3. IT DOESN’T MAKE DEMANDS—OFTEN
Advertising impresario Leo Burnett offered the following advice for making great content:
Make it simple.
Make it memorable.
Make it inviting to look at.
Make it fun to read.
I’m going to add one more directive: Make it for your customer or your audience, not for yourself.
Be generous. Be informative. Be funny. Be inspiring. Be all the characteristics we enjoy in other human beings. That’s what jabs are all about. Right hooks represent what is valuable to you—getting the sale, getting people in the door. Jabs are about what is valuable to the consumer. How do you know what content people find valuable? Look on their phones. Phone home screens show you everything you need to know about what kind of content people value. In general, the three most popular app categories are:
a. Social networks, which tells you that people are interested in other people.
b. Entertainment, including games and music apps, which tells you that people want to escape.
c. Utility, including maps, notepads, organizers, and weight loss management systems, which tells you that people value service.
Much of your content should fall within one of these three categories. Sometimes the possible jabs a business should take with this content will be obvious. A cosmetics company could easily tell a story about utility by giving their customers short videos (under fifteen seconds) on Facebook on how to properly apply their makeup, or put out an infographic on Pinterest illustrating the interesting facts about their product history and how women have used it over time. But how would a cosmetics company provide entertainment? If it’s selling to eighteen- to twenty-five-year-old females, it could post demos of new music that appeals to eighteen- to twenty-five-year-olds, and deconstruct female music stars’ stage makeup, maybe admiring the risks they take and explaining how people could try to get the same toned-down effect at home. As for how the company can tap into its customers’ desire to interact with people, it just needs to be human. It needs to get in on conversations, find shared interests with consumers, and respond and react to what people are saying, not just about the brand per se, but about related topics, like how women can erase the signs of fatigue and stress before a big presentation even when they’ve been up since three in the morning with a baby, or what age is appropriate for girls to start shaping their eyebrows. It could also talk about unrelated topics. Just because its main product was makeup wouldn’t mean that it couldn’t also talk about gaming or food, because it’s possible that fans could be enthusiastic about those topics, too. Jabs can be anything that helps set up your “commercial ask.”
When you deliver a precise jab with native content, it might take your consumer a split second before he realizes that the story he’s paying attention to is being told by a brand, not an individual. Yet if your content is great, the realization won’t piss him off. Instead, he’ll appreciate what you’re offering. Because when you jab, you’re not selling anything. You’re not asking your consumer for a commitment. You’re just sharing a moment together. Something funny, ridiculous, clever, dramatic, informative, or heartwarming. Maybe something featuring cats. Something, anything, except a sales pitch. Skillful, native storytelling increases the likelihood that a person will share your content with a friend, thus increasing the likelihood of that friend remembering your brand the next time she decides she needs whatever it is you sell. It might even increase the chance that when you finally do hit her with a right hook and ask her to buy something from you, she will click through to make an immediate purchase, even though she’s sitting under a dryer at the salon (this moment brought to you thanks to the generous contribution of mobile device developers everywhere).
The emotional connection you build through jabbing pays off on the day you decide to throw the right hook. Remember when you were a kid, and you’d go to your mom and ask her to take you out for an ice-cream cone, or to the video arcade? Nine times out of ten, she said no. But then, every now and then, out of the blue, she would say yes. Why? In the days or weeks prior, something about how you interacted with your mother before the unexpected outing to the ice-cream shop or arcade made your mom feel like she wanted to do something for you. You made her happy, or maybe even proud, by giving her something she valued, whether it was doing extra chores or good grades or just one day of peace with your sibling. You gave so much that when you finally asked, she was emotionally primed to say yes.
No way is a consumer going to say yes if you ambush him with a giant pop-up that blacks out the middle of the Web page he’s reading. The only thing he’ll feel is irritation as he frantically hunts for that little X in the corner that will make you go away. If consumers could wipe out all the banner ads blinking around the periphery of their Web pages, too, they would. No one wants to be interrupted, and no one wants to be sold to. Your story needs to move people’s spirits and build their goodwill, so that when you finally do ask them to buy from you, they feel like you’ve given them so much it would be almost rude to refuse.
Jab, jab, jab, jab, jab . . . right hook!
Or . . .
Give, give, give, give, give . . . ask.
Get it?
4. IT LEVERAGES POP CULTURE
There’s a great scene in the movie This Is Forty where two parents tell their daughters they’re going to eliminate the Wi-Fi so the family can bond better without the distraction of electronics. For entertainment, the mom and dad suggest building a fort, or running around in the woods, or putting up a lemonade stand. The girls have no idea what their parents are talking about; without their phones, they may as well be condemned to life in an isolation cell. Histrionics ensue.
It’s no joke. Generations are defined by their pop culture, and without it, they’re lost. Take away a young person’s tech and you’ve taken away her lifeline to everything that matters to her. In days past, kids met their friends at the soda fountain and listened to records. Then they hung out at the mall and listened to cassettes. Later they hung out at the 7-Eleven parking lot and listened to CDs. Now they hang out on their phones, simultaneously listening to downloads, checking the celebrity news, chatting with their friends, playing games, all on their smartphones and tablets. And your content has to compete with all of it. But as the saying goes, if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em. The young generation isn’t the only one consuming their culture via phone, either. Everyone is, including the ones who used to listen to their music on records, cassettes, and CDs. So use that to your advantage. Show your fans, whoever they are, that you love the same music they do. Prove that you understand them by staying on top of the gossip about celebrities from their generation. Create content that reveals your understanding of the issues and news that matter to them. Just don’t place it in a mobile banner ad. The days of stopping people from what they’re doing to look at your ad are at best diminishing, and more than likely over, and regardless are overpriced for the ROI. Integrate your content into the stream, where people can consume it along with all their other pop culture candy.
5. IT’S MICRO
There is something else you could do as you reevaluate your social media creative: stop thinking about your content as content. Think about it, rather, as micro-content—tiny, unique nuggets of information, humor, commentary, or inspiration that you reimagine every day, even every hour, as you respond to today’s culture, conversations, and current events in real time in a platform’s native language and format.
A well-known (in advertising circles) yet perfect example of micro-content practically stole the show at the 2013 Super Bowl. When the power went out in the Superdome during the third quarter, leaving thousands of spectators in the dark for a half hour, while the players for the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers hunkered down trying to keep their bodies limber and their heads in the game, Oreo saw an opportunity. It tweeted, “Power Out? No Problem.” Attached was a photo of a lone Oreo cookie waiting in the dark, with acco
mpanying text that read, “You can still dunk in the dark.” Suddenly, all those people in limbo waiting for the power to be restored and the game to start over saw a funny reminder that Oreo is the cookie for all occasions. The tweet didn’t tell anyone to go buy Oreos. It didn’t include any call to action, actually. It didn’t need to. Within minutes it had been retweeted across Twitter and liked on Facebook tens of thousands of times. Why? No one had ever seen anything like it. It’s one thing for a Ravens fan or a 49ers fan to tweet or post status updates chronicling her reaction to the game; we’ve gotten used to seeing individuals respond to real-time events around the world. But to see a brand do it as casually and naturally as a real person? That was a first for such a mass-market brand within the context of such a mainstream event. The tweet was only possible because Oreo had thought far enough ahead to have a social media team at the ready to respond to whatever happened on television. Talk about proper investment in a platform. Key to the ad’s success was not only the fact that it was clever and elegant, but also that it aligned perfectly with Oreo’s brand identity, as well as the identity of Oreo lovers everywhere. Oreo is the playful cookie, the fun cookie, the cookie you want to watch football with.
Did the micro-content offer consumers anything of value, as a proper jab should? It’s unlikely it would have received any attention if it hadn’t. Don’t underestimate the value of a fun surprise, a grin, and a sudden craving for chocolate and shortening. For a few days, the whole world, in traditional media and social, had positive things to say about Oreo. At the very least, everyone who saw it got the chance to say they witnessed the beginning of a new era in marketing.
The next time a brand responds in real time, will the Twittersphere go crazy? Probably not, which is why it’s good to be first to market, even on platforms that don’t appear to have tremendous value at first glance. Your job as a marketer is not just about selling more product (though that’s a priority, and don’t forget it), but increasingly about making sure that you are first to market as often as possible in terms of timing, the quality of your micro-content, and the originality with which you respond to the world around you. This is true no matter what platform you work with, from Twitter to Facebook, from Instagram to Pinterest.
Oreo’s strategy through the Super Bowl exemplifies the only formula for social media success that doesn’t change depending on platform or audience:
Micro-Content + Community Management = Effective Social Media Marketing
Some people weren’t impressed by the tweet. Imagine, using a platform the way it’s supposed to be used! But so few companies manage it, it is worth applauding when one succeeds. This move took a lot of forethought. Oreo had to have a team in place, watching, waiting for the first opportunity to strike as the game went on. Old Spice managed something similar a few years ago with its “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” campaign, in which the actor Isaiah Mustafa replied to consumer questions in real time on the Web. But that Q&A was the result of a carefully orchestrated campaign. Oreo had a TV ad that ran during the Super Bowl (and integrated Instagram) but otherwise had no plan other than to be in a position to respond to real-time events in real time. That’s hard to do, and they did it perfectly, keeping things simple, immediate, and relevant.*
Businesses can forge a direct connection between their community and their brand when they stop thinking about social media as the backup to the main events. It should be a main event in and of itself, serving as the nexus connecting every other channel by which businesses talk to their customers.
There’s no reason for marketers to draft new overarching social media campaigns every year. Everyone’s should be as simple as this:
Jab at people, all the time, every day.
Talk about what they’re talking about.
When they start talking about something different, talk about that instead.
Repeat.
Repeat.
Repeat.
Not every brand has to jab at the same rate as its competitor. Remember, quality and quantity—some brands can get away with just a few jabs here and there; others need to jab all the time. I don’t have to jab nearly as often as I did when I was first starting out. BP doesn’t have to jab as often as it did after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010. Apple probably didn’t have to jab at all at the height of the iPhone frenzy, when the product was still new. Successful storytelling builds brand equity, and businesses with high brand equity don’t need to draw as much attention to themselves and their achievements as those that are still establishing their value to the consumer. Yet even if you don’t have to jab frequently, you can’t ever stop entirely, and you certainly can’t stop watching for those special opportunities where your brand can take advantage of breaking news or the culture at large to prove its relevance or show it’s paying attention. Social marketing is now a 24-7 job.
6. IT’S CONSISTENT AND SELF-AWARE
Consider how each and every post, tweet, comment, like, or share will confirm your business’s identity. Though your business’s micro-content will vary wildly every day, it must consistently answer the question “Who are we?” You can and should learn to speak as many languages as possible, but no matter which language you’re using, your core story must remain constant. And no matter how you tell your story, your personality and brand identity must remain constant, too.
When you’re self-aware, you know your message. When you know your message, it’s easy to keep it consistent in every setting. No marketer should find this a daunting concept—we do it every day when we navigate the analog world. You’re going to wear a different outfit and use different vocabulary when you’re sitting down for tea with your grandmother in her home than when you’re living it up with friends in a nightclub. At least, you will if you’ve got nice manners. Creating micro-content is simply a way for your brand to adapt according to the circumstances and the whims of your audience. Micro-content is your brand’s best chance of being noticed in an increasingly busy, disjointed, ADD world.
When you create stellar content native to a platform’s context, you can make a person feel; if your content can make a person feel, he is likely to share it with others, providing you with amplified word of mouth at a fraction of the cost of most other media. Best of all, you not only own the content, you own the relationship with your customer. You’re not spending a million dollars to rent it for thirty seconds from a television network. You could spend a million dollars to acquire committed fans on Facebook, and that would be money well spent, but if you also storytell properly, the only additional cost you’ll have is for the nonworking creative. Your content simply lives on, replicating itself over and over as your fans and followers pass it along through word of mouth, diminishing your costs with every retweet, share, pin, heart, and post. The concept of owning content and relationships instead of renting them has gained enormous traction with the start-up entrepreneurs of Silicon Valley, but it has been slower to infiltrate the mind-set of most Fortune 500 companies and traditional small businesses around the world. That’s going to change once they realize that they are no longer beholden to media companies to disseminate their content and connect with their consumers. Thanks to social media, they’ll be able to do it all by themselves. Some already are, as we’ll see in the upcoming chapters.
ROUND 3:
STORYTELL on FACEBOOK
Founded: February 2004
The platform was called Thefacebook.com until August 2005.
In a 2006 survey of the top five “in” things on college campuses, Facebook tied with beer but scored lower than iPods.
The “Like” button was originally supposed to be called the “Awesome” button.
Mark Zuckerberg initially rejected photo sharing; he had to be persuaded that it was a good idea by then-president Sean Parker.
There were more than a billion monthly active users as of December 2012.
There were 680 million monthly active users of Facebook mobile products as of December 2012.<
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One out of every five page views in the United States is on Facebook.
Let me say that again: ONE OUT OF EVERY FIVE PAGE VIEWS IN THE UNITED STATES IS ON FACEBOOK!
What more could possibly be said about Facebook? We all know what it is and what it does. We all know it’s the biggest, baddest social network, the one that changed our culture as monumentally as television. While still skeptical about most other social media platforms, small business owners, marketers, and brand managers consider Facebook a legitimate marketing tool, though, strangely enough, not because it has the most sophisticated analytics available. Rather, they trust it because it’s hard to dismiss a platform as skewing too young, or too experimental, or too trendy, when your niece, your brother, your seventy-two-year-old dad, and more than a billion other people are on it. Familiarity breeds acceptance. Only the most stubborn holdouts, mostly from companies working B2B or just contrarians, question whether their customer is actually on Facebook and whether it’s worth maintaining a presence there.
It stands to reason that if this is the platform with which most people are familiar, it’s the one that requires the least explanation. Yet this chapter ended up being the longest in this book, because although most marketers think they understand Facebook, they obviously don’t. If they did, consumers would be seeing much different content, not just on Facebook, but across all platforms. For now, however, the majority of brands and businesses still haven’t realized the unprecedented insight Facebook gives us into people’s lives and psychology, insight that allows marketers to optimize every jab, every piece of micro-content, and every right hook.
Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook Page 4