It's Pull love not Push Love

Restaurant operators still tend to revert to the "olde" ways of media. Push media isn't effective, yet they still try. Now, having said that, I truly don't mean to imply that all announcements fall on deaf ears. I just mean that social media is about having conversations; an interactive dialog not a monologue.

I receive messages from a a wide array of media. There is this one restaurant that thinks using a countdown to happy hour will be effective. "five hours 'till happy hour, four hours 'till happy hour, three hours 'till happy hour, two hours 'till happy hour, one hour 'till happy hour"..then amazingly - "30 minutes 'till happy hour" and then, the finale, "IT"S HAPPY HOUR AND YOU ARE MISSING IT!!!!!!!"

How can anyone think that this will be effective.

Social media are here to help you engage, discover and find influencers and build relationships. Using social media to broadcast promotions, specials and happy hour countdowns will not inure your brand to your affinity group.

Now, it is OK to create a social media campaign that includes broadcast, provided it is mixed with thought leadership, inspired notes, fun, games, contests, interactive dialog and conversation. Did I say conversation? Just pushing messages will do more harm than good, so it's a wasted effort.

What Social Followers Want

I found this on emarketer and thought is was worth reposting


What Social Followers Want
JANUARY 22, 2010

Deals aren’t the only thing

Brand marketers want consumers to follow them to build buzz and engagement, but social media users often desire something in return. What they’ve come to expect is a good deal, but many consumers—including the most active users of social sites—are also interested in deeper engagement.

A December 2009 MarketingSherpa survey indicated that learning about specials and sales was the top motivation of those who friended or followed a brand online, supporting the results of earlier surveys. But looking for savings was followed closely by learning about new products, features or services.



Reasons for Friending or Following Companies Through Social Media According to US Consumers, December 2009 (% of respondents)

Users described as “max connectors”—those with at least 500 social connections—were less interested than average in getting deals. Instead, they cared about new products and company culture, demonstrating the deeper engagement expected by social media power users.

An earlier study, by Razorfish, also found that exclusive deals and offers were the primary motivation of US Internet users following brands on Twitter.



Primary Reason US Internet Users Follow a Brand on Twitter, August 2009 (% of respondents)

Respondents who friended a brand on Facebook or MySpace responded similarly, though they were more likely to become a fan because they were a current customer (32.9%) than were users of Twitter.

Sharing interesting content that users care about, along with the deals and discounts they have come to expect, will both keep them engaged and spur them to pass along marketing messages.

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