A long time ago a very wise old man said: no one cares how much you know until they know how much you care. The ability to consistently demonstrate this type of paramount “personal” and emotional concern to others (about whatever the current issue or matter under discussion may be) is an essential ingredient in the make-up of any successful politician (or husband). We absolutely prefer sweet, “sincere” and somewhat stupid leaders (like Uncle Joe) to serene and severe smarty pants (like President O) who we know in our hearts don’t care a fig for us common folk and, basically, would just as soon not dirty their hands dealing with our pedestrian problems. You just can’t let those minor day-to-day disappointments get in the way of your grandiose thoughts and big dreams. And if you don’t ever deliver on the dreams, well who’s really counting anyway – let’s just move right along to the next fundraiser.
And, when we (as consumers, customers or an entire country) feel like this, we proceed to act accordingly - by withholding our approval, our support and, most importantly, our commitment. President Obama’s functional failings (too many to count) and basic inexperience and incompetence are nothing compared to his complete inability to manage the drama, emotion and theatre of the Presidency in a way that not only instills some (admittedly fast fading) modicum of confidence in his operating abilities, but - much more materially - convinces us that his Spock-ish heart is occasionally in the right place and in our corner. Where’s that master of empathy - Doc “Bones” from the Enterprise - anyway when we desperately need him in the dawning age of Ebola?
We don’t hear too much these days about anyone being the smartest guy in the room anymore (as if he ever was when either Clinton was within the same zip code), but we do believe that our President’s trapped in a womb of his own making surrounded by the same unskilled and useless advisors that he’s had around him from Day One plus some guy whose main job is apparently to keep the basketballs inflated at all times. Forget the nuclear football that we used to worry about having close at hand at all times; now it’s all about tee times and clean, white Titleists.
You might regard this all as both old news and cheap politics, but managing these types of emotionally-charged interactions and exchanges (where – as often as not – the customers don’t tell you the real problem or their actual feelings until: (1) it’s too late; (2) the connection with them is irreparably broken; and (3) they’re long gone - is also a critical component of how you and your business need to carefully approach the new world of “social” everything where everything’s a two-way conversation and everyone gets a vote whether we like it or not.
Today, the context is somewhat different, but the fundamental idea of demonstrating your interest and concern to your intended targets hasn’t changed much. The basic objective is to figure out how to make me care and then how to make me share. I’m happy to spread and even amplify your message (as long as it relates to and resonates with me and is delivered at the right time, place and context) by sharing it with my friends and throughout my network as long as I actually believe that the message, the concern, and the process are all authentic. So how do you go about getting it right? And who exactly knows what they’re talking about since the majority of the people talking about this stuff have: (a) been doing it for about all of 5 minutes and (b) couldn’t find their asses with both hands even if you gave them a hint and a head start.
Sadly, right now, there are about a million people full of suggestions, systems, tools, tips and tricks of the trade for making this whole social thing happen for you – social media consultants are definitely part of a growth industry where there don’t appear to be any required credentials although being the biggest blowhard on your block is a definite benefit and being a diva in your own mind doesn’t hurt at all either. It also helps to be in your early 20s just as it does in Hollywood where a bunch of equally ill-equipped and uninformed folks are running businesses while they keep looking over their shoulders hoping that no one will figure out that they have no idea what they’re doing either.
And then there’s also a growing number of morons and scam artists who think that you can “fake it ‘til you make it” in this social media business. I’d say they’re having roughly the same degree of success as the guys who thought that the makers of Preparation H should also make a lip balm while they were at it. I wrote about these bozos a while ago in these pages. (The Trouble with Social Media. http://www.inc.com/howard-tullman/the-trouble-with-social-media.html). Sadly things have only gotten worse with pseudo experts on “virality” being all the rage today. There’s a reason that the blind leading the blind don’t end up getting anywhere.
I’m not sure that anyone has all the answers for your business (or that the best answers won’t change again by next week), but there are three basic ideas that it’s important to keep in mind as you develop your own social media plans.
(1) Less Messaging is More Effective (A Little Goes a Long Way) – Just because you can doesn’t mean that you should do certain things. High on that list is inundating your intended targets with tons of repetitive email, interruptive and inconsequential texts, run-of-the-mill offers, mixed and confusing messages, etc. – all of which are doubly destructive. First, by burying your important communications in a pile of non-stop crap, you lose any prospect of commanding the attention of your targets and you also run the risk that your channel may be shut down entirely either by the end-user or by the email guardians in the sky. As the poets used to say, if I had more time, I would have been briefer. Second, by bundling the important material with the mundane and mediocre mass, you cheapen the entire set of messages and make it easier to dismiss your whole effort. There’s a reason that people hate bulk mail and it’s not just its weight and crappy production values. If you’re respectful of my time and interests (and at least semi-polite while you’re at it), I’ll be happy to help you get the word out.
(2) Give Me Ammo, not Ads (I’ll Be Fine) – Information-sharing is a contact sport and it’s also a highly competitive one. People – especially those who regard themselves as major influencers in any area – don’t just want to know what’s going on, they want to be the first to know. But they’re not looking for the run-of-the-mill chatter that Access Hollywood or Tech Week had last week, they want the straight goods and they want the good stuff that will position them as knowledgeable and in the thick of things. Factoids and fluff aren’t going to move anyone’s needle – you need to develop real facts and substantive information that will stick and stand up to scrutiny and then you need to get it out to your advocates and net promoters as soon as possible - before it all becomes yesterday’s news. The bulk of active social sharing now takes place in a matter of hours – the same day - not some days thereafter – and if you miss the first wave, your message will just get lost in the froth that follows.
(3) You Can’t Push a Rope (You Won’t Have to) – Save your breath and save your money. If you have the right message and a great story, you don’t have to sell anyone on selling it for you. The people you want to reach (for their influence and their ability to build your story) – the major influencers in any space - are like the scorpion who rode across the river on the croc’s back and then stung him anyway. When the croc asked why (after the scorpion had insisted that he would never do any such thing), the scorpion replied – “it’s my nature – it’s what I do.” Here’s the dirty little secret – you don’t have to chase or push these folks – just like the scorpion, they also can’t help themselves. They have to share and they have to push these stories out there or they fear that they’ll no longer be relevant themselves. So don’t sweat the distribution part of the program until you’ve built a rock-solid and valuable story and then let it fly. Sometimes the best push you can provide is to take a step back and watch things happen from the sidelines. Never let ‘em see you sweat.
PS: “You Get What You Work for, Not What You Wish for”
