I didn’t ask for a fast response, but I got one — and a clever one at that. In ten words, Chipotle was able to say to me, “We appreciate your business, we’re not a stuffy corporation, and what you think about us is important.”
Louis C.K. knew the risks in making his product available for download, so he simply leveled with his audience. He told them he put up his own money, and asked them to support him by not pirating. He was upfront about what he spent to make the show, and told them he wanted it to be accessible to his fans. His audience appreciated it, and rewarded him with their purchases.
But out in the outliers – in the niches – there are active, eager, willing audiences who are looking for quality content. There’s a place for good movies and entertaining media. It’s just not going to come from the mainstream. In my opinion, that’s good news for content-creation, as a whole, and good news for consumers.
In other words, it’s not like a flyer you put out there, whose success is measured by how many calls and sales you get. Instead, all of these uses deal with the relationship your building with your customers. While it may not lead to a sale today, it could have an exponential effect on your future sales.
Don’t think of your Facebook presence as a place to merely post product pictures, invite people to your marketing events, and throw out your marketing pitch. It’s a big room with a lot of people there for a lot of different reasons. You have to remember that every time you log on, people are connecting with distant loved ones, finding old friends, and keeping up with acquaintances. People are expecting a relational experience.
Mass marketing is over. That should be great news for salespeople, marketers, entrepreneurs, small business owners, writers, musicians, filmmakers, and artists. You can no longer distinguish yourself from the masses, because the “mass” is going away. That means you don’t have to try anymore. In other words, you no longer have to distinguish yourself from the masses. Now, the goal is to identify your tribe, and connect with them.
You don’t have to hard sell your widgets on Facebook! You don’t have to so it. If you are friends with someone on a social network, chances are it’s because there is some sort of relationship there. They accepted you, either because they know you, they know of you, you have mutual friends, or they really like what you’re all about.
People don’t want to interact with your hard sale. For years, marketing has been about creating problems. You really need a better mousetrap, whether your knew it or not. People don’t want you to share your commercial on Google+. People want you to present an idea, an abstract, or a concept, and they want to take that and make it their own. If that interaction brings them closer to your and your products, mission accomplished.
What’s the lesson to be learned? A negative isn’t always as negative as you think. Or, another way of putting it, your enemy isn’t necessarily an enemy.
So who do you see as “enemies” to your business?
Here’s three simple, creative ways web video can save your business time and money.
