How ‘vanilla’ is your social media marketing?
Russell Spanton doing what he loves best
Vanilla gets such a bad run as an adjective.
It usually means bland, boring and safe.
But vanilla bean farmer from Port Douglas in Queensland, Russell Spanton, not only lives the dream of following his passion, his attitude to his ‘calling’ is exactly what The RITE Series has been preaching from day one.
Russell and his wife, Mary, were featured in a lot of media coverage recently when the price of vanilla skyrocketed.
The stories, particularly the one I heard, Australian vanilla growers to cash in on global shortage, on ABC Radio’s AM program, all showcased the essence (pardon the pun) of two people fully committed to what they do for a living, and ultimately yielding their well-earned reward.
But two passages from the AM story in particular caught my attention and made me share them with you, as you ponder the future of your Top End business.
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Teaching East Timorese to Catch Crocodiles Reveals There Is A Market For You Online
The 4.5 metre salty caught during training (ninemsn)
Who would have thought there would be international demand for a skill as particular as catching saltwater crocodiles in the Northern Territory?
Radio Australia reported last week that, ‘East Timorese crocodile catchers have come to the Northern Territory to learn the tricks of the trade from Australian wranglers‘.
But this article is not about crocodiles, nor about East Timor, it is about you and your Top End business.
A very common thing I hear when running my marketing workshops in Darwin are doubts from business owners as to whether it is worthwhile promoting themselves online via web pages, blog or social media. Some of the suspect excuses I hear include:
- My competitors aren’t doing it yet
- My customer base is only local
- I survive on word of mouth, so I don’t need a website
And this is where our crocodile rangers give us some insights.
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Are customers a nuisance or your reason for existence?
What I love about the Top End is the down-to-earth nature of most social and commercial interactions.
This means, most places accept you as you are and you don’t have to dress to the nines when you wander down the shop for a pint of milk.
But, as a shop owner, salesperson or service provider, striking the right balance between the ‘she’ll be right’ attitude and the ‘customer is always right’ mentality all boils down to respect; respect between both parties.
From a customer’s perspective, there is little difference in being treated rudely by a sales assistant or bar tender wearing shorts and thongs or by a waiter or GP wearing their best suits.
I recently experienced both ends of the service spectrum in Darwin, and will share with you what I learned from them.
Can you see yourself in any of the examples that follow?
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Drop everything and write a blinkin’ blog post NOW
Please share your important ideas with the marketplace now.
This is the conclusion I have drawn from a series of blogs this week by Darwin change agent, Bronwyn Clee, on her Inspiring Change blog.
In particular, the article that caught my attention and prompted my opening plea to you, dear reader. was one entitled, Was Jesus a guerilla marketer?
In short, the piece was a reflection on my October Business Month keynote presentation from last year, in which I shared the concept of the Two Commandments of Social Media Marketing.
To think that some thoughts shared in October could resonate through the holiday season and bubble up again into a new series of blogs in March is an important insight into the workings of social media marketing and, in particular, content creation.
Here’s what I would like you to do with this information.
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Social media is a pain
I sometimes hear workshop participants exclaim that social media marketing is a pain and that they’d prefer business to be a simpler enterprise, like the good ol’ days.
As it turns out, they might be right.
Darwin based physiotherapist, Nick Jones, who also has done my social media marketing workshop, has written a blog post around the new condition called ‘iPhone elbow’.
This condition was first cited in journals in 2009 and the increasing use of smart phones since then means Nick is starting to see signs of the condition in the Top End.
So does this mean you have a legitimate reason to forego social media as part of your marketing?
Sorry. It doesn’t.
Whereas once we rose in the morning with the cock, now we get up with an alarm clock (or the alarm setting on our smart phone).
Whereas once we relied on the serendipity of passers-by for our trade, then relied on brainwashing consumers en masse through advertising, now we have tools allowing us to listen and respond to prospective customers from anywhere in the world (including bed, the breakfast table, the bathroom, or while waiting for a meeting to start or waiter to bring our food).
So, while you may enjoy Nick’s article for its tips on how to deal with iPhone elbow, you cannot use it as a ‘get out of social media free’ card.
Books ARE judged by covers: How ‘Northern Territory’ is your business?
I was listening to one of my favourite podcasts this week, the Skeptics Guide to the Universe, when they reviewed some scientific research into human perception.
They referred to a study where subjects were given white wine to taste and describe, but the wine had been dyed to look like red wine.
The result: subjects used ‘red wine’ terminology like ‘berries’ to describe the wine.
If ever you doubted how powerful visuals are in relation to our perception, I think this study should make you think again because anyone who has tasted white wine and red should be staggered that the two could ever be mistaken.
This experiment confirms that the proverb ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’ is doomed to never be practiced because humans seem to be hardwired to judge quickly on first impressions. Evolutionary biologists might even argue we have had to!
So what does this mean for your business?
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Are retailers partly to blame for soft sales over Christmas?
Something a little different today.
I have just posted an article on the Baker Marketing blog about this very question and although it is not Top End specific, I thought I would crosspost a link to it today because there are some universal observations that I had planned to share here anyway.
Furthermore, the depths of the Wet is a good time to sharpen the saw and get ready for a new season of sales.
Here is the link: Are retailers hurting from self-inflicted wounds?
Please feel free to leave comments below, as usual.
Price gouging is the lowest form of commerce and social tools should shine lights on the practice
The introduction of cash for containers in the Northern Territory has raised the temperature in public debate.
While some argument is about the merits of the scheme (which we have lived with down south for decades and gives my little girls incentive for separating containers for pocket money) much angst has come about due to suspicions of price gouging.
Price gouging is where merchants take advantages of shortages or confusion in a market and use that situation to inflate prices disproportionately. You know what I mean – the sort of thing the banks do whenever the Reserve Bank adjusts interests rates 
Here in the Territory, the finger of blame is being pointed at retailers and manufacturers for exploiting this transition period to inflate prices more than they should.
Ignoring the question about whether or not the scheme should have been introduced, my point is that sharing of fair AND unfair pricing and price increases on Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare could be a useful tool for keeping players honest.
In fact, it already is.
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The Wisdom of The Wet – Reality Check for Web2.0 Marketing in the Top End
Top End sunset from my Darwin hotel room, Nov 2011
It is two months today since my October Business Month keynotes in Darwin, and I am wondering how many participants have started the social media marketing journey for their Top End businesses?
I think this is where I am meant to say, ‘if only one person has engaged more thoroughly with their market through social tools, I will be satisfied.’ But that would be a lie!
I believe we ALL have the ability to market through online social means (where appropriate for your operation and your audience, of course) but the past few weeks have taught me a lesson that has clung to my waking hours as tightly as wet t-shirts in the old Discovery Nightclub.
And this lesson was reinforced by a comment made by Darwin counsellor, Omanisa Ross, during a Skype chat this morning.
The lesson: Our persistance in producing content for social media marketing will be tried, time and time again, but acknowledging that helps defuse it.
Let me explain.
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