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Monthly Archives: October 2011
Social media = evolution, not revolution
When I talk to small business owners there's something that often comes up as soon as the phrase 'social media' is used. It's a sense of bewilderment or even alienation. Sometimes even if the company is embracing new ways of communicating with customers it's tinged with resignation: "you have to be doing this stuff now."
Plenty is written about social media being a 'revolution', but revolutions are generally short, sharp and bloody. It feels more like we're in the middle of an evolution, a natural, long-term change being brought about by a mix of factors: technological, cultural, economic and social.
Time for a story
Plenty of interesting food for thought in this quarter’s edition of Market Leader. I particularly liked Simon Glynn’s look at the role of storytelling being ‘at the core of building tomorrow’s brands.’
Marketing theory has boxed itself into such a rarified corner that it hardly impacts on the majority of business owners, but the idea of storytelling interests me because I think it is relevant not just to big brands but to small businesses.
Glynn differentiates between the more successful ‘brand legends’, based on truth and customer experience, retold by customers, and ‘brand myths’ – great stories, but invented and therefore less likely to draw an emotional response from people.
