The driver behind successful social media campaigns is no different from the driver behind successful traditional marketing campaigns.Success in social media marketing starts with product differentiation. Companies must first examine what makes their product or service better than the competition. Hopefully this should come easy. Examples of product differentiations could be the features and functionality, it could be an interesting story about how a product was developed or it could be simply the price.Either way, when entering the social media stratosphere, it is important to take note of what sets you apart from the competition.People on the Internet – bloggers in particular – are interested in discussing product ideas and solution approaches that are new and different.A current example would be the new Driod Phone. In this case, bloggers who write about new technology tend focus on the product differentiations. This article on Mashable illustrates just how important this is, as they displayed in a large chart showing differences among different types of phones. Social media marketing specialists should be prepared with this type of information.To close, before you suggest social media marketing as a realistic marketing tactic – think about how is your product or service different from the completion? Who are the early adopters or major influencers? And where do they hang out on the Internet?
Category Archives: Business
Social Media Success and Product Differentiation
December 1, 2009 – 11:22 pm
Google Chrome OS – Thoughts and Questions
November 19, 2009 – 8:05 pm
If you haven’t seen the Google Chrome OS Video below, please watch it before reading my response.[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QRO3gKj3qw]Google is right – most young people I know spend 90% of their time on their home computers on the Internet.But what about the other 10% of the time?Most likely people are writing a paper, editing a video, cropping some photos, putting together a power point presentation.Even though I am still required to use them at work, does Google expect me to do away with Microsoft Word and Powerpoint?And even though uploading files could take a considerable amount of time, does Google expect me to rely on free internet software to edit video?I’m not trying to say that Google doesn’t have a pretty cool idea, but they definitely have some questions to answer. And until they do, don’t expect any changes from me.We as consumers are not used to losing anything. Getting on the internet 35 seconds faster doesn’t make up for lost features and functionality like video editing.
Generation Y: Technology Gurus or Smart Asses
March 24, 2009 – 5:22 pm
It has been said that most of Generation-Y thinks they know everything about computers and technology. And although I don’t work in a technology role, I am often called upon by different colleagues to help them solve a computer problem. In most cases, I either know how to solve the problem, or I am able to trouble shoot my way to a solution.In a way these situations make me feel pretty good. But I had to ask myself today, is my generation full of technology gurus? Or are we smart asses who think we know everything about technology because we know how to do a couple of cool things on a PC?To answer my own questions, let’s first look at my technological background (which I would imagine is pretty similar to most college graduates my age):
- 19 years experience working with computers and software applications
- 8 years experience managing web-based applications
- 12 years experience working with Microsoft Office
- 7 years experience managing my own personal web site
- 100’s of hours experience managing my reputation online (yes, Facebook counts)
But are we as special as we think we are? My answer would be no, not really. And while others might consider parts of my job very technical (web sites and graphic design), I do not. Each generation coming after us will have at least the same technical understand of computers and software as we do. It comes with growing up and being educated in the era that we did. It is our responsibility to understand technologies and bring them to the workforce. It will help our country improve efficiency.I had a basketball coach once say that if he were able to find a younger player who could do what I could do, as good as I could do it, that he would go with the younger player because he had a greater upside.But is this true in business? No. You can’t possibly learn everything about business without experience beyond technology.We should be weary of believing our upside is so strong that we should be allowed to check Facebook four times a day. We have a lot to learn and gain in experience in terms how to manage relations and how to work with a diverse team with varying size egos.I hope that Generation-Y professionals learn to embrace their computer skills with some humility. (And yes, we are all very talented.) But we must not forget that before long we will be asking our even younger professional colleagues for help with new technologies.
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