Dear Facebook: Break down these silos

Dear Facebook:

You have an amazing platform; one that has barely scratched the surface of what is possible for consumer engagement. Thank you for that. However, I do have a request.

Brands on Facebook are not silos. Yes, we love the fact that we can send updates to our fans, interact with them on our wall, and provide valuable content on our tabs. But, we have affinities too. We want the ability to connect and engage with these affinity organizations. If we sell toothpaste, we want to be able to engage and be a part of the OperationSmile efforts or the new research provided by the ADA on their Facebook properties, as we hope they would want to be a part of ours. I ask you, please break down these silos and let our brand roam for the better. Let us engage our affinities and build a more holistic, more engaged community.

Sincerely,

Your Brands

Linchpin: A Godin Masterpiece

As of today, I am a changed man. I see things more clearly and look at the world through a different lens. All because, I know I am a genius, an artist, a Linchpin. I know that it’s not going to be an easy transition and there will be times where fear and resistance are going to ring through in my lizard brain, but I know I have a unique gift to offer, not only to myself, but to those around me. I vow from this day forward to stand up and stake claim to my future of being indispensable all thanks to the amazing writings of Seth Godin in Linchpin.

With a unique combination of storytelling and fact delivering, Godin elicits the messages that were whispering in my mind, but were afraid to come out. Describing that inside each and every one of us lies a genius in our own right, Godin creates a compelling argument toward greatness and becoming that person we all wish we were; that voice that is whispering wanting to come out; that Linchpin.

Godin turns traditional thinking about career, marketing, and education on its head. The “if I perform at my highest (within corporate culture) I will be rewarded in the long run” mentality is quickly becoming the downfall in our society. There are fewer and fewer great thinkers out there and more cogs in the machine. But Godin believes an artist lies in each of us. This book Linchpin is the awakening of that artist, that genius. He empowers us to speak up in that meeting to make a difference, to voice our concern about a certain strategy, and the tools to deliver on these new found revelations. The difference between you right now and a Linchpin, is the confidence to stand up and the act of delivering.

Overall, Linchpin is an amazing, eye-opening experience that I am going to recommend to everyone from my cousin in college to the CEO of my company. If my entire organization were filled with Linchpins, the world would be our oyster. Thank you Seth Godin for awakening the sleeping giant.

Social

Wikipedia discusses the term “social” by saying… “It always refers to the interaction of organisms with other organisms and to their collective co-existence, irrespective of whether they are aware of it or not, and irrespective of whether the interaction is voluntary or involuntary.”

No matter what you or your company are doing (not doing) in the social media environment, you are still social. “Whether you are aware of it or not…”

The question becomes, Are you aware of it?

Wise Words from “The Ace of Cakes”

So my girlfriend has started a new venture in her life. She has made the decision to go back to school to get her culinary degree. I love food, so I am behind her decision 100%. It’s been a crazy first couple of weeks, but seem like the extra time and energy will prove to be an amazing investment for both happiness and excitement. One thing that comes with a significant other immersing themselves in the Food World, comes hours and hours of the Food Network…

As I mentioned before, I love food and the science behind it so I don’t mind too much. The other night, however, I heard something from the “Ace of Cakes” himself say that all of us marketers should keep in mind while engaging our customers every day. Duff said,

Give people something personally special, and they will be overly satisfied…

Think about it… If we can engage our customers on a personal level and provide them content that they find personally special, we will continue to overly satisfy their needs. Now that is something to talk about.

Brand Passion

As continue to talk about social strategies and how to integrate our brands further into the lifestyle of our customers, we talk routinely about improving brand loyalty and advocacy. Why don’t we take it a step further?

With the levels of loyalty and advocacy we can create with these social personal conversations, shouldn’t we be discussing brand passion instead?

After all, a passionate person is a force to be reckoned with. Imagine if we had handfuls of extremely passionate individuals leading our cause and communicating our message through vast social networks.

Just imagine…

Through social media we have an opportunity to have conversations with real people, in real time, on a personal level. These conversations increase trust. This trust builds loyalty. That loyalty turns to advocacy. Finally advocacy turns into passion.