Are you successful in social media campaigning? Look around you.  Is there anyone else with you?  Is there anyone even near you?

Okay…  I say that somewhat figuratively.  But think about it.  Are you TELLING others about your business, your industry, politics, dreams, fears, or aspirations?

Or are you TALKING with them about theirs?

If you look around and seem to be virtually alone, maybe you’re taking the wrong approach to the campaign.

Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Ustream, Flickr, along with the endless number of other social media platforms out there are for precisely one impetus.  Like a campaign, your intention is to build community.  And I’m not talking about tipping the polls with sheer numbers. Who cares that you have 10,000 followers on Twitter?  How many of those 10,000 actually engage in your community – “Youville?” If you want to be President of “Youville,” you’re going to need to campaign, recruit, coerce, engage, and ultimately communicate and relate with those that would be your constituents.

TALKING = SOCIAL MEDIA:
There are those I see that do it pretty darn well. I call them “Thought-leaders” in their industries.  They’re engaging and relevant to their communities.  They campaign their positions with intellect and verve. And we’re all eager to follow along, to learn, to re-tweet, re-post and lap up the droppings just to be involved.  They accept suggestions and conversations about their thoughts.  They teach.  They learn.

TELLING = NOT-SO SOCIAL MEDIA:
Then there are those that “campaign.”  They soapbox. They rabble-rouse and conjecture; like planning some sort of coup – pushing information out with such ferocity that they miss the engagement side of social media. They forget the community side of social media.  They forget their constituents.

Ultimately they lose the campaign for “Youville.” And then they complain that social media is worthless for their “business model” or their “industry” – a waste of time.

I say they’re just not Presidential. It’s a fact.  Not everyone can be president.

So, from one of those “Thought-Leaders,” Mack Collier, I’d like to reiterate what makes “Social Media” social.  If you’re not doing a majority (if not ALL) of these things…  You may need to get out of the race. (you can read the full text of Mack’s post here)

1 – Promote other people. All it does is make others more likely to promote you, and want to interact with you.

2 – Watch your language. I don’t mean what you say, but HOW you say it. How you interact with others greatly determines if and how they will respond.

3 – Show people that you value their opinions. … From my experience, the room is ALWAYS smarter than I am, so anything I can do to encourage interaction with everyone else, means I am going to learn something.

4 – Show people that you care. … there’s a lot of people I follow that I rarely, if ever, tweet with. But … One thing I do is if I see someone I rarely tweet with mention that they got a new job, or a new car, or got married, etc, I will send them a quick tweet congratulating them. Doesn’t take 5 secs, but it quickly let’s them know that I’m watching and care enough to congratulate them.

5 – Say ‘thank you’ early and often. It matters. This isn’t rocket science, it’s social media.

Campaigns should be run similarly.  Create connections to your community and grow it with value and trust, not volume and thrust!

What do you think?  Do you have more tips for winning the “Youville” elections?  I’d love to carry on the conversation.

Keep Cooking!
Andrew B. Clark
–The Brand Chef

So, last week I went on my first “real” vacation in 15 years with the explicit instructions from my wife NOT to think of work… no blog posts… no tweets… not even updates to my Facebook profile. WAH?!?

So, what did I do?

Well, besides the obvious tanning, eating, sightseeing, drinking, and overall carousing; I observed. I observed multi-cultural interaction. I observed marketing from a global perspective. I observed everything from federal highway infrastructure to tourist stops, restaurants, bars, parks, airports, and hotels trying to position themselves as THE #1 category leader in… whatever it is they do... It was astounding. It was intimidating.

And then, it started to bother me.

See, I live in the heart of the heart of the middle of the United States. And for us, diversification is a completely misunderstood concept…

Sure, we have some great marketing communications firms in the Midwest. Sure, we have some great agencies that handle many of the biggest brands in the world. So, why is it that when I got back to the Midwest (not even out of the airport) did everything that once said “global community” suddenly turn into middle class, middle aged, white, rural men… vanilla in a rocky road world?

Demographics. Focus groups. Statistics.

So, let’s bring it back home… Iowa is diversifying. FAST. And from what I see in all channels of marketing in the Midwest is more of the same – more of the past. Do we really have our fingers on the pulse of our community (let alone the world)? I don’t think so.

After reading the book Chasing Cool, by Noah Kerner and Gene Pressman, I was exhilarated by the thought of “taking a step to the left” and becoming (or getting my clients to) that #1 or the iPod of the industry. But for some reason it didn’t ring true until I saw it happening outside my little world… while on vacation, I learned that most of the Midwest is still “Chasing Cool.”

So instead of a great tan… instead of a suitcase full of Mickey Mouse ears and statues of astronauts; I came away with wider eyes. I came away with renewed expectations from my industry. I came away with questions.

“Why does it have to be so difficult to create a brand with such a UPS that it breaks the barriers of global blandnation (my word) and stands on its own as the brand of choice?”

Or… How do we change the fact that there’s 500 freakin’ channels on and nothing to watch…

Do you have any answers? ‘Cause, I don’t think it’s going to come from one source (any more).

What does middle America do to create a UPS for itself? How do we compete in a market that is rushing by us at the speed of light?

Food for thought…

Until Next Time,
Keep Cooking! (unique positioning for yourself and the world)
Andrew B. Clark
The Brand Chef

There’s been a small, increasing storm rising from across the pond. It’s a bit like watching a cold front bustle across the corn fields in my back yard – with the rolling sound of thunder and lightning flashes – and it’s starting to frighten me.

On June 5th, the new logo for the London 2012 Olympic Games was unveiled for the world. And from what I can tell, the response has been nothing but complete disdain and hostility toward the $800,000 brand mark. Many of the malicious responses center around the hideous, abstract design and the color scheme – similar to the pop culture graphics from the mid-1980′s. Check out Seth Godin’s remarks. He and his readers make some pretty good comments.

Now, I grew up in the 80′s, so I have a certain appreciation for the innovation and discovery that took place then. From an image standpoint, we were introduced to logos and icons with lasting vision and value like Apple, and Nike. On the other hand, even Apple has changed with the times.

So what happened to the design team and committee that was developing this tripe?

I’m saddened when I think of the world’s athletes that have put so much effort and time into achieving the honor of competing in the Olympics having to walk around the Olympic Village slathered with a logo that looks like they just got back from a Duran Duran concert. What will the medals look like – Swatches? (c’mon, I had at least five… and wore them all at the same time!)

My heart goes out to weightlifters, boxers and the sort… Maybe you’ll get Duran Duran’s Greatest Hits in your gift baskets – or maybe a cool “bangs flip” hair-do makeover…

Take a look for yourself. Think about how Seb Coe describes the “vision” behind their new brand mark… And then let me (and the world) know what you think.

Keep Cooking!
Andrew