Twitter Is All Over The News
Unless you’ve been living in a cave, you’ve likely been hearing more and more about Twitter lately.
Janis Krums became the world’s most famous Twitter user a few weeks back by “tweeting” the first photos of the US Air Flight 1549 resting in the Hudson from his iPhone.
Well, since I live in the Nashville area and I work with social media marketing, I thought it would be interesting to see how many brands that are based in Nashville are represented on Twitter.
Originally uploaded by Tony the Misfit
In my previous blog post, 3 Ways Marketers Will Mess Up In This Recession, I described 3 human responses to a crisis such as our economic crisis.
But there are also reactions to this crisis that are more positive.
As I’ve mentioned in my earlier post, “When Wolves Knock At The Door,” recessions have a way of thinning the herd. And now we’re seeing major brands in trouble.
And while certain brand categories will fare better than others during these troubling economic times, I think it’s pretty safe to say there are going to be a lot more brands in trouble. The way I see it, if some of our favorite brands are in trouble, then what will become of the brands that weren’t that strong even in good times?
We’re in an economic crisis. And it’s interesting to see how people react in a crisis. Here are 3 possible kinds of mistakes I believe marketers will make in this recession in reaction to the crisis:
1.You’ll stay in your comfort zone.
An economic crisis is very uncomfortable, to say the least. So what happens? People will try to offset the stress by maintaining their comfort zones any way they can. So marketers will continue to work with the same ad agencies and other advisers, even though, there are better options out there.
You’ll continue to use traditional media rather than consider generating digital word-of-mouth through social media channels. Why? Because it’s comfortable. Anything that’s unknown seems too risky. You have found routines that give you security and until now, a certain amount of predictability. It’s during times like these, that people are looking for any comfort zone they can find. You may not understand why you should rock the boat. But if you don’t rock the boat, it just might sink anyway.
Meanwhile your competition may be getting a foothold in social media. They’re seeking out new branding strategies while making product and service innovations. And if your customers like what the competition has to offer, they just might jump.
2. You’ll freeze up.
You know you need to do things differently, but you can’t make a decision about what to do. It can happen in big companies and small ones. They get caught up in paralysis by analysis. There’s a lot of talk about “We need to do something,” but you’re not doing it. Meanwhile your competitors are already at work creating new marketing and plotting to steal market share.
3. You’ll live in denial.
While some sectors such as housing and the automobile industry were the first to get body-slammed in this recession, the fallout may be more gradual for some other brand categories. Do you have a plan in place when for when you do start to feel the pinch? Or will you simply wait until that happens to figure out what to do? I believe that the best time to prepare for a crisis is before it happens.
I know there are other ways marketers mess up during a recession, and may blog on them later. But I think for now, there’s plenty right here to think about.
–Kevin McIntosh
