Being Remarkable is Really Hard, or is It?

Posted in Wendy Troupe's Perspectives by Wendy Troupe on November 18th, 2008

 

Out of all the “thought leaders” out there endlessly discussing social media, I have to say that the only one that gets my attention and keeps it is Seth Godin (emphasis on the “God” in his name). Every submission he makes is “short and sweet” and he manages to say something insightful while he’s at it. When he talks about being remarkable, he makes it sound so easy as if it is always staring us in the face.

Let’s face it, it is very hard to be remarkable as adults because we have been hard wired not to be. I think Seth is right in that we all have the capability of tapping into our humanness and finding something remarkable.

The secret is taking the time to look inward and always striving to make our interactions real. It goes back to what my mother always said to me growing up and it still rings true today. “Just try to be yourself and everything will be OK.”

I think that there’s more wisdom in that message than what I’ve always assumed. If we are to be successful in our personal and business interactions, we need to focus in on our pure inner child and remember what inspires us as individuals. Then we cut out all of our inhibitions and the fluff that comes with it and we instantly become more interesting. Thanks Mom!

Tags: General, Social Media Strategy
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Barack Obama ~ Social Media Visionary

Posted in Wendy Troupe's Perspectives by Wendy Troupe on November 12th, 2008

 

The buzz is spreading to print, the airwaves and to traditional media outlets about Barack Obama’s visionary strategy for his campaign using social media. According to The New York Times’s David Carr, Barack recognized its potential long before he announced his campaign. Barack Obama likely saw similarities from his community work in Chicago as he tried to enact change from the ground up. It looks like he’s going to apply that same methodology to his transitional team (see www.change.gov) and will likely continue to reach out to individuals throughout his presidency. Nothing makes me more hopeful for this country’s worldly competitiveness than to have a president who “gets it” and utilizes technology to transcend physical boundaries to connect with us on a personal level.

The big take-away from all this is the inevitable fact that every business will have to make the shift and support this medium. Thanks to Barack, the awareness level is being raised and we can more easily overcome the initial obstacle of understanding “what is social media?” and “what can it do for my business?”.

The next step is to understand that there’s more to it than it looks. The Obama campaign was enormously successful in their crowdsourcing efforts in raising tens of millions of dollars from individuals donating under $100. But they also had the means to spend and invest in social media regardless of knowing if it would work. Your business has existed using traditional methods of marketing but with the economic squeeze, this might be the time to spend or more importantly, invest in social media which can meet short and long term business goals.

To sum things up, if Barack Obama sees the potential and has demonstrated enormous success using social media, there are clearly ways in which your business can tap into it especially during tough economic times. The investment doesn’t have to be huge to get started either and either way, it is much more affordable than traditional outbound marketing methods. It is also measurable, it creates a sense of connection and engagement, and it allows your customers to be your advocates and salespeople through viral word-of-mouth.

Tags: Social Media Case Studies, Social Media Strategy
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How Social Media Changes the Way Companies Run Marketing

Posted in Wendy Troupe's Perspectives by Wendy Troupe on November 4th, 2008

 

A good place to start is to listen to what is being said about you on the Web. Secondly, think about what kind of relationship you want to have with your customers and what kind of relationship they have with you today. Suffice to say, it is probably rather impersonal, distant and detached. Make the decision to change it be one that is personal, meaningful and long-term.

A good rule of thumb is to think about your relationship with your customers like you would you family and friends and treat them accordingly. Today, consumers want a different kind of relationship with companies they purchase from. If they can develop a long term relationship with you, they will reward you with their purchases and they will spread the good word about their relationship with you to others.

Tags: General, Social Media Capital, Social Media Case Studies, Social Media ROI, Social Media Strategy
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