This is a guest post by Ann Holman
Now thats interesting and if the questions are changing perhaps the answers must too! Last evening I attended the www.media140.com event in Bristol, hosted in the salubrious setting of Goldbrick House. A superb, fascinating venue that upstairs resembled a gentleman’s club, only it allowed women in too!
As my fellow countyman (thats Yorkshire Trey) Alan Bennett once said “”Life is rather like a tin of sardines – we’re all of us looking for the key.” Well we felt a little like sardines but there were some moments of inspiration that may just provide the key! The line up was exceptional to say the least Gemma Went, Trey Pennington, Paul Squires and Gabrielle Laine Peters. All providing insights and foresights. The key moments of conversation;
1. “Conversation created the brand.” Ande Gregson on how Media140 has been successful.
2. “Something that engages you, is engrossing.” Gabrielle Laine Peters.
3. “This is a time of opportunity for small business.” Trey Pennington.
4. “Think about what you can’t achieve with social media.” Gemma Went.
There was lots more. I’ve been to many events like this and, indeed I’ve also spoken at them and I feel the Q & A sessions are shifting. They are getting down to grass roots. Simple questions are sometimes difficult to answer. But there is a drilling down to ROI and rewards. I think we are being too fluffy with the answers. Sorry to be so bold!
Rob Glover chaperoned me for the road trip up to Bristol, accompanied by the album Sunday 8pm by Faithless (for those of you who kept asking.) We talked a lot all day about the detail and the movement towards what I have called social business. Rob’s analogy of farming just summed it up in terms of the present. Nice one Rob! My take on his discussion point is set out below.
Social media is like agriculture. Its preparing the land for an abundant crop. That magnificant harvest does not happen overnight. It means tilling the land, creating a fertile soil. Cultivating it, caring for it, timing it and doing the right things at the right time. So that when you start to plan, promote, engage, participate and co-create you will reap what you sow. People are expecting immediate results from social media, a typical business desire for insatiable vast return now. It just doesn’t happen like that.
Chris Anderson in his book “The Long Tail” hits this right on the nose with a big thump. We see the big hits in the media like Jon Morter and his Rage Against The Machine project and expect the same followers and fans like that. In real life, the hits are rare and most of us succeed, like good farmers, by putting the hours in, caring for our product, preparing, being determined and being patient. We expect so much so quickly from social media, yet we don’t expect the quick results from traditional marketing. Where is the rationality in that?
We need to stop panicking, understand social media is not the only solution but part of it and start using it to cultivate our eventual results that will produce that exceptional harvest next year. Oh and don’t forget crop rotation in this scenario too!
At the end of this thought provoking evening, Trey said “platforms will come and go but the conversations will carry on.” I was going to ask a question but time ran out. Here it is; “How does genuine conversation flourish?” Answers on a postcard…oops sorry….in the comment box below!!!
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