Comments on: Find Your ONE THING Before Launching In Social Media

By: 10 Steps to Facebook Success for Nonprofits | Pamela Grow's Grantwriting Blog

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 09:38:44 +0000

[...] ask “What’s your thing?”. What is the single THING ABOUT your nonprofit that is truly defining and interesting.¬†When you ask your supporters why they support your organization – the reason in their [...]

By: VRC Brooks » Blog Archive » One-Page Social Media Strategy

VRC Brooks » Blog Archive » One-Page Social Media Strategy — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 16:08:23 +0000

[...] and your board to get to the core of your mission statement and keep focus on your organization’s one thing, its raison [...]

By: Jason Baer

Jason Baer — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 02:48:54 +0000

@olivier I believe we actually are very much in agreement. The whole point of the post is to figure out your one thing before getting involved in social media. And while communicating that one thing in a social media context is indeed “marketing and communication” that’s really the whole point for brands to get involved (generally speaking). I wholeheartedly agree that strategy and defined objectives are the MOST important aspect of social media, because the stove is hot enough to burn you. Sadly, strategy often goes lacking, with or without the one thing established. I have a series of strategy-focused posts coming up, including one here on Da Fix. I sincerely hope you’ll take the time to comment thoroughly again. It’s 1000% appreciated.
@Heather Thanks very much for the kind words, and the RSS subscription. You might want to check out Olivier too at thebrandbuilder.wordpress.com

By: Heather Rast

Heather Rast — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 01:43:42 +0000

Hi, Jason. I’m a recent Twitter follower and RSS subscriber of yours…looks like I picked a winner first time around!
Truly, no gratuity, but I really enjoyed this piece. Great nugget of an idea and well written.
I agree, a brand can’t feasibly be all things to all people. Focusing resources on the one quality of feature in which a) the brand either won’t compromise or b) is an intrinsic part of their culture are two great places to start–there’s an inherent passion and commitment that when applied to social media, will ring authentic.

By: olivier blanchard

olivier blanchard — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 20:40:26 +0000

I don’t entirely agree with you, Jason.
Finding ‘the one thing’ that makes a company better in some way has always been the foundation of any successful branding or marketing communication exercise. It’s simply the core of what makes a brand stand out: What makes you better? What makes you different? What is the one thing that will make me, Joe Customer, pick you over every other company who does what you do? What is the one thing that will make me love you? As a brand manager, you have to understand this AND you have to be able to communicate it through every touchpoint in your company, from customer service and accounts payable to PR and design engineering. Fair enough.
However, as vital to a company’s success as finding what ‘the one thing’ is – or the two things, or the three things, even – this has nothing to do with social media. Communicating your client’s “one thing” is still broadcasting and messaging, which we all agree is not the best use of SocMed channels.
Better advice would be to get your clients to consider what they hope to accomplish by investing in social media. Increase sales? Increase touchpoints with customers? Generate feedback from users? Build greater brand equity? Create a WOM channel for upcoming events and launches? Recruiting net new customers? Just being able to say “hey, we’re in social media too?” You need to have objectives. They can be many, but you need to know what you want to get out of it, both for you as a company, and for your customers as well. Where’s the value for everyone? That’s the real question.
If the point is to NOT talk about yourself – and you’re 100% right about that – then you’re focusing on the wrong thing by talking about “the one thing”. The ‘one thing’ should already be evident through your marketing and other business processes by the time you get into social media channels. The focus of your social media strategy should be about transcending the ‘one thing’ and shifting the conversation to the passion you help stoke in your customers, users and fans.
If you’re a rock band, social media works best as a vehicle for a participatory, community-focused, rich “behind the scenes” experience. Photos, videos, blog entries, merchandise, surprise appearances, a chance to talk with your favorite band member via Twitter or Plurk, etc.
If you’re a car manufacturer, social media can be used to give drivers/owners a place to share their experiences and find out about how to enhance their lifestyle through your products. Its also a place to share information about prototypes and product development (again, a behind the scenes experience) in a way that excites people about their cars and future models. It’s essentially an online club hub for fans of your cars.
If you’re a restaurant or a bar, social media is used in a completely different way. Hair salons, running stores, hospitals, schools, municipalities, law firms all use social media in completely different ways based on what they are trying to accomplish. While “the one thing” is always present as a theme or thematic undercurrent, it can’t be much more than the contextual background music in social media channels.
If your clients are still at the “what’s our one thing?” stage, maybe its best to wait a few months before allowing them to jump into social media. The possibilities are probably too overwhelming, the medium too fluid, and the fans potentially too demanding for a company still in the process of articulating its own identity.
Force a company to jump into SocMed too soon, and they will most likely blow it by broadcasting – or perhaps worse yet, just sitting there with no idea what to do.
PS: Congrats on the Marketing profs gig!

By: deandrea Laub

deandrea Laub — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 17:24:23 +0000

It all comes down to customer awareness, and brand awareness. Are you aware of what is going on internally within your company, as well as externally. We’ve all known for a while we need to listen to our customers, but sometimes we fail to implement this simple step. Great post Jason!

By: Jason Baer

Jason Baer — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 17:15:14 +0000

@Spike. Thanks for dropping by. Honored that you’d comment. Keep up the killer work, and please keep publishing updated results on Fiskateers, as you’re right, it’s duration makes it special.
@Linda. I love that line! Might have to appropriate it for my next speech.
@Michael. Thanks so much for the pass along. Much appreciated.
@MJG Thanks for the comment. I agree your personal touch is what makes your firm special. Need to capture that in a tighter, more impactful way. Need to really humanize the staff in the minds of the clients.

By: Marie-Josee Gagnon

Marie-Josee Gagnon — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 16:59:22 +0000

Hi Jason – you’re right. And I really liked the Brainsonfire intro on their Web page. Right on.
At CASACOM, it is our warm house feel that is special I would say. I’m not sure this is what my clients want to hear. We are also amazing on results but isn’t what others PR firms would say. On the house feel, we’re alone… We need to think about it. Not easy…
Anyway, I also think that this idea comes down to the simple but great idea of The category of one book that I really enjoyed many years ago. Cheers

By: Michael Gass

Michael Gass — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 15:00:57 +0000

Jason – another outstanding post. I just sent a copy to all of my clients and a link to my Twitter community. “Finding the ONE THING in your company that is truly defining and interesting, and build your social media program around that” is central to having success with social marketing.

By: Linda VandeVrede

Linda VandeVrede — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 14:58:51 +0000

My favorite “one thing” is the comment years ago by the head of Revlon. They didn’t sell makeup, he said. They sold “hope.” I love that!

By: Spike Jones

Spike Jones — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 14:10:57 +0000

Thanks for the shout out, Jason. I think the reason that Fiskateers is the “definitive social media case study” is that 2-and-a-half years later, it’s still growing. Still maturing. Still getting amazing results. It’s a long-term, sustainable movement instead of a short-term campaign that’s here today and gone tomorrow. And the amount of money Fiskars has had to spend on the movement is so much less than the cost of running constant campaigns for the past 2.5 years. Just another factor for ROI.

By: Jason Baer

Jason Baer — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 14:06:27 +0000

@ Amber. Thanks. I completely agree that corporate employees are not best positioned to find the one thing. Too bogged down in memos.
@Steve. Talking to customer service department and listening in on calls, etc. is a great way to try to find the one thing (as well as listening to the social media community, natch).

By: Steve Woodruff

Steve Woodruff — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 13:15:42 +0000

The “one thing” is what the customers keep asking you about, and what they recommend you for when they talk to others. You have to identify it, embrace it, then (the easiest part) make a campaign of it.

By: Amber Naslund

Amber Naslund — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 12:46:42 +0000

Jason – enjoyed this post, and congrats on Marketing Profs.
I’d even venture to say that the “one thing” is rarely something the company can find for themselves (with exceptions, of course). We as corporate marketers spent years looking at our brands myopically, filtered through our “key messages” and “value proposition” and “unique attributes”. Truth is, those things are usually rather worthless to the people that matter most – the customers.
Let’s continue to help companies listen carefully to their communities and let THEM help discover that “one thing”.
Cheers.