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The Tweetwashing Agency Dilemma

May 26, 2010 by Mike Troiano · View Comments 

“Greenwashing” is how cynics try to capitalize on the public’s growing predisposition to conservation and renewable energy. It’s a bit of flim-flam to make a product seem environmentally responsible, when it really isn’t.

It’s a lose, lose, lose proposition. First, some people are inevitably duped into believing that BP loves animals / trash bags can be biodegradable / coal can be “clean” – all to the benefit of charlatans and scoundrels. Second, the environment suffers despite the best efforts of downstream buyers to express their will in supporting it. Third, opportunity costs build up on two fronts: Buyers become cynical and indifferent, and sellers fail to invest in technology that would render their products more sustainable versus the competition.

The same thing is starting to happen in social marketing. Prospective clients are asking about whether they can “outsource Twitter and Facebook” to us, meaning will we put some underpaid 22-year-old on TweetDeck and ask her to “@” anyone with the poor judgment to tweet that his girlfriend dumped him while coolly sipping a cold can of BrandX.

Why do they want this? Certainly not because it’s effective in building relationships, in driving incremental sales. They want it because access to such a resource would enable them to plaster Twitter and Facebook chicklets all over their web site (which almost never allows comments because “the legal folks won’t let us”).

Call it “Tweetwashing.” A shallow and gimmicky handle for a shallow and gimmicky practice.

Is that the promise of social media? Will it become just another channel for back-slapping bullshit?

For me, the dilemma is this: I don’t believe social media can be an effective branding or promotional medium if it’s not embraced – authentically – by real people from inside brands that want to engage with the truth. I just don’t believe it can be applied as some kind of glossy outer coating by an agency partner, or any third party, and be truly effective over the long haul.

But that seems to be what clients want. They aren’t focused on the opportunities presented by social media. They seem to want to make the social media problem go away, as cost effectively as possible.

So what should we do? What do you do?

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How To Get Started On Twitter

May 14, 2010 by Mike Troiano · View Comments 

Had lunch with a marketing exec today. Senior guy, lots of questions about Twitter, but hadn’t had a chance to get into it yet. I put together a “Ten Step” type note for him, and thought I’d share it in hopes of helping other senior marketing folks get started.

Anyhoo…

  1. Get into the right frame of mind. Read this. I wrote it a while ago, but it was (and is) my best attempt to explain to people why Twitter is worth the effort. I’d also recommend you take a look at this, and this, from the people who taught me about Twitter. Ready? Good.
  2. Create An Account. Go here. Enter your real info, and pick a username people can both remember and spell easily. You can skip the “suggestions,” but definitely look for your “friends.” If you use Outlook I’d strongly suggest exporting your contacts to a GMail account so you can check for them in the system, but if that freaks you out just skip it. If there are specific people you’d like to add you can do so in the “anyone” screen, but you can always do that later as well.
  3. Confirm your account. Check your e-mail for a note from Twitter, and click the link to confirm your e-mail.
  4. Personalize your account. You wouldn’t go to a cocktail party with a bag on your head, would you? For God’s sake… Click “settings” in the upper right, then “profile.” Upload a picture of yourself. Nothing too formal, but a head shot you can live with. Add your location, your site or blog, and a 2- or 3-line bio. If you’d like to spruce your page up a bit, click here, then click the “login to twitter” button, and “Allow” when the Auth confirmation screen appears next.
  5. Follow some smart people and news sources. I created a Twitter List of good accounts to start with. Just go here, and follow it.
  6. Find and follow some other stuff you’re interested in. You a Patriot fan? Have a favorite celebrity chef? NASCAR driver? Politician? Celebrity? Go here, and find some folks to follow. Odds are they’re already here, and getting a little closer to them can be cool.
  7. Get Tweetdeck. Twitter on the web is for dorks. Seriously, dude. Download and install Tweetdeck. It’s awesome. It will help you use Twitter as a tool, you can even feed your LinkedIn and Facebook feeds into it if you have accounts there.
  8. Add a few search columns in Tweetdeck, to track whatever you’re interested in. Follow the people you like, unfollow the people you don’t.
  9. Reply to a few people, or just retweet them. Figure out how to reply to a tweet you like (just roll over an icon in Tweetdeck, and click the back arrow. That will create a tweet with that person’s name preceded by an “@” sign. That tweet will appear in their replies list, and they’re likely to see it.) Huzzah. Retweeting is similar… just use the forward arrow. This sends the tweet through your account, a way of amplifying stuff you like, so it’s easy for more people to find. It’s a good thing for the community, kind of a service we do for each other. Welcome.
  10. Start tweeting yourself. Now you’re ready. What do you have to say? What’s the most interesting thing you came across today? What were you thinking about in the car just now? Just react to the world around you. Be sincere, be genuine. Contribute.

That’s it. Give it a whirl. Let me know how it goes.

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LaunchCamp LiveStream

February 4, 2010 by Mike Troiano · View Comments 

The good folks at LaunchCamp have posted a livestream of the event on UStream, which you can see here:

Live TV : UstreamMike will deliver the keynote at noon.

You can participate in the social network activity around the event live here:

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Social Media Is…

November 19, 2009 by Mike Troiano · View Comments 

Video from the Holland-Mark Digital launch party, with a few simple questions…

What is social media?

How do marketers really feel about social media?

What is the power of social media?

Thanks to everyone!

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How To Be A Great Client

November 19, 2009 by Mike Troiano · View Comments 

advertising skepticIn the long run, clients get the work they deserve from their agency. But over the long run, agencies get the clients they deserve from their work.

Among the implications, is that to do great work, you need great clients.

So what makes a great client? Here’s my list of client attributes that help me to do my best work…

  1. A single decision-maker, empowered with final decision-making authority
  2. A personal relationship, with trust and respect in both directions
  3. A focus on clear articulation of the problem and/or business objective
  4. The courage to face the truth and deal with it
  5. Crisp and direct feedback, whether positive or negative
  6. On-time payment
  7. The sincere belief that marketing is important
  8. A personal experience where great marketing changed the game
  9. A sense of humor
  10. High standards and expectations

What’s on your list?

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Younification: Merging Personal and Professional in Social Media

October 23, 2009 by Mike Troiano · View Comments 

iStock_000003002901SmallWe had the Holland-Mark Digital launch party last night, which was a lot of fun (content to follow).

At a party like that you get to talk to people you work with about stuff that has nothing to do with work. One of our clients has an 18-year-old son, and is struggling with his impending departure from home. We had a great conversation about what that’s like, something I’ve been thinking about now that our oldest is 11. I met the spouses of several folks I’ve known for a while, which somehow always sheds new light on people (my Mom, Dad, and wife came to the event; I’m sure others felt the same). With others I talked politics, song lyrics, the terrorist fiasco in my hometown of Sudbury, cooking, travel, old times, women (with men), men (with women), and football.

The Two Yous

Most of us are more than the roles we play at work, on a team, or in a single project. Moving past the cardboard cutout and getting to know the complete person makes work and life in general more interesting, with the added side bonus of making teams stronger and more effective.

Adding Social Media

Embracing this is the key to engaging effectively in social media. You should approach Twitter in the same state-of-mind you do a cocktail party like last night — sharing yourself authentically, getting to know each person you meet for the interest of it, building a network of relationships, and letting the mutual benefits emerge naturally.

Last night I met someone new who went out of her way to tell me so-and-so from her office said hello. “So-and-so” was a guy I met in person once, but who I felt I’d really gotten to know on facebook over the last two years. He and I have shared thoughts on digital media, but I’ve also seen him react honestly to job changes, watched his kids grow, witnessed his trials and triumphs from afar. He’d apparently done the same for me, and felt he knew me in the way I knew him. That’s powerful ju-ju, I think. If there’s magic in social media, that’s it.

This morning I got a YouTube video from another client, featuring her CEO horsing around in an on-camera skit. He’s the kind of person you instantly know is more than his title when you meet him; a warm and open wit, and a personality that fills the room. Seeing that video validates and enriches my understanding of him as a person, and makes me want to see him succeed.

“Younification”

The blurring of the “professional” you and the “personal” you that happens on the web – younification – is decried in some circles, and I respect that. My wife would say my work life creeps into my home life a little too much, and, if I were wired differently, one or another of my digitally immortalized indiscretions might be embarrassing. But I’ve always thought good business is personal. And social media at its best really just boils down to that.

It gets us all a little closer to the truth. And in the long run, that can only be a good thing.

That’s how I see it, anyway. But this is a tricky one, and I welcome your thoughts.

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