Archive for ‘Social Media’

Citizen Gulf: Social Media brings New Sunrise

By David Horne, 26 August, 2010, 2 Comments

4654332393 9bfe545dea Citizen Gulf: Social Media brings New Sunrise

Wednesday was the national day of action for Citizen Gulf . They are a nonprofit organization helping fishing families affected by the Gulf Crisis.

The Greensboro Chapter of Social Media Club hosted one of the benefts. Tammy Friedeck and Chuck Hester did a great job sharing about the power of social media for social good. The evening wrapped up with Rob Blackwell performing New Sunrise, a song he wrote for the victims in the Gulf. Proceeds will go to those in need in the Gulf region.

One of the coolest things was this video put together on short notice from Jeff Dolan. Rob, Jeff, and I grew up in a coastal town of NC and have a heart for coastal communities. Jeff and Rob are amazingly talented (you might even know them from the band Remember Jonah).  It was fantastic to see them collaborate again. You can check out the video [here].

The sweet spot of social media is the ability to unify people from anywhere and any background who care about a certain topic or idea. Remember there is incredible power in that. Remember this is bigger than ourselves but enables you, the individual to make a difference.

photo credit: Infrogmation

Word of mouth is as easy as PSE

By David Horne, 3 August, 2010, 2 Comments

Word of MouthI think we complicate word-of-mouth (WOM). Many organizations spend countless hours trying to get their Youtube video to go viral. Facebook and Twitter, let’s not go there. Here is a simple strategy for creating WOM and building brand value.

PSE Marketing

1. Perfect your product and story

2. Set expectations with valuable online content

3. Exceed expectations offline

Last week I saw Tommy Emmanuel live. He is by far one of the best guitarists in the universe. I heard about Tommy from my friend Rob Blackwell (an amazing songwriter and musician too).

1. Perfect your product and story- Tommy Emmanuel has played guitar almost every day since he was four years old. Tommy grew up as a gypsy in Australia. He has toured and played live since he was five. He has been awarded numerous awards and is considered by man to be the best in the world. And to top it all off, he is humble and generous, donating countless hours and dollars to charities and ministries around the world.

You have to figure out what your story is for your brand or organization. What are the things that make it unique and shared experiences that make it relatable to your audience? Your product has to back up your story. Tommy’s product is his playing. He backs up the story by playing mind blowing guitar. You need to purge your product of mediocrity and perfect it.

2. Set expectations with valuable online content- If you search for Tommy Emmanuel in Google, many videos will come up showing him playing live or on tv. Hearing and seeing these videos sets an expectation in your mind of what you will experience watching him in person. Everywhere he is mentioned, from blogs, Twitter, Facebook, etc., his performances are heralded. As I watched these videos an expectation of what interactions offline would be like started to form.

The same will happen for your company as customers and consumers find and explore your digital thumbprint. The content you publish will set an expectation level in the minds of the folks that interact with you online. Valuable and relevant content combined with responsiveness will create the right expectations.

3. Exceed expectations offline- Seeing Tommy Emmanuel live blew what I thought I was in for away. My experience was better than the expectations set by watching videos and comments online. I left telling everyone about that show. I encouraged people to check him out as I told them what they would see. I am now setting expectations for the people I know would want to hear him play.

Organizations sometimes believe the digital and social media arm of your business is separate from your offline business. I disagree. I think they work together. Continuity will help you exceed your customers expectations and move them towards connection. Connecting grows into advocacy and creates word of mouth.

Following the simple PSE Marketing strategy will build your brand and create word of mouth exposure. The misconception is this is a one time execution. It should be continual. Always work to make your story better and your product more remarkable. Always create great content online and on social platforms to set expectations. Always back up those expectations with authentic and amazing client experiences.

What is your best client experience from a brand?

photo credit: Paull Young

Knock Knock? Is anybody there?

By David Horne, 22 July, 2010, 3 Comments

door knocker

Organizations: We need a digital footprint! Get on Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, Yelp, Foursquare, and Flickr. Build a Blog. Send email campaigns. We need to engage and build community.

Consumer: Knock Knock?

Consumer: Knock Knock?

Consumer: Hello?

Consumer: Anybody there?

Companies are beginning to understand the value associated with establishing a digital footprint. They see conversations happening in real time and desperately want to join them. The secret isn’t having an account or page. That doesn’t mean you are connecting. Organizations need to go beyond having an @ handle, video channel, and blog. They need to be there.

If you decide twitter is a good place for your company to be then be there. What does it say if someone shows up on twitter (via the pretty icon on your home page) to talk and there is no activity? Or they go to your Facebook fan page and crickets chirp? How about a blog whose last post was in 2009? It says no one is home.

Building community with social presence takes showing up and follow through.


photo credit: J.L. Settle

A marketing story: The tortoise and the hare

By David Horne, 30 June, 2010, 2 Comments

tortoise and hareDo you remember the story of the tortoise and the hare? Did you know it is a marketing story?

The one where the rabbit takes off in a blaze leaving the tortoise moseying behind. We all know the ending, the hare gives out of gas before the finish line and the turtle jogs by breaking the tape.

This story is not unlike mass advertising and social media.

The hare and mass advertising have a lot in common. Mass advertising, like the hare, spends a lot of energy out of the gate but usually expires before the finish. I am not against advertising. Eyeballs don’t mean people are buying or evening listening just like the hare’s speed doesn’t ensure he will win the race. Check out  Bob Knorp‘s viewership vs. buyership post along the same lines.

The tortoise reminds me of social media. Social wins the race by consistently delivering value and building trust. Reaching the right people with the right message takes patience and persistent effort. Building relationships that connect folks to your company is a marathon not a sprint. Here is a good post by Trey Pennington on how to win with social.

Could these two different animals work together?

Mass marketing is good at getting a message to a large number of people. With enough money, ads can overcome the invisible impressions with frequency and depth. If you get in front of enough people you will reach somebody that presently wants what you have. If you try this with social media it will fail. Social media is not about exposure. It is about community and conversation.

Advertising and social media can work hand in hand when they both focus on relevance and permission. Advertising to people that want to receive your message converts. Using social to build advocacy and retention through human interactions after reach is huge.

Your thoughts?

photo credit: peretzpup

How to market like a Rock Star

By David Horne, 25 May, 2010, 2 Comments

Rock Star

It wasn’t too long ago when “Rock Star” was a term reserved for people wearing leather pants and performing arena rock to sold out coliseums. Today the phrase has crossed over to the tech and marketing world (along with “Ninja” and a few others) to allude to expertise in some skill. I think we do it because we all wish we were Rock Stars or Ninjas or the rare “Rock Star Ninja.”

Last weekend I had the opportunity to hang out with some old friends while they are on tour for the Bamboozled Road Show. It was cool watching real Rock Star marketing. There are great takeaways from how they promote, connect, and share their story with their fans.
Develop and work the plan. Before going on tour Rock Stars create a game-plan for their show. The songs they play, where they stand on stage, and what they wear is crafted before the tour bus is put in drive.  Once the strategy is devised the band rehearses. Rehearsals (marketers call it testing) help them perfect their product. The set must be exceptional. There is no room for average. What are we doing to make our products stand out?
Know your audience. One of the coolest things for me was listening to my buds talk about the day’s performance before they went out. They discussed the demographic of the crowd and the market they were in. Different towns have fans that want different tones and feels. The set list stayed the same but how the songs were played was tailored to the attending fans. The goal was to engage the crowd.   How can we be more relevant to our target audiences?
Connect and Pull. Before and after the show you will see band members handing out stickers and doing meet and greets. This is where the magic happens. When a fan hugs and takes pictures with their favorite artist a connection occurs. Once you connect you no longer have to push. How can I create better connections with my customers?


I met a new friend named Danny, he is doing a great job of helping bands leverage these keys in new media. Social platforms, blogs, and video enable us to capture the right metrics, reach the right audiences, and build bridges to our fans. Armed with a flip video camera and quick wit he is telling rock star stories to fans across the country. He is helping them remember what they felt and give them a vehicle to share it.

Not everyone can play sold out shows to screaming fans but we can learn how to model some of the essential elements that separate platinum artists from high school garage bands. Accomplish this and you can rock your marketing.

How do you rock?

photo credit: kspsycho83

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