Social media made permission marketing obvious
All who read this blog are aware of my adulation for the wisdom Seth Godin writes and speaks—sometimes I wonder if he knows how out in front he was with permission marketing.
Facebook— sometimes it seems like everybody is in advertiser. Or, at least, some people always think they have to be ... and this is so far from the truth.
Social media has a way of making us feel as if we are doing something right, even though we might not be.
For me, facebook and twitter were (and still are) places I went while I was alone and slightly confused as to the direction my life was going.
I believed (and still do) that these media channels transcend human relations in a magical way.
That's why any time someone flagrantly misuses my 'news stream' or 'twitter stream' it ticks me off. {sorry for the rant} ... and that is why ...
I HATE SPAM
... a LOT... what's so bad about junk mail is not that it's a useless, time waster, but how many 'defenses,' 'excuses,' and 'validations' that spammer's have. FYI: shameless self promotion is not spam, but it can be. It can be when you lose the human element of the message. Spam (at it's core) is a message. It's a self serving purpose—who likes that? Who wants to buy something from someone that only wants to help themselves? Not me.
ADVERTISING IS NOT BAD
What one person believes is spam is (I presume) important to someone else but this does not make it ok. In fact, this is precisely what makes it so bad. And...
... the argument that you can turn it off if you don't like it has never been more true.
Back in the day when 2 Live Crew and any other form of obscenity was on some media channel, yes, this was true. And today, it is just a fact. In fact, there's never been a time where we've had so many choices.
If you are marketing something and you are spamming (in any form) you are ruining your brand. Not because of so much useless garbage in your junk box, but because we all have our own 'streams' — our own 'channels' that we either broadcast or tune into.
Obviously, I speak for myself here, but why would I spend my time watching something that isn't relevant to me? Interrupting someone while they're communicating with their social network is a mistake—plain and simple.
Personally, I'm proud of duPont Publishing and our social media strategy. It's based upon permission. All day long, I see brands throwing themselves over the bow because they believe a blanket message will translate. Not true... I invite you to look to see our strategy. While it may not be making everyone millionaires (yet), it is a fair and honest message—social media opens up a world of possibilities... it also can be very tempting to put 'the message' on autopilot because you can...
Earned trust and permission marketing is hands down the ONLY way to market something today. If, on the other hand, you haven't learned this yet... I would simply suggest you start with Seth's Blog... from the beginning, that is, if you haven't already lost your fans.
I would invite you to look at our strategy... it is something I am quite proud of.
