Let’s begin with a little Twitter parable. When the Swedish tourism board needed to attract more visitors to @Sweden, they didn’t ask a marketing firm for help. They turned to an organic sheep farmer.
THE STORY OF @Sweden
And a lesbian trucker. And a hunter. And an immigrant from Bosnia.
Each week in the month of December 2011, they asked a citizen to tweet accounts of their days. In five weeks, @Sweden more than doubled its followers:
“‘In this age of internet and transparency, if you want to be credible, you have to let go of control and empower the people,’ said Tommy Sollen, VisitSweden’s social media manager, who was part of the team that came up with the idea.”
As the Reuters article points, Sweden’s reputation has often rested on “tall blondes, meatballs and neutrality.” By ceding control to unique voices, the tourism board has reduced their workload and buried some long-held clichés.
THE LESSON OF AMERICAN IDOL
Take a look at how American Idol structures each episodes. Their focus is always on personality—what makes this singer different from all the others? What do we respond to in their voice?
Alas, many companies fear individuality:
- They feature 20-something models on their Facebook wall, even when their customers are 65-year-old women.
- They pass someone’s Tweets through eight tiers of approval, making an exciting update as bland as baby formula.
- Their YouTube videos of bored spokespeople send insomniacs to sleep.
- Worst of all, they fail to seek input from their customers.
The result? No one can remember their marketing.
INJECTING PERSONALITY INTO SOCIAL MEDIA
So how can you inject a unique voice into your Social Media channels? As the Swedish might advise, cede control to your citizen personalities. Your strongest content will come from both your employees and your customers.
- Identify your most popular customer service representative and ask them to tweet daily tips.
- Hold Facebook contests where customers to contribute ideas for improving your products.
- Ask a C-level executive to blog their insights from conversations with other CEOs.
- Using videos and photos, showcase the story of your sales rep in Botswana. Or London. Or Ohio.
Need proof that it works? Have a look at Mark Schaefer’s picks for The 10 Best Corporate Blogs in the World:
- Note the focus on employee personalities (Bill Marriott, Wegmans Employees, Patagonia Employees)
- And customer-generated content (Starbucks, Fiskars)
STUCK FOR IDEAS?
Contact me to see where hidden creative opportunities may lie in your business.
Posted on January 20, 2012
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