I was so outraged over the latest social outrage that I neglected to share this post that Ad Age had the audacity to run. You can catch the final version in Ad Age or read more below here.
How to Play It Safe in Social
Are you swelling with outrage over something so preposterously outrageous? Are you offended? Are you offended even more that people aren’t offended?
Then you must have read the latest brand’s tweet.
Of course, you probably didn’t see that tweet. It had already been taken down. So you read about it in a Twitter or Facebook post by a friend of yours that linked to an outlet that shared a screen shot of the tweet. That way, you still had a chance to be offended, but you didn’t have the rare pleasure of being one of the original offendees whose tweets about their outrage were probably quoted along with the screen shot.
It’s time for these offenses to end once and for all. As a gift to brand managers, community managers, and corporate lawyers everywhere, here is a foolproof, ten-step checklist to follow that will ensure you never offend anyone when posting through corporate social media channels.
1) Don’t reference anyone’s names. Some names are offensive to people. Take it from Dave and Buster’s, which made a reference to the “no one ever” meme by tweeting about “no Juan ever” hating tacos. Dave and Buster’s probably knows that some people named Juan don’t like tacos. Some people named Juan probably don’t even like quesadillas, or the especially delicious horchata. The good news for all the Juans out there is that there are a lot of Johns and Janes and others on Twitter who were so offended on Juans’ behalf that the tweet was removed within an hour.
2) Don’t use a hashtag. Not only can it be misappropriated, like #McDStories, but some can be misread. The best version of this was when Susan Boyle’s album was promoted using #susanalbumparty, which turned into an inadvertent nod to the Saturday Night Live sketches of Sean Connery misreading Jeopardy categories. Just avoid hashtags altogether.
3) Don’t ever host any kind of chat. It’s possible someone with a truly offensive name could respond to that post. When that happens, someone monitoring that campaign may miss the offensive name, and it will give everyone on the internet a chance to say that the brand is offensive. People won’t direct their anger at the person with an offensive name though; that would make way too much sense.
4) Don’t respond to or retweet anyone. That person could be a racist. Or maybe he took an illegal drug once. Or maybe he once went out to eat a nice meal and only left a 13% tip. He could even have an opinion on marriage equality or immigration, and someone else may disagree with that opinion. These things can all come back to haunt a brand that gives a voice to such an individual.
5) Don’t use any words that could mean something else in another language. There are 6,500 spoken languages, according to Infoplease. About 2,000 of those languages have fewer than 1,000 speakers, but those speakers still could be using the internet. And that also leaves speakers of 4,500 other languages who can be offended in all kinds of ways, including through transliterations and homophones and homonyms. Any half-decent community manager is fluent in at least 3,000 languages.
6) Don’t mention planets. At least one of them sounds like a body part that is usually kept covered, except when certain celebrities expose such a region to break the internet.
7) Don’t engage in real-time marketing. It’s not because it’s offensive. Most of the time, brands just don’t have to say anything that interesting about pop culture, memes, or news. Better still, don’t promote a tweet that falls under the real-time marketing genre, as it may make a blogger sad.
8) Don’t share links to any outside news sources or websites. Often news sources offend people. What brand would ever want to be aligned with outlets that cover controversial topics? To be safe, marketers should pull all their advertising from any property that they don’t own. That way, they will never be seen as endorsing the views of anyone, ever. Instead, brands should only run ads on their local jazz radio station because the last time anyone was offended by jazz was when the Utah Jazz kept their name after moving the team from New Orleans.
9) Don’t engage in any clever marketing stunts. All marketing should be even more factual than a Ken Burns documentary. If you try to get too creative, then some people may take your marketing literally and complain when an outlet “debunks” your campaign. It’s best to focus campaigns around factual elements, like your business owner (unless he or she is racist), or your corporate headquarters (unless it is located in another country to dodge paying local taxes). Maybe it’s best not to run campaigns at all.
10) Don’t actually be offensive. Yes, once in a while a corporate entity or business owner expresses patently vile statements designed to offend people. It’s generally a good idea not to do that.
This month, I'm heading to Baltimore for the first time. The occasion? Balimore Advertising Week and the Baltimore Digital Summit. I'll be taking part in two sessions:
Let me know if you'll be there. More details below:
On September 30th, 2014 at the Pier V Hotel in Baltimore, the Digital Revolution will land in your backyard.
The Baltimore Digital Summit, brought to you by Silverback Social - the producers of the Nationally recognized Westchester Digital Summit-, invite you to join us for a day of education, empowerment and business development with many of the same speakers that led Forbes to name the Westchester Event one of the "Must attend conferences for marketing leaders in 2014".
Please click Register Now to reserve your spot for the event and use the code 'Silverback' at checkout for a $50 discount.
It's been a big month of storytelling about the end of storytelling. I previously shared my presentation about the end of storytelling (complete with dozens of illustrations), and a related version then ran in Ad Age. The Ad Age story's a bit different, with a focus on how Coca-Cola's Share a Coke campaign with the cans with names on them exemplifies what marketing should be like in the post-storytelling era.
Let me know what you think. I will probably have some new stories to share that don't keep beating this drum, but there should be more chapters to come.
The Beginning of the End of Storytelling
Once upon a time, an industry became obsessed with storytelling. Everywhere these industry people went, they said storytelling was the most important thing they all had to do. Then a mean dragon of a columnist said storytelling was evil, and the industry people slew him so they could go back to enjoying their jobs. The end.
Or consider a different version of this story.
Once upon a time, an industry became obsessed with storytelling. But it gradually came around to the idea that no one listening to those stories could remember anything about them, so the industry people found a more meaningful way to connect with their audiences. And they all lived happily ever after. The end.
These stories are mutually exclusive. One will be fiction and the other nonfiction. In this unofficial edition of the "Choose Your Own Adventure" series, which path do you want to take? That path can have profound consequences for all of our jobs.
How many conferences have you been to about storytelling? How many articles have you read on how marketers can tell better stories? Given the obsession we have with storytelling, it seems like few people appreciate the dark side of it. I didn't appreciate the drawbacks myself until a conversation with my wife shifted my worldview. Here's the story of what happened.
One day, my wife and I were venting about a few insufferable people we know. They didn't seem to take an interest in us or anyone but themselves. Exasperated, my wife lamented, "All they do is tell stories!"
It was one of those lines I'll never forget. Given that our industry is all about storytelling, I'm used to storytellers being the heroes. Yet here she was revealing the negative aspect of the craft. Stories are often used as crutches that cast light on some trait or moment, rather than opening up a path to understand people more deeply. It's the story that gets in the way of the relationship. Tell the story with its beginning, middle and end, and your work is done.
To make matters worse, do you think people really get brands' stories? Think of a brand you love: Apple, Tide, Gucci, Hyundai, or any brand that you identify with. Do you know what its story is? I just paid way too much money to get the new iPhone, but I can't tell you Apple's story.
Strategies and Solutions from Real Marketers’ Case Studies. Featuring case studies from Bank of America, Volkswagen, Express, Neutrogena, and more.
Learn moreI asked my wife about this, too. Cara loves Diet Coke, so I asked her, "What's Coke's story?" The next thing I knew, I was living in a real-world version of the "carousel" moment from "Mad Men." She started telling me about when Coke came out with cans with red tabs, and all her friends used to collect them. And then she told me about the games she played with her friends in sleepaway camp, where they'd break off tabs from Coke cans as a way to reveal which boys they liked. Thanks to this brand, I was learning more about the person in my life I have been the closest to for nearly a decade.
Interestingly, Coca-Cola is currently running one of the most radical campaigns that pushes back against storytelling and addresses the future of marketing. The "Share a Coke" campaign with names and relationship descriptors on cans and bottle labels empowers people to create their own stories. I see these moments happen all the time with colleagues and friends, where the brand is the catalyst for the stories they are making about themselves.
One small but striking moment I witnessed was when my teammate Kate wound up with a bottle labeled "Adam," and she saved the bottle for my colleague Adam, who was all too happy to have it. Before the campaign, they wouldn't have even valued the empty bottle for the recycling refund. Instead, what would have been a piece of trash wound up strengthening their relationship in some small way. And that story of Kate saving the empty bottle for Adam is a story all three of us remember. Perhaps you will remember it, too.
The future of storytelling isn't about telling anyone anything. It's about storymaking, where the brand facilitates and taps into the stories people are creating and sharing with each other. Storytelling is the epitome of the old one-way, broadcast mindset that so many of us in marketing are trying to leave behind. Storymaking, by contrast, is far more fulfilling, and exactly what will matter to the people all of our brands are trying to reach.
Event season is upon us! At least, it is for me. Let me know if we'll intersect at any of these events or in any of these cities:
September 14-15: I'll be out in Montauk for an ad intelligence company's private summit. I don't know what can be disclosed, but there's probably only one happening there then.
September 16: I'll be speaking that day at Inbound 2014 in Boston, bringing to life a story I've been working on for awhile - A Story about the End of Storytelling - as one of its Bold Talks. I'll also take part in an Ask Me Anything dialogue on the presentation afterward, so stay tuned to inbound.org/david.
September 17: While the early morning will be spent on Amtrak, ll be coming back to attend a good chunk of the Financial Times Future of Marketing Summit.
September 18: What's going on in the future? Ask the Future Foundation. I'll be emceeing their USA client conference in New York that day.
September 18: This evening, at Advertising Women of NY's Networking with Notables, I'll be joining either as a networker or a notable.
September 19: At NYC Media Lab's Annual Summit, my peers rom Publicis Groupe and I will unveil a new project challenge.
September 30: Does twice make a tradition? It's my second time speaking in Baltimore, and my second time doing so at an event with Don Steele. Down at Baltimore Advertising Week's Digital Summit, I'll be presenting some research from MRY's new study on How We Connect to Our Cars and share what that means for mobile marketing, and also moderating a panel on Navigating the Evolving Digital Landscape with execs from LinkedIn, UMUC, Verizon Enterprise Solutions, and OpiaTalk.
October 1: At NewCo New York, where you can bounce around some of the most innovative companies, there are only two agencies you can visit, and MRY is one of them. Expect a riveting talk on predictive marketing. And some really good coffee, from what I hear (I prefer tea).
October 2: It's Techweek, boys and girls, and I'll be part of a fantastic panel on Wearable Technology: Changing the Way We Think, Act and Move, sitting alongside Jason Fass, Steve Jackson, and Hilary Topper.
October 2: In the evening, I'll team up with my old friend Greg Galant at the Shorty Awards to host their Advertising Week Cocktail Bash. I may need to Vine something, or Hyperlapse it if someone from Facebook shows up. We can Hyperlapse each other vining. You can RSVP here.
October 9: I don't believe I've had the pleasure of presenting in the fine state of Michigan. That will change, thanks to an event I'm keynoting, and I'll share details on that soon too.
Then there's a jaunt to Tel Aviv, Florence, and Rome. Recommendations welcome.
Looking ahead to November, any chance you'll be in Madrid November 6? I will be reconnecting with Angel Gonzalez at The Future of Branding is #Now, featuring Leif Abraham, Alexandra Mecklenburg, and Alex Gibelalde.
November 13: Finally (for now), a long overdue trip to San Francisco is on the horizon when I join the M1 Summit. I may be planning a little something else in conjunction with my West Coast office, so contact me if you're interested in hearing more should that all come together.
Image via Stripe.com
So, Twitter's talking about allowing people to buy stuff from tweets. Great news, right! Umm, maybe...
I posted a column in Ad Age about this. The pre-edited version is below, so read the better version there, or my edition below.
Stop Dreaming of a Stripe Christmas for Twitter
Most marketers can park their sleighs on the sidelines, but five kinds of offers could work well
Are you dreaming of a Stripe Christmas, unlike one you’ve ever known? Where the commerce glistens and Twitterverse listens to hear cash register bells as it snows?
Wake up. If Twitter’s partnership with payments startup Stripe materializes in time for the peak holiday shopping stretch, it will be a boon for a handful of marketers and retailers. It will also bolster Twitter’s advertising offerings. For most brands, however, this won’t make a difference, and this should have little impact on their Twitter marketing strategies.
Re/code broke the news about the Stripe partnership and timing. Jason Del Rey wrote, “Later this year, Twitter is expected to unveil buttons within tweets that say ‘Buy’ or some variation of the word; after clicking on the button, shoppers are expected to be able to enter in payment and possibly shipping information without leaving Twitter’s service. Sources say that businesses that want to sell products or services within tweets are being instructed to sign up with Stripe to process payments on their behalf.”
I can picture so many marketers reading this and literally drooling at their desks, in a rather less adorable way than how my six-month-old daughter drools all over the board books I read her. While marketers may be nearly as helpless as my daughter in preventing themselves from drooling at such stimuli, it would behoove marketers to exercise a little more control.
One of the reasons marketers should show more caution in this realm is that the whole notion of social commerce is often misunderstood. The two aren’t generally meant to be linked together in so seamless a fashion. Years ago, several brands tried promoting flash sales on Facebook where consumers could make a purchase directly within the post, but it wasn’t sustainable. Nor were group commerce models, such as the original approach of Groupon. Pinterest functions differently, as it is in essence a product recommendation site, but usually people aren’t spending time on social networks with the intent to make a purchase. That’s why so many social commerce attempts have failed.
When social commerce tends to work on social networking sites, it’s usually at opposite ends of the theoretical purchase funnel. On one end, there is the chance to make people aware of brands and products, often through content marketing. At the other end, by connecting with people who are already customers and fans, there are some opportunities to convert them into advocates. The toughest area to play is the middle – taking someone who is aware of a product and interested, and having them make a purchase at that moment.
Even with those caveats, there are five kinds of use cases for Twitter-powered commerce that could make sense:
1) Sampling: It’s not usually the hardest challenge to give away free products, but marketers can tap Twitter’s interest graph to get goods in the hands in the right consumers.
2) Exclusive offers: Some of Twitter’s earliest advertisers used ads for flash sales, and the Stripe connection will make this appealing to a broader range of brands. Exclusive goods can benefit from the word of mouth marketing on Twitter, and for such marketers, the real-time nature of Twitter makes it the perfect channel.
3) Digital media: Low-consideration items such as mobile apps could work well for impulse buys. So could music singles, given how much clout celebrities have on Twitter. Granted, publishers will have to be willing to integrate with Twitter and Stripe, and that will limit which ones participate.
4) Subscription services: When trying to convert non-paying followers to paying customers, popular services could float offers to their current fan base, and some of those fans may spread the word further with their retweets. Spotify, LinkedIn, The New York Times, Pocket, and TripIt are some that could assess whether Twitter followers become subscribers faster with Twitter enabling purchases.
5) Fundraising: This could be the social media equivalent of the pleas to text a quick message to donate $10 to some trendy cause. When it’s so easy to donate a nominal amount with a tweet and a charity is connected to a cause people are buzzing about, that’s precisely the kind of message that people will want to spread.
Even as these are some of the most likely candidates for finding success with Twitter-enabled payments, marketers hawking shampoo, smartphones, and perhaps even cars may give it a shot. If it is tempting to participate yourself, go into this thinking that this is an experiment that won’t yet work. Instead, keep trying to figure out if Twitter matters for your brands on a more macro level, and determine how to best use it. If this year also winds up being a Stripe Christmas for you, then your holidays will be even merrier and brighter.
