The Conversation Gap – Why Twitter Works Best When You Keep it Small

Are you familiar with the Conversation Gap also known as the Conversation Chasm?

Tim Bourne from the creative agency exposure uses the term to describe the gulf between big shouty marketing messages and the ordinary conversations  people are having on Social Media.

We’re obviously no strangers to the idea of ‘social media conversations’ here, but I particularly like the way he approaches the issue – from the perspective of someone who has spent a lot of time creating BIG expensive messages for some of the worlds Superbrands.

As social media sweeps all before it, the big boys like Tim Bourne, now appreciate the need for smaller more human-shaped messages to sit alongside the aspirational ad and billboard slogans. Friends talking on Facebook want to know how well a product works, what it cost and whether it’s easy to set up – not whether it makes you feel like hot stuff with a James Bond lifestyle and a Hedge fund income.

I think this is important because I see some social media newbies confusing big and small media and trying to broadcast BIG messages on Twitter about their brand. Slogans and quotations look odd on a platform designed for conversation and importantly they don’t invite a response.

For example, take a look at the Twitter site for superbrand Rolex @RolexInc – here you will find page after page of links to sales pages for months on end with no engagement whatsoever.

Over at Pret a Manger, which is listed as one of the country’s top Superbrands there is a world of engagement and chat. Check out @Pret_uk to listen in on real interactions between brand and customers about sandwich flavours, special offers, recipes, pics etc

It is really satisfying to see a brand using Twitter well. If you have the time for some Social Media research I would recommend going through the Superbrands list at superbrands.uk.com and then checking out the Twitter pages of your favourites.  It’s a brilliant way to work out what works and what doesn’t.

and keep the conversation going – let me know your favourites!

The Viral Marketing Behind Hot Hoodies

Playground crazes sell stuff. We established this in my last post when we looked at the Dappy hat. But does the item have to be cheap to spread through the school yard ?

Well not if you are Jack Wills, one of the most expensive brands ever to gain a toe-hold in the cult youth  market.

It started in Salcombe, Devon in 1999 (which really should say it all.)

The clothing is inspired by traditional University and public school styles and the price is part of the brand’s bid for exclusivity. The hoodies are £60 and have the Jack Wills name printed prominently on the back.

They have been compared with Abercrombie and Fitch but you really need to be thinking Brideshead Revisited.

The sensibility may be retro but the marketing is anything but.

Jack Wills does not advertise but goes instead for word of mouth viral marketing bolstered by events; Varsity Polo Match anyone?

Their website links to the blogs of ski ‘seasonnaires’  doing the chalet-bunny thing in top-notch ski resorts.  JW host parties for them in places like Val D’Isere and give away their gear as prizes. In summer they focus on smart locations in the Sates like Martha’s Vineyard. They are VERY switched on.

The prize is clearly ‘posh with dosh’ students who will then advertise the clothes by sporting them  in various trendy locations around the globe. It’s Fat Face with a Mansion.

But what they’ve picked up in their wake is a whole bunch of wannabe  school kids who are clubbing together to get their friends Jack Wills merchandise for birthday presents.

These girls (it’s mainly girls) know that designer goods and smart phones cost a lot, but they don’t seem to mind. They calculate that the kudos gained by owning one of these item will be worth it.

So Jack Wills is;

• Exclusive
• Elitist
• Expensive
• Hard to find

Whether its low rent hats or top dollar hoodies, our kids have very firm ideas about what they want. They don’t like to be dictated to, so any attempts to kick-start crazes have to be handled smartly. But if you catch them right, then the rewards are huge.

When the brand lets you down.

The point about a trusted brand is that we expect it to be consistent and not  let us down. That is why we trust it.

This Dec 26th, my family and I became stranded by the side of the M1, arguably the most famous motorway in Britain. When I called the AA I can only imagine that the girl on the other end of the line was doing community service.

Her ‘Where exactly are you ?’

Me ‘I am on the M1 northbound.’

Her ‘Is that clockwise or anti-clockwise ?’

Me ‘It’s the M ONE it only goes north and south.’

Her ‘But is that clockwise or anti-clockwise ?’

Needless to say she dispatched the breakdown van to the wrong place and we were two hours late to visit my elderly father in his old people’s home.

I no longer trust the AA an organisation I have been a member of for 20 years .

I know this sounds like a rant, but brand trust, well it’s important isn’t it ?

Tiger Woods, the PR challenge.

The past week has really highlighted the inherent dangers of building a brand around real people, notably sports stars.

Frist Thierry Henry, now Tiger Woods have shown how brand icons can morph into flawed individuals.

So what’s the damage ? Well it has to come down to how it’s handled. The professionals can make all the difference and I speak as a journalist not a PR guru.  After all, with Tiger Woods, it’s not what he did or did not do , it’s the speculation that chips away at the brand. This weekend Twitter was full of wild gossip about what might have gone on. Flash-backs to OJ Simpson don’t make life any easier, although this is clearly no OJ case.

What the media crave and by extension all of us, is information. Anything from the Woods camp would help and today’s statement goes some way to fulfilling that need. Having said that, it is far from the full story and won’t quell the speculation.

Over at Thierry Henry HQ things are equally messy. As a brand icon for Gillette, (Woods is too, strangely enough !) Henry has inspired a Twitter war with PRs from a rival shaving brand. I urge you to visit http://greengathering.blogspot.com/ for the full Twitter exchange, basically it’s what happens when PRs collide !

Sports stars with their blend of skill, money and glamour will always attract advertising cash, whatever behaviour ensues. The challenge is for their handlers and PRs to develop a strategy involving all the platforms where they are being talked about, including Twitter. It seems those strategies are still in their early days.

When Twitter feels like cyber-stalking

You’ve got a Twitter account and you’ve read all the blogs about expressing your personal brand, you even have a healthy following but what do you do now ?

Well, there comes a point in every Twitter journey when quantity has got to be sacrificed to quality.  At the start you may have decided to follow a whole bunch of people because they followed you, but now their random thoughts are clogging up your  Twitter stream and you can’t see the quality for the trash. It’s time to take action.

If you want to make intelligent connections with people who can help you then you need to track them down and follow them.

Blimey ! go back and read that sentence again. It sounds like a cyber-stalkers charter. I am English and the whole idea of using people in such a calculated way makes us feel very uncomfortable. Am I really going to find someone who I admire and then be-friend them ?  Send them messages and post stuff on their blog in the hope that they notice me ?

It sounds blatant but I think the Twitterverse can handle it. Those less reserved than ourselves have shown that it can work. There is something about social media that makes it OK to seek out those connections and most people are delighted to be of help. If someone sees you as a mentor  and looks to you for your expertise and help that’s flattering, right ?

So track down the people who can help and make a start on building trust. Don’t over do it though,  the spectre of the Cyber-stalker is out there !

If you disagree with my thoughts do let me know or simply post your comments, I’d really love to hear from you .

Lucy

Finding your way in the new media jungle.

New media. Jungle. Finding your way.

That’s what we are all doing right ? So I am not alone.

I wanted to take this trip because I felt that somehow I was missing out. Twitter is never out of the news and if you don’t blog it seems you don’t exist. I was also interested in seeing how the new and especially social media could be used by business for PR and branding purposes. Is this just the latest fad or are we witnessing a totally new way of doing things ?

I think this is a question that organisations are still asking themselves. Many highly successful and established businesses just don’t see the point. One guy said to me ‘I  don’t see how it will win us any new business.’

Well I want to find out. I used to be a journalsit for the BBC so I will apply my skills to sniff out the truth. I don’t actually have anything to sell except myself in the new media world, but since self-branding is one of the hot topics that interest me then that will be my start.

So I have my blog and my twitter account and I plan to get out there and see what I can make happen.

Follow me on my journey !

Lucy x

It’s a question of morals

Gosh morals, that sounds a bit serious already ! But I got to thinking about morality and business, morality and branding. Does it really matter if the business you do is ethical ? does it matter if the programmes you watch on TV have a moral outlook / does it matter if your brand is honest ?

Well, I dont want to get all on my high horse about it, but I think the answer is yes. And I don’t think it is about being ‘holier than thou’ I think it is about decency. Nobody wants to get ripped off do they ? We all hate people who over sell to us, or tell us lies and promise one thing then deliver another.

That is why morals matter. People want to know where they are with someone and whether or not they are acting honestly. Are you coming from a solid consistent position, is fair dealing  part of your story ?  Then you can shout about it. You can talk about it in your  marketing amd make it part of your brand.

Two great examples ;

!.  Fairtrade, the logo, the movement , the whole package.

2. John Lewis. A department store that promises to match all  others on price yet treats it’s staff as ‘partners.’ Fair dealing is an integral part of it’s brand and people trust it.