A few tips from Seth Godin in a recent online conference. Click on the links and you can see the two short videos.
1. No One Cares About You (On the Internet): When he says “you” he means marketers who are trying to sell online. Television was a medium invented to sell advertising, whereas the internet was not. So – in television you have others in power who are complicit in getting people to watch your advertising (TV networks etc.) on the internet the power to hold people’s attention is more distributed. Therefore, it makes a lot more sense to talk about your products and services in a way that is much more appealing to the user. This sounds very simple, but it is a concept that most businesses still seem to be struggling with, in looking at what is currently out there in terms of online advertising.
2. Real Social Networking: In response to a question on whether social networking is good for small business, Seth had an interesting response. He said that there is a lot of “fake” networking out there. And – having the most amount of friends etc. is not necessarily useful. Similar to counting visitors or worse on a website (which does not necessarily translate to sales) having a bunch of friends on Facebook who are just there because they did not want to be rude and ignore your invitation, or having thousands of people following you on YouTube because you tell a dirty joke every day doesn’t necessarily translate into “good” in social networking.
He mentions that there are valuable real networks to be had and developed, and they can be very helpful and rewarding. He says that he measures those by “how much you would go out of your way for that person”.
I find these tips both practical and interesting. In the world of online marketing and social networking, a lot of consultants try to make it sound difficult. But for Seth, pragmatism reigns.
Convert Innovations
3 Responses to “No One Cares About You and Real Social Networking by Seth Godin”
I am having trouble finding the links to play “No One Cares About You” and “Real Social Networking”
Thank you,
Tim McLaughlin
It’s an interesting thought. Still, regardless of their reasons for being there, an audience is still an audience. Even the people anticipating a rude joke may at some point purchase something or click on something – it’s still a body that you’re reaching. Both television and social media, despite their original purpose, are only as effective as their outreach. The point is to focus your attention and resources on those networks with most potential, but don’t dismiss volume of any kind. Nice post!
Agreed on the rude joke thing. I guess if you are Axe or a product like that – the rude joke route would be very effective. I think Seth’s point was that for Social Media you have to hold people’s attention, and you cannot barrage them with annoying messages as TV can.