Who You're Really Talking To

Christian at Idea Drunk shares this pearl of wisdom:

I’m not saying that it isn’t correct to have an aspirational target. I’m saying that you shouldn’t forget that the majority of [your target] doesn’t live in the city where you’re making your advertising. The majority of [your target] doesn’t frequent hipster bars on Ossington and shop at H&M. They drink beer at their campsites, shop at Wal-Mart and go to Boston Pizza for a nice meal. And sometimes, they have handlebar amazing moustaches.

Couldn't agree more. So often we are marketing to the people we'd like to buy our product, but we ignore the people who actually do. Fortunately, it's getting easier to identify our true fans.

Facebook Insights is now offering in-depth looks into the people who are using Pages and interacting with brands. Insights has been rolling out new metrics regularly, so I hope top interests and keywords will soon be a component of the analytics. In the meantime, why not take a random sample of Twitter followers and Facebook fans and figure out who's really listening to your messaging? If it's die-hards who will fight to the death about Pizza Hut vs. Domino's, offer incentives to share stories and media. If it's college kids looking to score coupons, show them some cheap pizza love. But figure out who you're talking to. It's never been easier to do it.

#squarespace - Really for the Fans?

Right after the WWDC on Monday I noticed tweets with #squarespace and "iPhone" trending high and popping up in my feed. My memory was a little fuzzy about the Squarespace name, so I checked it out to be sure of what it is. Squarespace is a DIY website builder with some high profile users - Ecko and Element to name a few. Anyway, while the geeks were geekin' about WWDC, Squarespace was busy plotting a Twitter contest to give a "gigantic THANK YOU to all of our favorite Squarespace fans." All their fans had to do was send a tweet with the #squarespace tag to be eligible to win a new iPhone. That's great and all, but it's quickly turned into a hashtag fest with hundreds of thousands of non-fans just in it for the goods.

So I'm wondering: How do you separate the fans from those that just want to get their hands on a free iPhone?

To thank users, there are better ways to leverage Twitter than a flood of tweets from people who will never use Squarespace:

• Current users could post success stories, favorite features or job-winning portfolios on Twitter, still using #squarespace, to highlight the brand's name AND functionality at the same time.
• @squarespace could send tweets showcasing the unique ways people are using the platform. People could then be entered into the contest by voting via Twitter for their favorite designs. @extendr is doing a great job of showing off their users' profiles in order to gain more fans.
• Facebook is also another great space to connect with existing fans because it gets others interested in what's going on. Fans could post status updates, notes or even photos expressing love for Squarespace in order to win a new phone.
  

It's also likely this "fan" contest was really a move to gain awareness through Twitter. Giving away new iPhones at the exact moment that Twitter was buzzing about WWDC was a smart move. But if that's the case, don't disguise it as a thank you to your true fans.

The Fan Economy - Ideas from Bud. He's from the Internet.

"Whatever we hunger, we can find others like us offering the means to satisfy that hunger."

Yeah, chew on that. Bud from the Internet (and Undercurrent) hooked me up with his new presentation with his thoughts on The Fan Economy and why should know what's up for '09.

His three key points for the fan economy are here for those of you with short attention spans.

1. Have a point of view.
2. A belief in infinity.
3. Open source relationships.

The Fan Economy: Becoming Fan Focused

View more presentations from Bud Caddell. (tags: fandom media)

Here's why I dig it.

• The old internets = mass audience. Wait, didn't cable kill true "mass" about 50 years ago? Skip it.
  
• We meticulously construct our identity online, or well at least we are advised to. And even if you don't think that you do, you do! Every 140 character note, every Facebook profile edit and every blog comment. These elements make us all different and we want to be different. Isn't it time people placed more value on that?
  
• Goodbye big media buys, hello human interaction. It's nice to meet you.
• You know I love sports, so bring on the fans. Libby talked about embracing your creators and I think fans and creators are on the same team.
• Fans = investment = metrics = $$ = happy client
• It's called the Fan Economy for a reason - fans can create the messages, name the sale price and fight for your survival.
  

Your turn! I'd love to hear your thoughts on Bud's thoughts and I'm sure he would too. Keep sharing.