Against the Grain

Have you ever had that slap-your-forehead reaction to a product or service you see and groan, “Why didn’t I think of that?” Or worse, you DID think of that, but your product or service has flat-lined? If you provide niche products or services, then you have likely felt frustrations at hitting a wall when it comes to engaging your target audience.

Rest assured that no niche is too small to become a big hit. Just ask the guy who became an overnight sensation with a commercial for selling cheap razor blades. Dollar Shave Club is a simple, yet narrow concept that exploded in popularity earlier this spring. (In case you missed it: http://www.dollarshaveclub.com) Complete with machetes, bears and celebrity jabs, that one commercial had two million page views in the first four days on YouTube and 5,000 subscribers on day one. Not too shabby for a niche market.

How did they take a simple service and make it viral? Though there is no silver bullet to a successful campaign, we suggest that you take the following discussion points to your next company brainstorming session. (If you’re not having regular brainstorming sessions, then you should start by having one!)

Talk about the personality of your brand. Be relevant with today’s popular culture, but not so much that you blend in and get washed out with the short-lived fads. Are you being relational with your audience? Utilizing social media is a great start, but you have to be sure that you are using the various platforms to build a relationship with your audience, not just blasting one-liners that you took from your last commercial. Too many direct promotions about yourself can become a conversation with an audience of one — you.

With a generation that seems to be immune to flashy ads, jingles and catch phrases, how do you make your message stand out? No matter how complex or simple your services, strive to have messages that are quotable — something helpful, simple and worth remembering. Your audience will do the work for you by passing it on to their own networks.

Finally, even if a commercial appears edgy and unpolished — like Dollar Shave Club’s missed swing at a tennis ball or ride in a wagon with a factory worker — remember that professional quality is worth the investment.

Bad grammar, incorrect punctuation, misspelled words and typographical errors are becoming more rampant now that electronic communication dominates our lives. People are using language shortcuts in emails, text messages and Twitter and Facebook posts, which interfere with people learning proper grammar, punctuation and spelling. While these shortcuts allow you to send a text more quickly than traditional spelling, it doesn’t mean they should find a home in your professional communications.

Advertising is all about image. Enticing consumers to use your business or buy your products is the goal, which means you need to understand your audience and write copy that resonates with them by word and style choices. If your focus is a teenage-based market, then maybe using short message service (SMS) language is the best fit; however, for most of your collateral marketing materials, you should focus on creating a professional image by finding the right voice to craft compelling messages.

When your copy is plagued by SMS language, bad grammar, incorrect punctuation, misspelled words and typographical errors, readers may tend to focus on the errors rather than the message. I know some people aren’t as concerned with finding a misplaced comma, an extra space between words or an incorrectly spelled word as others are, but those errors do reflect on your image. If you’re producing materials that are continually inundated with mistakes, you need to evaluate your writing process. Do you have a proofreader reviewing your copy? Having a second, and even a third, set of eyes will help alleviate your copy from errors and inconsistencies because of the fresh perspective they will be able to offer.

Producing materials that you are proud of will be more attractive to potential customers than producing materials that weren’t carefully written, proofread and published.

Stop waking up each morning with the thought, “How am I going to gain 100 more followers on Twitter today?” Now, I’m a strong believer that it is important to have a social media presence, but maybe the question we should be asking ourselves is, “How am I going to establish one great relationship today?”

We have all heard that it’s not what you know, but it's whom you know that counts. However, many professionals building their networks, myself included, seem to be focused too much on the quantity of contacts they have, instead of the more important one: quality.

This would be a good time to read Rob Cross' “The Most Important People in Your Network,” posted on the Harvard Business Review.

Cross does a good job outlining why bigger is not always better. What I took away from it is that we need to make sure our contacts are working for us. You can have a presence on as many social networking tools as you want, but if you are running into the same group of people or stretching yourself even thinner, what are you really accomplishing?

Having fewer contacts that keep you top of mind might just be a more powerful tool than a handshake with 100 different people each morning. Those few strong connections will be more likely to share new ideas, offer better learning examples and introduce you to others you really need to know.

But to stop cutting into your busy schedule, I think I can sum up this post in one phrase: 

Build relationships, not connections!

Hopefully, your organization will never be faced with a serious crisis, whether it’s an accident leading to loss of life or a financial scandal of epic proportions. But, if a crisis did hit, would your leadership and communications teams be able to grab the crisis response plan off the shelf without disturbing years of dust? If it’s been a while since you’ve reviewed your plan, now’s a great time to polish it up, especially as social media adds new twists to the way we communicate. In fact, if you don’t yet have a dedicated tab for social media, it’s time to add one.

What to include:

• Make note of usernames and passwords for all social media accounts. Even if you have a dedicated social media manager, make others on the crisis team administrators, so they, too, can access the accounts. During a crisis, you won’t want to waste valuable time playing catch up.

• Determine the approval process for social media posts. There won’t be time for a lengthy review process, so determine your strategy now.

• Utilize your website. Ideally, social media posts will provide information along with links to a page where readers can find additional details. Have a “dark” page ready that can be activated on your site with a moment’s notice.

• Designate a listener. In the early stages of a crisis, your social media manager will be busy gathering details, creating posts and responding to direct messages on Facebook and Twitter. Assign someone else the sole job of monitoring chatter and passing along updates about what's being said in the online universe.

Remember, in the absence of information, people will make up their own information. Using social media in times of crisis is a good way to make certain your story is being told by you.

As graduation approaches, college students are on the hunt for jobs or internships. First time job seekers, and others considering a career move, are using social media more than ever before as a networking tool. 

If you're part of that group, you may be wondering how many social media pages you’re really supposed to keep up with and maintain. You’re not alone. No matter how plugged in you are, there is a virtual smorgasbord of social media networking sites with new ones emerging all the time. Let's take a bite-sized piece and highlight perhaps one of the most important professional sites, LinkedIn.

LinkedIn is like the more mature cousin to Facebook. We all know by now that many potential employers these days are likely to check out at least one of your social media profiles, so be aware of the information you share. Though Facebook is great for featuring your vacations and weekend getaways for friends and family to “ooh and ahh” over, how can you prove that you have professional skills along with an active social life?

LinkedIn offers the opportunity to share the relevant information for a professional audience. It’s like an interactive resume so when it's time to prove more qualifications than your weekend barbeque photo to land that next great job, taking time to maintain and update your LinkedIn profile is worth the effort. It allows you to put your best foot forward. Whether you want a job change or just want to network with other professionals in your field, LinkedIn is there to communicate work skills and experience. It is a place where self-promotion is expected beyond the announcement of what kind of sandwich you ate today.