I feel like I keep saying the same thing but with different spins. Not necessarily a bad thing… so here I go again… more reasons why I believe Small is the New Big.

Landscape:

1. The power has shifted from the boardroom to the people. Don’t believe me? Ask me about: Dell, H&R block, Bernard Lachance, Facebook changing their policy, Digg.com and Hollywood layers, The Streisand Effect – I could seriously go on and on and on.

2. The people are now able to move mountains as big as or bigger than large corporations. They are leveraging each other to create a force to be reckoned with. When you mobilize a million men, you make history. Must I remind you of the million man march?

3. Big companies are not as powerful as they once were. Big companies tend to be hesitant to admit that their landscape has changed. That the playing field is no longer a one way street, that the consumer is flexing a mighty muscle when it comes to products, brands, services and more. 78% of consumers trust the recommendations of their network. Hello?!

4. When big companies make themselves small, they step into a world of ridiculous opportunity. They step into a world where they sqaure off with the consumer: brand to face. What you do at this point will determine whether you thrive or get ousted over the heads of millions of consumers rushing to the edge of a cliff, whereby, upon arrival, your big brand is chucked off to the sound of cheers and applause. <dramatic! I know!>

So what can a big brand get from this space? Great question, two lines of thought come to mind:

1. Built in R&D. Ridiculously more cost effective than what you have now. Find your consumers… go to them… listen to the conversation… what are they saying about you? What can you learn, leverage, apply or change as a result of this? Imagine you engage mr. consumer – thank him for telling you your website is shit and then ask him to keep talking… keep telling you what it is about your site that is shit. Then… wiat for it… you act on the suggestions and circle back wtih Mr. Consumer… thank him for his redderick, time and two cents and give him X, Y, Z for his effort. What do you think Mr. Consumer is going to do? He’s going to tweet, blog, fark, digg his friggin heart out about how kick ass you are. People! Acquisition and Retention are great… but I raise you a Fanatic!

2. The other train of thought is to offer incentives, promotions, rewards and reasons to turn your audience into your biggest fans. Give away 100 of your products in exhange for customer reviews on your blog… Hmmmm… interesting – non? Give them a reason to tell the world what you did for them and how their world can get in on the game too.

Meeting is imminent – I have to run, but I leave you with this! What would happen to your sales if you took 5% of your average customer base and turned them into fanatics?

<sigh> I love this space… it is so just and honest, and candid and transparent. The way it should be.

K – I gotta bolt!

2.

Hmmmm – You’re at a party. You get introduced to someone and for the next 15minutes they have torn down a one way street called “MeMyselfAndI” and you are literally dying to find a way out. Finally you resort to the whole “I need a refill – excuse me for a moment” and you bolt for the nearest window!

What just happened? you were trapped into hearing nothing more than advertisements, one way messages and a bunch of sales shpeel that not only grated on your last nerve, but is sure to keep as much distance as possible between you and them forever and ever amen.

Right – So let’s step into the world of Social Media keeping in mind that one way messages and advertisements aren’t all that effective. So what do you do?

You ask questions. You listen. You observe. You respond intelligently. Hmmm – sounds a lot like a conversation – non? Yup! A conversation… this isn’t marketing the way yo’ daddy did it.

Social Media offers a ton of catalysts for you to use to enable a conversation. For example, you would set up a profile on Twitter. Follow likeminded people, listen to the conversation, interject when you have value to add, share articles, links and more – then nip over to digg.com – open an account there and start digging key articles. Then why not create a brilliant video or something using 12seconds.tv that gives people a laugh, a desire to share, digg, fark or whatever. There really are a ton of different options out there to utilize when engaging Social Media to converse with the masses.

http://bit.ly/11BBQ4 - Brilliant, real life example of how Social Media should be done. Read, comment and let me know what you think. Keith has a lot to say, a lot of great experience and he’s happy to share it.

Marketing has evolved people… we’re playing in a different environment and some of us are getting burned! What may be common sense to some is news to others… let’s see if we can’t prevent a few more unfortunates from getting slaughtered in the online space.

Rule number 1 – It very likely that you already have a digital foot print. Becoming active in this space will probably increase your digital footprint.  Know this before you start as what you contribute, post, comment on or upload could become visible to everyone that day or months later! To see what the internet is saying about you today visit www.pipl.com

Rule number 2 – Observe, Listen and explore before jumping in with both feet head first. Most sites have a learning center – typically it’s in a corner… that means a max. of four corners… so take the time to locate this area and invest the 5 minutes to get familiar with the site.

Rule no. 3 – Join the conversation – don’t hijack it! There are so many people who join a new network and assume the entire community <Already deep in conversation with each other> is going to love your rude interruption and broadcast of who you are, what you need, and what everyone should be doing to help you… wow! This is a great way to be  permanently <IGNORED> by the community.  (Yes… that is available at the click of a button)

Rule no. 4 – When frustrated – step away from the computer. Do not send messages in the heat of the moment. Do not air your dirty laundry with another chap in an online space. Do not lie, cheat, steal, call names, or make mean comments about people, where they live. <This has all happened and made some pretty serious headlines in the blogosphere already>

Rule no. 5 – When receiving negative feedback or commentary about you, your brand or your products… rejoice! This is your opportunity to engage the conversation, understand the real issue and take steps to turn that unhappy customer into a fanatic to tell everyone they know how <YOU> saved the day. Some companies have asked me whether or not they should tap this market for fear of the backlash – guess what? The negative stream will take place whether you can hear it or not. Best to be part of it to use the research to improve your <product/brand/customer service> and save a customer.

Rule no. 6 – 6 degrees is arguably 4 degrees in this day and age. Do not think for a minute that you can post in a public forum and not have someone flip a link to your posting to someone who knows the cousin of the Marketing Director at company X. It is merely by the click of a button that you can set up a tool that allows you to monitor what the internet is saying about you.. check out linkedin.com’s Company Buzz. I plug in key words that are of interest to me… anytime anyone in the world wide web uses one of these words in their post, comment, tweet, articles, status updates or <you name it>… I get a message with a link to that reference! Capeesh?

I love this space… it’s fun, can be hugely beneficial and is the new playground for consumers and brands to converse. Get to know it a little bit before you march in and announce your presence… or … read about your mishaps in the headlines of the blogosphere that comes with an audience of approx. 1.6billion!