Preparation for the Social Web

Does your company still invest lots of money in traditional marketing and fears to make a public board on their website? Then read Thomas Baekdal’s nice explanation how the social web destroys traditional marketing. It’s about the control companies used to have over their products and over the communication about them. But with people freely sharing their opinons in so many small and big social networks, you have to learn: there is no more control.

Just a test

The Illusion of Control

Still companies try to control how their company and products are seen. When visiting business clients, many tell me that they want “to be” on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and the like. Seldom someone can explain why (apart from “everyone else is!”). And when asked what they want to do there, they talk about messages – not about conversations. And there’s the catch.

“People will fight you if you interrupt them” Baekdal writes - and I totally agree with him. “People will fight you when you force them to see your product, try to control what they can do with it, try to tell them what to think, or try to hide those who dislike you.” People don’t want messages, they want to discuss your products. Because they want to know how your products *really* are.

Products vs. Helpful Products

“Mediocrity wrapped in a shiny package, [is] no longer an impressive product.” But if you get your product right and stop fighting and do what people desire, you get awarded. Like Monty Python who stopped fighting uploads of their movies on YouTube, but published high quality versions of those parts that people loved to see. And got rewarded by a huge increase of sold DVDs.

In my words Baekdal says: Start creating products that help, products that make something better. And “do not market your products [...] share them! [...] This way, people want to follow you, because you are worth following.” But how do you know how to create a helpful product?

Develop Your Own Character

To start creating good products and services you need to find out who you are and what you really want. And I am not talking about “increased sales” and “more customers” (my most heard answers on that topic). I am talking about how you want to change the world. Do you want to make it easier to manage money? Do you want to make time tracking more sleek? Great! But even if you just want to keep things the old way, make it your way and stick to it.

So, what can you do better than others? What drives you? If you can answer these two simple questions, ideas for your products and services will follow. And your customers, too. Good luck!