I caught this parody of news reporting over on Kevin Roderick’s L.A. Observed. Check it out, then tune into any of the national evening news reports and see how closely they hew to this tired formula. God save us from by-the-numbers hack journalism.
Popularity: 2% [?]
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photo by esparta
Ah, the power of communication. A new Stanford study of consumer behavior at Starbucks shows that posting calories on the chain’s menu boards lowers customers’ calorie counts without substantially affecting revenue. Sounds like a win-win to me.
Based on transaction data from Starbucks locations in New York, Boston and Philadelphia, the study found that calorie postings led to a six percent reduction in calories per transaction. Interestingly, almost all of the change related to food purchases; average beverage calories remained pretty much unchanged. Hard to break that Grande Caffè Vanilla Frappuccino® habit, I guess (430 calories with whipped cream, by the way).
Since changing behavior is a huge part of marketing, you might ask yourself what simple communication steps you might take to move the needle. It doesn’t have to cost much, and even modest results could have a dramatic impact on your organization.
Popularity: 4% [?]
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Many thanks to Jim Mitchem for bringing this ad to my attention. Absolutely, simply beautiful and moving. More importantly, it makes me wonder why I ever did anything so idiotic as to not wear a seatbelt when I was younger.
This is the kind of public service advertising that makes such a strong emotional connection that it actually gets you thinking about the everyday decisions you make in your life, and how they impact the quality of that life. Imagine if you marshaled that kind of powerful messaging on behalf of your own cause.
Popularity: 100% [?]
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photo by abnelphoto.com
I’ve been a writer since high school. It started with some really lame attempts at humor for the school paper, followed by some slightly less lame attempts at news and feature writing for the college paper. Since then I’ve held a series of positions in which writing has been an integral part of the job description. I’ve done annual reports, newsletters, brochures, direct mail and all the other projects that come with a job in marketing or communications.
I’ve always taken pride in my work. That isn’t to say I’ve been satisfied with everything I’ve written. Far from it. But I’ve been pretty conscientious in my efforts to turn out high-quality results. And my employers and clients have almost always been pleased even when I’ve been less than satisfied.
I consider writing to be a craft that, while many can manage competence, few are really good at it. It isn’t that the many couldn’t do a better job of it, it’s just that, for whatever reason, they choose not to invest the time and energy into improving the quality of their prose. Writing is easy; it’s the rewriting that’s a bitch. Turning the lathe until the shape is just right takes practice, and most people obviously don’t consider it worth the effort.
That’s fine by me. As long as there are those who value what I do and are willing to pay for it, I’m OK with being an ant among the grasshoppers. Unfortunately, the number of those who prize high-quality writing seems to be dwindling rapidly.
When did good writing become such a devalued commodity? The explosion of the internet as a communications ecosystem is a major culprit. Now that everyone has access to the printing press, we’re flooded with writing that no one in his right mind would ever pay to publish. That may be one of the reasons that most writers find it difficult to earn a living wage these days.
Worse yet, there’s a whole cottage industry of coaches and blogging “experts” whose own writing frankly doesn’t compare favorably to the lesser published writing guides. Say what you will about that dinosaur book publishing industry. At least they have editors. And fact checkers. And writers worth publishing.
Seems to me that there are two problems and no immediate solutions. First, the instantaneous “press Publish” nature of online writing has encouraged greater laziness even among those who know better. We’re seeing a lot more first drafts and far fewer fifth drafts.
Second, while bad writing has always been with us, the web makes it far more visible and accessible. Remember that saying about not sharing every thought that pops into your head? Thanks to the web, you can record the thought, share it with the world and revisit it for all eternity.
P.S. This was pretty much a first-draft effort. OK, maybe second-draft. Just imagine how great this post would have been had I invested the time and effort it deserved. But hey … it’s just the web.
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Popularity: 10% [?]
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photo by moonlightbulb
If you’re interested in effective communication, I’m sure by now you’ve read Chip and Dan Heath’s Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die. One of the most compelling concepts explored in this fascinating book is the Curse of Knowledge. Here’s what the Heaths have to say about it:
People tend to think that having a great idea is enough, and they think the communication part will come naturally. We are in deep denial about the difficulty of getting a thought out of our own heads and into the heads of others. It’s just not true that, “If you think it, it will stick.”
And that brings us to the villain of our book: The Curse of Knowledge. Lots of research in economics and psychology shows that when we know something, it becomes hard for us to imagine not knowing it. As a result, we become lousy communicators. Think of a lawyer who can’t give you a straight, comprehensible answer to a legal question. His vast knowledge and experience renders him unable to fathom how little you know. So when he talks to you, he talks in abstractions that you can’t follow. And we’re all like the lawyer in our own domain of expertise.
Here’s the great cruelty of the Curse of Knowledge: The better we get at generating great ideas—new insights and novel solutions—in our field of expertise, the more unnatural it becomes for us to communicate those ideas clearly. That’s why knowledge is a curse. But notice we said “unnatural,” not “impossible.” Experts just need to devote a little time to applying the basic principles of stickiness.
JFK dodged the Curse [with “put a man on the moon in a decade”]. If he’d been a modern-day politician or CEO, he’d probably have said, “Our mission is to become the international leader in the space industry, using our capacity for technological innovation to build a bridge towards humanity’s future.” That might have set a moon walk back fifteen years.
Every industry, every field and every endeavor has its secret language: the jargon, the technical terms, the acronyms and shorthand that enable us to communicate quickly among our peers and colleagues. But what about the poor schmuck who has no clue what the hell you’re talking about? That poor schmuck may be a customer, prospective donor or other would-be stakeholder you’ve made feel inadequate, confused and slightly stupid.
If you want to communicate with the outside world, the first step is not assuming anyone knows what you’re talking about. If I don’t live in your world, you’d better make it simple for me. Lose the jargon. Break down the technical language into something anyone can grasp. If you’re not ruthless in identifying and eradicating everything that stands in the way of my understanding you, then your “communication” may be a wasted effort.
Popularity: 17% [?]
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photo by vernalanemgmt
Sorry if that sounds like a cheap come-on, but I was intrigued by research I recently came across on how physical beauty involves more than good looks.
Three studies conducted at the University of Wisconsin-Madison found that people perceive physical beauty differently when looking at those they know versus strangers.
While there have been countless studies that focus on specific facial features, waist-to-hip ratios and other physical qualities that influence your perception of others’ beauty, these studies focused on how we might see physical beauty differently over time as we get to know a person’s other qualities.
In the first study, participants rated the physical attractiveness of people’s high school yearbook pictures (now there’s a scary thought). In the second, members of a college sports team and strangers rated team members. The last study asked students in a summer archaeological excavation course to rate one another both on the first day of class and again six weeks later.
“In each case, non-physical traits known only to familiars, such as how much the person was liked, respected and contributed to shared goals, had a large effect on the perception of physical attractiveness that was invisible to strangers,” said David Sloan Wilson, an evolutionary biologist at Binghamton University and one of the researchers.
I think the implications for social media are pretty obvious. As researchers Wilson and Kevin Kniffin conclude in their paper on the studies, “If you want to enhance your physical attractiveness, become a valuable social partner.”
Personally, I’ve always preferred to be judged on the quality of my character rather than any physical traits. That’s why I use a profile shot that’s been deliberately uglified. For the curious, here’s what I really look like.
Popularity: 13% [?]
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photo by lollyknit
I had planned to write about the importance of putting your best social media foot forward by being what I think of as your “true best self” when using online social networks. But apparently you are who you are, according to researchers at the University of Texas.
In a recent study of Facebook users, they found that profiles accurately represented users’ real-life personalities. In the New York Times article I read about the study, here’s the key takeaway for me:
Dr. Gosling said the findings suggested that online social networks could provide users with an opportunity for genuine social interactions.
“Is Facebook an opportunity to promote ourselves, a P.R. exercise? Or is it just another medium of social communication, like the telephone?” Dr. Gosling said. “This research suggests the latter. Young adults are using it as a way to communicate and leaving lots of clues about what they’re really like.”
Rather than looking to social media for its advertising potential (which I find one of the least interesting things about it), maybe we should focus more on captilizing on its amazing utility for linking, communicating, sharing, collaborating, etc. As for the marketeers among us, those “lots of clues” are a rich vein for data mining.
Seems to me that turning social media into just another megaphone is a criminal waste when you consider its potential.
Popularity: 11% [?]
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photo by dvidshub
I usually don’t engage in the whole self-delusional New Year’s resolutions routine that we’re encouraged to torment ourselves with each year. If I see one more article on how I should lose weight/get in shape/find my dream date/dig out of debt/fix my finances/fix my relationships/get the job I’ve always dreamed of/score that promotion/start my own business/become the perfect person just dying to emerge from my current imperfect cocoon, all tied to the turning over of another year, I may just have to give up all forms of media, social and otherwise.
On the other hand …
This blog reaches its first anniversary in another month or two (I should probably figure that out), and I am reflecting on how to be a better person from a social media perspective.
Contrary to what you may have heard elsewhere, using social media to achieve your marketing or communication objectives is hard work. It may be relatively inexpensive, but it doesn’t come cheap. I’ve devoted much time and energy to this blog and Twitter in particular, less so to some of the other tools I use. I’ve received amazing encouragement and support from others whose own social media efforts continually astonish me. I’ve learned more about my craft and profession in the past year than at any other time I can remember. And I’m constantly reminded of all the things I don’t know. It’s exciting, intimidating and humbling, frequently at the same time. In case you haven’t figured it out, this is a friggin’ amazing time to be a marketing or communications professional.
If true expertise requires 10 years experience or 10,000 hours deliberate practice, then we all have a ways to go in our mastery of social media. Given the fluidity and moving-target nature of it, I suspect they may have to come up with a new measure for capturing true social media expertise, all the SM gurus, masters and other self-proclaimed prophets notwithstanding.
With all that said, here are my social media resolutions. I hope they spur some soul-searching in others who share my belief that self-improvement is good for the soul. Regardless, feel free to hold me to them.
Not to belabor the whole resolutions thing, but using social media feels to me like eating right, staying fit, meeting financial goals and all the other stuff that makes you a better you (whatever the hell that might mean). It’s a lifetime commitment that can enrich your life. As corny and preachy as it sounds, I do believe it. And that’s why I stick with it.
Now if I could just get a handle on the whole eating right/staying fit thing …
Popularity: 12% [?]
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photo by ausiegall
As you might expect at the end of the year AND decade, lists were among the most popular tweets in December. No New Year’s resolution lists, though … guess everyone’s saving those for their January posts.
What the Hell Are You Waiting For?
50 Social Media Tactics for Nonprofits
The 4 Cornerstones of Social Media Monitoring
Is Your Nonprofit’s Story a Call to Action?
Three Reasons Why Storytelling is the Key to Social Media Marketing Success
The Best and Worst Identities of 2009
Measure the Impact, Not the Influence
10 Things You Need to Stop Tweeting About
Why Print Isn’t Going Anywhere for a Long, Long Time
Storytelling Through Social Media
Website at a Loss as to Why It Disappeared From Google
The Best Business Books of 2009
When It Comes to Online Content, More Niche Usually Trumps More Masses
100 Social Media & Content Marketing Predictions for 2010
Social Isolation and New Technology
5 Qualities of a Good Social Media Manager
Volunteers Give 10 Times More Than Other Americans
10 Best and Worst Internet Company Names of the Decade
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photo by photogirl7
It hasn’t been quite a full year since I started this blog, but now’s as good a time as any to look back and see what resonated most with readers. I have to say that these 10 posts represent some of my better efforts. And I hope to do more along these lines in 2010. In descending order of popularity:
The Secret to Making Your Brand Truly Great
Now Hiring: a Communications Manager
What the Hell Are You Waiting For?
Social Media and the Paradox of Choice
Time for a Twitter Reality Check
No More Excuses for Crap Communications
Are You Antisocial in Your Social Media Efforts?
Let’s Play 20 Questions to a Solid Strategic Plan
Why Every Communicator Should Blog
Lies, Damned Lies and Social Media Statistics
Popularity: 12% [?]
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