Image by Till Krech
Tangled in terminology
I just read a great article by digital marketing guru Mitch Joel about the goals of marketing in the wild world of social media. He talked about the difference between huge social media numbers compared to smaller numbers of the right people, and the difference between loud and thoughtful messages to that audience (I’m oversimplifying for the sake of brevity – check out the full article here).
The heading “Built to touch” jumped out at me, for what I hope are obvious reasons: the layers of meaning can become a seamless transition from the work you make to the way you reach your audience.
I left a comment about how so many creatives don’t trust the simplicity of engaging their audiences and used the word “marketing” instead of “promotion.”
I forgot where I was and went into blurt mode. Open keyboard, insert foot.
Image by Kevin Dooley
A Christmas gift gone way wrong
Once upon a time there was a couple named Dick and Jane (not their real names).
Dick wasn’t the greatest gift buyer in the world.
One Christmas Dick was especially stumped. He had to get Jane stocking stuffers and buy her a proper gift, and that particular year he ran out of ideas.
He’s wasn’t sure what to do, so he froze up. He didn’t think much about Jane’s reaction, he just wanted to get the whole painful thing over with.
Then Dick made a mistake. He bought a Very Bad Gift.
Fortunately, Dick enlisted the help of a family member to wrap his gifts. When Betty (not her real name) saw the item in question, she knew Jane would not respond well to her Christmas celebration being turned into that meaningless ritual of I-have-to-buy-you-something-so-what-the-hell.
Betty realized Dick was in serious danger of being bludgeoned with a gravy-soaked turkey leg. She concealed Dick’s Very Bad Gift in a closet.
Crisis averted.
This is not a new story
Dick’s dilemma may sound painfully familiar.
And you probably figured out we’re not really talking about buying Christmas gifts here.
All images copyright Craft Council of Newfoundland & Labrador
Classy social media marketing
Lots of people talk about social media, but many don’t quite know what to do with it. Organizations and artists get a twitter account and it sits idle, or it’s used as a very bland billboard, with occasional announcements and little sense that they’re interested in talking to their customers.
Jennifer Barnable is someone who knows how to promote her organization and its talented membership through social media. She’s the Communications Director at the Craft Council of Newfoundland and Labrador, and she generously took time out of her hectic pre-Christmas event schedule to share her considerable expertise.
