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"Ask customers."
They're committed to your brand, too.
But, unlike insiders, customers will provide the Emperor-has-no-clothes appraisal you need when an idea lacks merit.
I'm ceaselessly puzzled by organizations that don't seek an outside reality check before investing in some initiative.
They're everywhere.
On the other hand, be careful to ask the right customers the right questions.
Because a lot of them (most) have puny imaginations.
Henry Ford famously said, "If I asked my customers what they want, they simply would have said a faster horse."
While most live-event producers encourage participants to push out content, software giant SAP goes one better.
In advance, SAP maps out the social media coverage of its annual sales meeting.
SAP identifies a dozen newsworthy topics, then deputizes skilled "reporters” to cover them at the event.
The employees SAP co-opts as reporters must meet a couple requirements. One, they must be proficient in social media. Two, they must have online followers.
They're provided tools and training by the company, so their reportage is even.
During the meeting, the reporters get legal permission to publish interviews and testimonials by asking interviewees to sign index cards with simple "release" language.
The reporters also carry special-purpose business cards with Web addresses printed on them. They hand these to interviewees, who predictably ask, "Where will this appear?”
You can learn more about SAP's efforts by visiting Andy's Answers at SmartBlog.
Marketing gurus Ann Handley and C.C. Chapman have authored the new book Content Rules.
In a word, it rocks.
Although the authors would hope "to discredit the notion that creating content is complicated and difficult," Content Rules makes one thing crystal clear: it pays to tackle social media marketing with care and know-how.
If you're at all shy in the latter department (who isn't?), Content Rules will help.
Part One provides 11 do's and don'ts, the "rules" touted in the title. It's packed with advice about writing, curating, co-creating, repurposing, sharing and other activities essential to good content marketing.
Part Two delves into how-to's.
The authors, like most social media marketing experts, insist a blog forms the "hub" of any sound content marketing strategy. There's a strong chapter on blogging with 12 more rules on that activity alone.
Fanning from the blog are Webinars, white papers, case studies, FAQ sheets, videos, podcasts and photos. Part Two includes hundreds of pointers for perfecting these.
Part Three offers 10 case studies.
Profiled are content marketing grand slams by big and little players, including Boeing, HubSpot and Kodak.
Included with each case study are "Ideas You Can Steal." These alone justify the price of the 250-page book.
While co-author Chapman, a "thought leader" in the space, is no slouch, Ms Handley is chief content officer of the much-lauded Website MarketingProfs.
So you can guess the advice in Content Rules is fairly sound.
After all, 365,000 followers can't all be wrong.
I can't allow the moment to pass without noting the death last week of Don Van Vliet, who performed in the 1960s and '70s as Captain Beefheart.
Many an hour of my youth was spent (some would say misspent) grooving to Beefheart.
We toss the word around lighty, but Van Vliet was an artist.
He was the only big-name rocker I ever saw walk off the stage at the beginning of a performance, because the audience wouldn't accept his latest work.
"You don't deserve this, [expurgated*]," he announced mid-song, and stormed off.
The concert was held in 1972 in George Washington University's Lisner Auditorium. It lasted about 12 minutes, as I recall.
*Rhymes with suckers.
My mom and dad said, if I write you a letter, you'd bring me all the things I want this Christmas.
So here goes.
Transformers. Bring me as many of these as you can, Santa. Sometimes I run out of ways to transform dull first drafts into inspiring copy.
Stinky the Garbage Truck. I can use this to haul off the ideas I come up with that my clients reject.
Spy Net Video Watch. I can use this super-special watch to keep tabs on competitors. But, more importantly, I can use it to show up on time for appointments.
High School Musical 3 Game. I want to relive high school this way. My actual high school was more like the Revenge of the Nerds 3 Game.
Speedster Fire Truck. I need this to rescue the numerous clients I have who are too busy to notice their hair is on fire.
Thank you, Santa.
If you bring me all these things, I promise, promise, promise to be good.
