I wish I had thought of that headline, but alas, it was written by Eric Wheeler, CEO of 33Across, a social targeting firm.
Appearing in Ad Age Digital, his article has made the rounds on Twitter and in the process, shaking up the room. As Wheeler observed, “If you told Don Draper that campaigns as he knew them would die in his lifetime, he would have fired you.”
I have linked his article here, and like many voices that have commented on Ad Age Digital and on Twitter, lots of industry people are somewhere between freaked out and nodding their heads. I’ll leave the value judgments to you, but there’s a question that Wheeler raised that resonated with me.
“How do we leverage the powerful connection between friends online and offline? For example: we know Starbucks’ 23 million Facebook Fans pale in comparison to the number of those same Facebook Fans’ friends: 670 million?”
That’s a multiple of about 30 – your fans compared to their fans. And it’s an idea that will no doubt remind Jacobs Media clients and regular readers of this blog of social media strategist’s Greg Verdino’s now-famous observation:
“Everybody in the audience has an audience.”
I see stations celebrate when their “likes” increase from 6,000 to 8,000, often missing the larger opportunity that those same Facebook fans offer – IF we could just tap into their communities. Instead, we celebrate achieving “like” milestones rather than focusing on whether we are connecting with our audiences in a meaningful way, engaging with them, and building the value of our brands in the process. Facebook is now providing a sobering stat on their “like” pages. Right below your boxcar total of “likes” is the underwhelming number of people “talking about” your brand. If you’re hitting 10% of your “likes,” you’re doing pretty well.
It’s a reminder that while you can coerce, bribe, and beg for “likes,” engagement and loyalty are more difficult achievements. To truly “win” at Facebook is to have meaningful conversations and relationships with fans. Otherwise, it’s just a bunch of meaningful numbers.
That’s one of our goals here as a company – to look at social media not as a place to give away tickets or set appointments. But a conduit with which we can better connect with our most important listeners – the ones who love us, enjoy sharing our content, and interacting with our stations in unique ways.
Somehow back in the day, the DJ paradigm was to treat listeners the way that many rock stars treat groupies. “Contest pigs” are a part of that language, rather than viewing core listeners as true fans.
There’s a gold mine inside the Facebook “like” page of every radio station reading this post. Your job is to find that avenue that can connect you with your fans in a meaningful way that encourages them to bring in their fans.
At a time when marketing dollars are at a premium or non-existent for most stations, there’s something even better waiting around the corner – if managers could just understand that opportunity.
That’s our mission at Jacobs Media. If we can help you better explore your brand’s true social media potential, you know where to find us.
Jacobs Media has consistently walked the walk in the digital space, providing insights and guidance through its well-read national Techsurveys.
In 2008, jacapps was launched - a mobile apps company that has designed and built more than 1,300 apps for both the Apple and Android platforms. In 2013, the DASH Conference was created - a mashup of radio and automotive, designed to foster better understanding of the "connected car" and its impact.
Along with providing the creative and intellectual direction for the company, Fred consults many of Jacobs Media's commercial and public radio clients, in addition to media brands looking to thrive in the rapidly changing tech environment.
Fred was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2018.
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https://www.amazon.com/Brains-Fire-Igniting-Sustainable-Movements/dp/0470614188
Hey, Fred. Funny you should post this today. I read this book on the way home from Vegas last night. Talks a lot about reaching your core “fans” and using them to spread your word. Sounds simple and rudimentary, but sometimes seeing it in print reinforces what we all should be doing…..
Thanks, Meltdown. It’s becoming more of a conversation in marketing circles. Connecting with the core and relying on their organic ability to reach out to their “friends” and “followers” represents a whole new way of improving brand strength and reaching new listeners. Appreciate you contributing.
Thanks, great article. Something I’ve noticed for a long time is you can have lots of Likes, but that means nothing to me unless I have lots of interaction with those Likes. Glad Facebook has this new number now so we can learn ways to increase it.
Thanks for the observation, Joel. We’re all on the learning curve when it comes to social media, and this new Facebook tool speaks volumes about interactivity and engagement. Appreciate you taking the time to comment.