July 27, 2009 17 Comments

How Social Tools Allow People to Bypass Barriers

This little tidbit of thinking came from thoughts gleaned while at the National Association of Concessionaires conference, where I keynoted. It’s just a little something to raise your eyebrow.

What do you think?

(The band I mentioned in the video was The Young Leaves, in case you were wondering.)

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  • jimsutter

    Chris,

    I guess what you're saying here is that anyone connected to making a living in advertising, communications, video, has got to learn how to adjust to these cyclonic weather patterns that are taking place in our businesses. Not only is the economy got everyone scrambling, but Web 2.0 (free) seems to be making it that much tougher too. The good part is that I get to use all these tools and reap the benefits, but here in Cincinnati, whether it's video, web, or other services, forecasting out very far is pretty hard. JS – Cincinnati, OH

  • http://blog.eyeviewdigital.com EyeView

    I think this story is more about the dreadful monopoly that local newspaper classifieds have held on this kind of information for far too long. Craigslist already does a pretty good job of making local newspapers obsolete and Facebook is an obvious extension to that.

    The story is not so about how much better social media is but rather how much cheaper it is. I wish there was evidence that would prove that one delivery method for information is more effective than the other. Right now all we have is legacy method versus free alternative.

    @Chris, what is it that you tried doing on Facebook that wasn't as successful?

  • http://www.gypsybandito.com CT Moore

    I guess those barriers went down right along with the barriers of creation, production, publishing, and dissemination that social media tools also eroded…

    But still, I think it depends a lot on your mandate, message, and audience. A concert might be easier to promote on Facebook because a concert is a social event in a specific location, and Facebook is s social space with location-based networks. But my latest MLM PPC scheme to make $512/day working from home online, that might not roll over so well…

  • http://dannybrown.me Danny Brown

    I think I'd go with CT Moore here – a lot of it boils down to audience and where that is. Would a band's audience be in the mainstream press? Probably not. Facebook, on the other hand, is geared (or was) to a younger audience, so you have your instant interest. It's also easier to put the equivalent of a Street Team together online to promote gigs (MySpace bands did this all the time) than it is to get a collective together from a print ad.

    Now, compare that to the activity around your Trust Agents Facebook page and immediately you're seeing a return on your “investment”. I think a big issue is people inherently don't trust sidebar ads anymore, unless it is something to do with music or entertainment. We're tired of clicking through only to be met with snake oil, so we're less inclined to click anything.

    Be interesting to see how much a success Twitter is for companies when it becomes more mainstream as far as ads go, with IZEA and TweetROI stepping up.

  • http://chrisbrogan.com Chris Brogan

    I think you've just inspired a second post.

  • http://scottgould.me Scott Gould

    I've been rattling on about this for months now and writing plenty about it – so I'm glad Chris that you've said it.

    E.g. Twitter and networking:
    - Twitter removes the pressure you have at networking events, because there's no need to do a perfect 5 minutes pitch to every person in the room
    - Twitter gives you access to the decision makers – and they'll listen to you – because there's an understand that by both being on twitter you are innovative
    - Twitter grants you accumulation of dialogue over time. People get hours from me that I'd never give them in one sit down meeting.
    - Twitter also gives you restraint – restraint from saying too much too quickly because of pressure.

    Social media totally allows you to bypass not only barriers, but constructed social norms that are not positive but negative.

  • http://scottgould.me Scott Gould

    And BTW, I definitely love the new look compared to your old one. Shaving your head was a great idea.

  • http://anniegirl1138.wordpress.com anniegirl1138

    I think you have to consider what you are promoting and to whom before choosing social media or not.

  • http://www.takefreeonlinesurveysformoney.com/ Paid Survey Sites

    I totally agree. It will soon come to a point where things such as newspapers will not be sufficient for promoting and the like. As more and more of social tools become available, we will have to learn to adjust and adapt to them.

  • jonathan_rivera

    The days of the newspaper are limited. Connecting via social media is more targeted, that's why it's so much more effective. I look forward to hearing more success stories like this one.

    That's what I love about Social Media, it levels the playing field between the media giants and the rest of us.

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  • http://shannonehlers.com/ Shannon Ehlers

    Wow, Chris, you have sold out, you rotten scoundrel! You are plugging bands like a NASCAR driver changing hats! I suppose next you'll tell us where we can buy the shirt! First Amazon affiliate links, and now this. Heh, just kidding – now I suppose I've ticked off the Nascar people.

    After watching your video, I reviewed your text and thought to myself “Hmm, that did raise my eyebrow.” Then I went to the mirror to confirm what I hoped was still true: I actually have two, and both of them raised.

    A fairly successful midwestern tech/creative conference earlier this spring called BigOmaha ( @BigOmaha ) used this same technique. They didn't purchase a single ad, choosing instead to sell out all the seats in their inaugural meeting by social media promotion alone. This included much Twitter, but also goodly amounts of Facebook and general mentions in the “blogosphere”. I really do hate that “word”.

  • http://shannonehlers.com/ Shannon Ehlers

    Wow, Chris, you have sold out, you rotten scoundrel! You are plugging bands like a NASCAR driver changing hats! I suppose next you'll tell us where we can buy the shirt! First Amazon affiliate links, and now this. Heh, just kidding – now I suppose I've ticked off the Nascar people.

    After watching your video, I reviewed your text and thought to myself “Hmm, that did raise my eyebrow.” Then I went to the mirror to confirm what I hoped was still true: I actually have two, and both of them raised.

    A fairly successful midwestern tech/creative conference earlier this spring called BigOmaha ( @BigOmaha ) used this same technique. They didn't purchase a single ad, choosing instead to sell out all the seats in their inaugural meeting by social media promotion alone. This included much Twitter, but also goodly amounts of Facebook and general mentions in the “blogosphere”. I really do hate that “word”.

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