Howard Kang

Here are the facts that marketers have been dealing with in the past few years:

1. Interruption no longer works (the 6% who remembered your ad before are less likely to even see your ad now)
2. Buyers have more power and choice than ever before and focused on their needs
3. The barrier of entry for entry is seemingly non-existent when it comes to the internet

So what’s key here? Marketers have been adjusting and pushing out great strategies; highly targeted content, engagement, listening, etc. The common theme with the organizations who are winning and crushing it? They’re reaching out.

I remember listening to a speaker when I was younger who stood in front of the audience and asked, “Who wants $20?” Hands everywhere shot up. People shouted, hollered, jumped, and stood on their chairs, but one kid in front ran up to the stage and asked for it. He got the $20.But what happens when the same kid has ten people standing in front of him with $20 bills and he can only choose one? That’s where we’re at today.

“The Web is the biggest haystack in the history of mankind, and you’re just a tiny little needle. You might be sharp and you might be shiny, but without help, no one will ever see your Web page, listen to your podcast, or watch your video.” – Seth Godin

It’s more than simply getting involved in the new web tools and sitting around. Reach out and give people a reason to talk about you and with you. Take the time to find them. Seek the people out that don’t know you exist, but are dying to interact with you. Build relationships and convert people into Trust Agents. It’s a buyer’s market and consumers have tons of power, but with a human push and word of mouth, so do you.

There’s been a huge growth in Twitter over the past couple of months and with that there’s been an influx of social media marketers, gurus, and consultants touting Twitter as a panacea for customer service issues, an easy way to boost traffic, and a simple pathway into possessing a strong web-presence. While I agree that Twitter is great, I don’t think it cuts it.

Symsomos & Hubspot just put out some Twitter data and here are some statistics that really stood out to me:

• 55.50% of users aren’t following anyone
• 54.88% have never tweets
• 5% of users account for 75% of activity
• 93.6% of users have less than 100 followers, while 92.4% follow less than 100 people

These numbers show that this grand marketing solution experts have been focusing on still only reaches a small population. I’m not saying this population isn’t important or can’t have an impact (the Twitter community is comprised of many thought leaders and influencers whom I respect), but nonetheless the numbers show that for most brands a central focus on Twitter is an extremely myopic approach.

Just for fun and out of my own curiosity I walked around downtown Portland the other day and did an extremely non-scientific survey to catch the pulse of the general public. I stopped 25 people and asked them a few questions about Twitter. Here’s what I came up with:

• 4/25 (16%) currently had a Twitter account
• 3/25 (12%) had some kind of interest in Twitter
• 7/25 (28%) responded in some sort of disgust (“Oh God, not Twitter again.”)
• 11/25 (44%) didn’t really care

I think this may be representative of many different areas as well. I’m not saying that Twitter isn’t great for engagement, virality, and a lot of other things, but I’m trying to show that Twitter simply doesn’t cut it. I have no doubt that if I did a similar survey regarding Facebook, 85% or more would’ve had a Facebook account or heard of it.

The principles of customer service haven’t changed. It’s always been about adding value and meeting customer needs. There’s no short-cutting that. The kicker is that through the evolution of word of mouth and social media great customer service is now great marketing too. The best marketing has always been about building relationships, connecting with people, and drawing them in. There’s no short-cutting that!

My advice? Have a presence on Twitter, it’s wonderful, but don’t stop there. My friend and mentor Brad J Ward has some great advice when it comes to choosing which technologies to focus on when crafting a strategy. “Think AND not OR.” There are people out there in a multitude of other outlets wanting to engage that may not know you’re there or know you’re listening. Reach out to them and make it easier. Continue to listen. Don’t respond to @replies in 10 seconds and let e-mails linger for days. Find out where the people you’re targeting are congregating and meet them there. Your community will thank you for it.