Seek first to understand - (duh)

Posted on 30. Apr, 2008 by Tac Anderson in Corporate Blogs, Social Media

For years now I’ve scratched my head at why so many corporate marketers don’t “get it.” Social media has seemed like such a no-brainer. When you sit down with marketing managers and CMO’s and talk to them *like consumers* about how annoying and intrusive traditional marketing is they all agree and talk about what a life saver their TiVo is.

Switch the conversation around about how to do non-intrusive marketing and you are often met with wrinkled brows and scowls. So what gives? Are all CMO’s Dr Jeckle and Mr Hyde?

The truth, is that traditional marketing is easy. Spend X dollars for X number of months running the latest creative. Ad agencies and media outlets have made it drop dead easy. Todays marketers are busy and that isn’t going to change as companies brace for a *possible* recession. Can anyone say “reallocating resources”?

Social media is really hard. It’s not hard because it takes work, we’re used to working hard (raise your hand if a 40 hr work week seems like part time). The hardest part about social media is that you have to do something that takes time, you can’t rush and is something marketers aren’t used to doing: Listening.

Ironically, one question I frequently get from corporate marketers who run a company blog is, “How can I get more traffic?” The ironic part is that after looking through one such persons blog I could tell that something very, very important was missing; they weren’t reading blogs. They aren’t listening. It was obvious from their tone and style.

If I could have my choice between more CEO’s writing blogs or more CEO’s reading blogs? I’d pick more CEO’s reading blogs any day.

“Seek first to understand. Then to be understood.” - Steven R Covey (Sorry to get all 1.0 old skool on you.)

As marketing managers begin to realize that social media can be a low cost, high reward investment you will be (or already are) faced with the task of putting together a social media campaign for people who aren’t listening and therefore don’t *get it*.

If I could share with you my best piece of advice to make the rest of your life as a marketer easier it would be to get your colleague’s and managers reading blogs (this is of course assuming you’re already reading blogs since you’re reading this one).

I don’t care if this starts off in the form of a weekly e-newsletter you cut and paste your favorite posts into and email blast out. I don’t care if you even have to print it out and hand deliver it each week to your manager. Whatever you do get them reading blogs.

I promise, you will thank me. Your social media initiatives will be better and it will be easier to get buy off on your ideas.

Photo by Orange_Beard

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p.s. when I tell them they first have to be reading blogs to get readers, they always complain that they don’t have time to read blogs. This is when I tell them, “If you don’t have time to read blogs, why should they make time to read yours?”

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9 Comments

Posted in Corporate Blogs, Social Media

9 Responses to “Seek first to understand - (duh)”

  1. Michael Brito

    30. Apr, 2008

    “The hardest part about social media is that you have to do something that takes time, you can’t rush and is something marketers aren’t used to doing: Listening.’

    So true Tac. Most traditional marketers (agency and in-house) talk at the conversation versus talk “IN” the conversation; which involves listening first.

  2. Sue

    30. Apr, 2008

    Right on post, Tac. I so agree that reading blogs is definitely important when trying to market your own. :)

  3. laurent

    01. May, 2008

    I think the point is that marketers need to be relevant and add value to the conversation (not the case today most of the time). Only then can they be listened too themselves (thats their goal after all) and understood if they communicate well. Not easy because social media is made of zillions of small niches thus finding the communities that one needs to listen to is hard (one may need to listen to 100s of those regularly). And then one needs to scan through the huge flow of information from all these communities to find where/when they can participate/engage. Hard work!

  4. Tac Anderson

    01. May, 2008

    Great points everyone. Social Media is great but you can’t take a cookie cutter approach, and marketing and PR managers are learning this the hard way. You can’t spam bloggers with press releases and you can’t expect anyone to care, because honestly we don’t. At least until I know you care about me as a person more than you care about my demographic.

    oh sweet, I got an easy math problem this time :)

  5. Michael Brito

    01. May, 2008

    @Tac

    If you are logged into WP, you shouldn’t have the “calculus” math problem….

    ; )

  6. Tac Anderson

    01. May, 2008

    Michael,
    lol. That’s good, because it was getting embarrassing when I’d miss them two or three times in a row.

  7. Jen Harris

    02. May, 2008

    Tac-
    So TRUE! I think those of us that “get it” scare the bajeezuzz out of those who only sorta “get it” (you got in the door some how).
    My new philosophy for those sorta people: baby steps…
    Week 1: walk them through g-mail & get their Reader set up w/a MAX of 5 feeds and a promise to read 10 min/day
    Week 2: respond to 3 posts/week
    Week 3: set up their blog
    And these steps are taking place after being here almost 6 months on the education path. Most of us have been doing/preaching this for 2+ years where most EVP’s and above are just getting wind that new media/SM HAS to be part of your marketing mix.
    Great article!
    -jen

  8. Tac Anderson

    02. May, 2008

    Thanks Jen,
    I thought you’d like that. That’s a great 3 week plan.

  9. Matthew Chamberlin

    25. May, 2008

    I liked this post especially since it reminded me of the question I get asked the most: “How do I generate traffic?” I always answer the same way, which is an answer I stole from Leo LaPorte. I say, “Well, you might not like or believe what I am about to tell you but they way you generate traffic is by CONSISTENTLY posting positive content.” (”Positive” in this case means useful to your readership.) I then try and take them down an old school path to help them understand, using “Friends” or some old TV show to illustrate, hey, you knew it was on every Thursday and you could count on 26 new episodes every year.

    Your emphasis on getting people to READ blogs is spot on, as is your final wrap up of why should anyone take the time time to read yours if you don’t read anyone else’s?

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