Tag: entrepreneurship

A new wave

FabrizioLeave a comment

Three opportunities for a new wave of social media.

Subscription based – As they say, there is no such thing as a free lunch. Social media is no exception. For years, we have thought it was free (or very cheap, if you are an advertiser), but the costs we have all been paying are actually higher than most can appreciate. Asking the audience to pay a subscription fee would force social media to actually narrow their scope and become niche products that need to innovate to thrive.

Verified identity – The past few years have proven that anonymity online is not going to work. Opening a social media account should not be as easy as getting a new e-mail address, and the part of audience that should not be allowed to use them (kids) need to be forbidden access right from the get go. People are not as toxic when their name and reputation is on the line, and that would go a great length to make social media a more pleasant arena.

No second guessing – Algorithms behind timelines and promoted content are hugely unsatisfactory for the audience. What if instead their task would be to ask? Interruption is always annoying, and banner blindness has been discussed and studied for at least twenty years now. Putting people back in charge of what they are offered (also in terms of ads) can only increase engagement and make for a better user experience.

The first time

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We are rarely as nervous and preoccupied as when we attempt something for the first time. Yet, in principle most of us are ok with the idea of failure when trying something new.

The first time is a learning opportunity, a chance to put in practice some of the theory we have read about, a way to tweak the recipe and make it ours. It is the stepping stone to every rewarding activity and we should approach it with some healthy excitement and a smile.

Weak signal

FabrizioLeave a comment

Companies are about to send a signal to Facebook. But a signal, as strong as it can be, is stuck in a single moment in time. What about when July is over? Losing 1% of ad revenue for one month is not going to change the way Facebook carries out its business.

So, what is next?

Converge

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Customer focus is not a marketing thing.

Every day, in every situation, we deal with customers. Sometimes it is people paying us money for a service or a product, more often it is a person we feel might be better off with a different perspective or performing a different action. Of course, calling all of them customers is reductive (and inaccurate), but the point is, you do not need to be a marketer or a sales rep to understand and appreciate the importance of customer focus.

If you want change, you need to read their minds, feel their pains, participate in their efforts, respect their ambitions, and craft your message in such a way as to converge with their world view at the right time.

All that is left is being stuck. And nobody is driven by that.

Right

FabrizioLeave a comment

Right is not a good way to describe your work and the work of your team.

Innovative, passionate, committed, engaged, consistent, challenging, concerted, exciting, inspiring, intentional, purposeful, additive, reinvigorating, ameliorating, thoughtful, driven. These are all better words to use when you talk about what you and your team are trying to achieve.

Do not settle for right, it is quite a capricious term.