Is it just me, or are all clients stuck on the phrase, “yes, but can they do that on their mobile phone?”
My next response is usually, “…only if they have an iPhone”.
I’m a recent convert to the portable WiFi lifestyle in your pocket fad (notice I didn’t say “electric” due to the obvious innuendo that you would have thought up). I say fad, because I am totally psyched up about what invention will replace it. Granted, the iPhone now has competition that can do the same things. But when you talk about this 20 years from now, everyone will remember the brand that blasted it to the nation the best.
So…why should anyone care about this fad? That’s easy, go where the people are. If many millions of people are using a phone to get information and you are trying to get information into their hands, you NEED to be in that space. Don’t ever ignore a venue if it is a place your audience goes to. And for Gilligan’s sake, I you don’t know about it, ask someone!
If I research a company to help them target their audience better and I discover that 80% of their market uses Twitter. I’m going to recommend a Twitter campaign. Same goes for any social network. If the market you are looking for is in place “A”, go there. Be seen. Be heard.
Ok, so now I know where to go, but my probem has changed. My client immediately breaks out the Twitter Hammer and plays “marketing whack-a-mole” with the people there. AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!
Let me now rephrase the ideas of “be seen, be heard” with “be subtlly seen and have your ideas drift by your customers so they can come to their own conclusions”. This concept is HUGE. Not everything should be sold as though by a used car salesman or pimp.
This is where the iPhone comes in. The iPhone is personal, its available, and its addictive. Its hooked up to Twitter, Facebook, linkedIn, and every other social media network who wants your personal attention. It is the ultimate pathway to a person. People are constantly checking their iPhone to see if someone emailed, tweeted, or wrote on their wall. As a business, you need to be there giving them good information and a reason to keep checking in with YOU.
You want your customers to recommend you to their friends, download your iPhone app (not an expensive thing to do anymore) and most importantly “listen to what you say”.
Toff Ward
OpenSourceMarketer.com
