Do you have a Young Spirit? Try it on Social Networks!
I heard many people say that they are "too old" for social. I don't buy this at all. Social has nothing to do with age..... but a young spirit. We all need to keep a youthful attitude instead of not changing or adapting. This works in life as well as with Social Networks!
Social networking is not just used by the young and the restless. Which age groups are using social media?
Did you know that:
- 72% of all internet users are now active on social media
- 18-29 year olds have an 89% usage
- The 30-49 bracket sits at 72%
- 60 percent of 50 to 60 year olds are active on social media
- In the 65 plus bracket, 43% are using social media
(You can see more stats at: http://www.jeffbullas.com/2014/01/17/20-social-media-facts-and-statistics-you-should-know-in-2014/#V5IbWy4JKG1D2bpu.9)
Also per Pew Research:
Some tips!
1. Learn some tools like Facebook, Twitter, or whatever your "crowd" leverages. Do this in person at social classes that are offered for free (our library did free classes this weekend!) or online. You can do it!
2. Set goals. That means we need to chase our dreams and work toward our goals. It could be personal like keeping in touch with friends or grandkids. Or it could be work related. When you wake up with something to accomplish, and you don't settle for watching the world go by, you keep that spirit young and fresh!
3. Keep laughing! If you ever watch a child, they laugh and have fun. You may not get it right away but don't get down on yourself. Keep moving -- have a laugh and collect the stories.
We know that digital natives love technology and social networks but the fastest growing group on social today are those digital immigrants. Immigrants always take risks and drive forward!
Start today!
It's not always about you!
How many brands discuss nothing but themselves in social networks? About 62%. Too many brands do nothing but talk about themselves. But the millennials and Gen Z want to be part of the "sharing" culture! They want this "relationship" to be a win - win.
Look for opportunities to comment on your clients comments and POV. Set up ways you can have them participate. I love what Taylor Swift does in her Social Media empire. She fills up up Tweets with undiscovered artists singing her songs, fan collages, and wedding videos using her songs. This past Christmas she did #SwiftMas and sent out gifts to those fans out there engaging and documented their openings of the presents on video. TD Bank did a ATM - Automated Thanking Machine - to say thank you to their clients documenting their responses.
What will you do to recognize and talk about your clients and their interests?
The Best Ideas: Entrepreneur creates WishPop
Yesterday, I had a wonderful meeting with Rob Ross who is a natural techy, developer, and entrepreneur.
His creation -- an app for the iPad inspired by his daughter. WishPop allows kids to create wish lists and thank yous to help their "grown ups" know what to buy them!
And Rob did all the right things:
1. First, he got a first class team. While the team was only 8 people, he had experience from Nickelodean, Disney, National Geographic Kids, Game Designers from Ramps, and Acclaim Entertainment. This drove an incredible design.
2. Second, he knew his "client's" pain points. His own daughter served as a chief requirement giver and her 15 BFFs gave constant and consistent feedback.
3. And finally, he learned and pivoted. He noted that the technical platform that he chose to build on didn't allow flexibility. He has since switched over to a developer platform Xamarin.
I love this app and the story!
Every Social Network Is Different !
Dogs are different than cats, and therefore we treat them different. We walk a dog on a leash and leverage catnip for kittens!
The same is true of social networks. The audience of Twitter is different than that of Google Plus. They are different and those that win, treat them differently!
While people know this, we still see content cross promoted on brand's social networks. Your team should be leveraging the differences and be creative to craft the story differently for the different social networks.
One of my favorite brands finds new and unique ways to engage with their fans. They strategically use social to report sentimental stories about how fans’ lives intertwine with the product, thereby growing their social engagement.
What are you doing in your brand?
Tip of the Week: Word Clouds - A great way to see your focus
When I produce a document or content, I will dump the document into a word cloud tool like Wordle.
Review and see what words are really standing out. Are those the words you want to stand out? Do you know what you want to emphasize? Make sure those words and phrases are sprinkled throughout your document!
Have fun developing content that matters!
What is Growth Hacking? Hint: Content is queen!
Everyone is talking about growth hacking ... but what is it?
Well here are some facts!
- It was created by start ups and entrepreneurs as a way to do "marketing" but I really consider it an intersection of product, marketing, and data.
- It is typically low cost alternative to costly ways to get attention
- It is part of an online marketing ecosystem!!!
- Growth Hacking runs on the engine of "content"
- Skills needed are techniques such as search engine optimization, website analytics, content marketing and A/B testing which are already mainstream.
Some examples include:
An early example of "growth hacking" was Hotmail's inclusion of "PS I Love You" with a link for others to get the free online mail service. Another example was the offer of more storage by Dropbox to users who referred their friends (these were featured as well in Wikipedia)
One way to learn Growth Hacking, is to do Growth Hacking!
Maybe start simply with a blog! Why a blog? Well, a lot of growth hacking is about content marketing --- But don’t let the word “blog” throw you off. "The better you become at creating content, promoting content and sustaining an output of content, the better you’ll be at growth hacking. Start simply on this one! " Entrepreneur Magazine
To be continued!!!
The Biggest Impact: Gen Z, Gen D or Gen Y?
I did a lot of reading over the holidays and was exploring all the new "generations" upon us.
I was fascinated by the studies on my daughters era -- the Gen Z!
Gen Z:
These are the kids born after the Gen Ys -- the Millenials. They have never known a world without the Internet, mobile devices or 'I' everything! For their entire life, they have had instant access to mountains of data on any topic that flutters through their imaginations. They crave constant and immediate feedback. But they have also grown up hearing about global warming, 9-11, and have been subjected to terror alerts of varying colors and watched their parents weather the recent economic crisis.
Gen Z is going to have little interest in sitting behind a desk for 40 hours a week [source 1="<a" 2="href="http://www.justmeans.com/Jesse-Medalia-Strauss--A-Gen-Z-Perspective-on-Careers-and-Employment/46205.html">Page</a>" language=":"][/source]. They demand to freelance, and want to swoop in with their particular expertise (they'll all be an expert in something) but then move on.
Gen Z has more of an entrepreneurial spirit
17% of Gen Z vs. 11% of Gen Y wants to start a business and hire others.
For Gen Z, it’s not about the money … yet
Only 28% of Gen Z said money would motivate them to work harder and stay with their employer longer, as opposed to 42% of Gen Y.
Gen Z prefers face-to-face communication over technology
Gen Z grew up with technology, yet 53% percent prefer in-person communication over tools like instant messaging and video conferencing.
According to Dan Schawbel, founder of Millennial Branding and Author of Promote Yourself, the study reveals other attributes that distinguish Gen Z and Gen Y employees. “Gen Z has a clear advantage over Gen Y because they appear to be more realistic instead of optimistic, are likely to be more career-minded, and can quickly adapt to new technology to work more effectively,” Schawbel said. “Additionally, since Gen Z has seen how much Gen Y has struggled in the recession, they come to the workplace better prepared, less entitled and more equipped to succeed.”
Do you agree?
And then there is the impact on the Enterprise. I loved this thought on Gen D enterprises!
Gen D:
A new class of enterprise is emerging with a fresh approach to improving business. Generation D, is made up of data-rich, analytically driven enterprises. They understand the unique and powerful value of data and analytics, analytics, and they know how to combine that with cloud, social and mobile technologies to transform
their enterprises.