley
In Ms. Temperley’s statement, staying true to your heritage is all about consistency. Consistency though is a term that has numerous facets, and all are important to establishing, maintaining, and as much as possible, owning your brand.
In the overall context, consistency is about remaining aligned to your DNA…to your core values, guiding principles and the characteristics you brought with you to the dance. How you demonstrate this consistency or integrity to your core is demonstrated outwardly in several different ways:
- Consistency of voice – How you engage with the outside world in term of stance and tone must be consistent from occasion to occasion, and also with what is at the heart of your organization.
- Consistency of message –The content of your communications must remain consistent to themselves and to your overall organizational perspective. This lack of message to message consistency often can muddy the brand and lead to many of the differences in brand perception that can occur with different factions of your audience.
- Consistency of response modality – How you respond to external requests and events, timing of your response, who you respond to, along with the two points above can determine the overall strength of your brand in the mind of your audience.
- Consistency of execution- It is important to communicate proactively on a consistent basis. This is not to say that there must always be a rigid timeline, but you must be placing content or communications on a reliable basis. If you communicate three times per week, it is not the end of the world to miss once in a while and only communicate twice that week. Likewise upon occasion, four times in a given week may be desirable. The key is to maintain the perception of consistency with your audience.
Getting these visible manifestations of your brand in line with your overall organizational culture and philosophy will enable your organization to better communicate with your target audience and therefore be better able to maintain your brand image with the external world.
Sometimes Life Just Sneaks Up On You :)
September 8, 2013
Just for fun. Because sometimes that is what you need…
Photo originally posted on Google+ by Jenn Concepcion. Thank you
The Million Dollar Question for Businesses involved in Social Media
October 20, 2012
In his book, “The Brand Gap”*, Marty Neumeier, raises three questions that any company/brand should be able to answer:
1) Who are you?
2) What do you do?
3) Why does it matter?
The first two questions seem fairly easy to answer on first glance; after all everyone knows who the company is they work for and what they do. However, half baked answers to these questions can lead to dangerous waters on the third question.
And the third question is often a killer to answer, at least in any meaningful way to a customer or prospective customer. The simple truth is that the way most respondents would answer this question is often not very compelling, or very differentiating. A convenience store that is open 24 hours a day is not very exciting today, especially if they seldom have the selection I want; likewise an office supply store or wholesaler who delivers.
When in a social media context, this lack of identity and purpose is potentially a fatal flaw: People will seldom spend much time with a person, much less a brand that does not provide value to them. That value can be economic, social, psychological, or emotional, but it must be there to avoid being turned off.
An even bigger issue arises when a brand is found not to just be dense, but also not authentic. Trust is the quality a brand must bring to the table to even get the opportunity to answer the three questions in the first place. Gaining attention in social media through a breach of trust can lead to a difficult situation. In the electronic world, the old saw of “any publicity is good publicity” wears a little thin.
It is even more important under these circumstances to be able to answer the three questions above (at least in your mind) as they will direct the best responses for authenticity under fire. Find your identity today…it can be a bit off key, but it must be what you will voluntarily stand for day in and day out.
* a very worthwhile read, by the way, for those who haven’t yet …
Shifting the cultural paradigm
July 22, 2012
“More companies are discovering that an über-connected workplace is not just about implementing a new set of tools — it is also about embracing a cultural shift to create an open environment where employees are encouraged to share, innovate and collaborate virtually.” – Karie Willyerd & Jeanne C. Meister
The moral of this statement…it’s easy to be all dressed up, but have no place to go. Buying cool technology is easy (or at least fairly easy…), but setting it up to be used optimally is much, much more difficult
(Photo from: http://kalynjohnson.com/blog/2010/08/all-dressed-up-with-no-place-to-go/ )
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