A friend, huge sports fanatic by the way, decided to invest in a multi level sports marketing company called ThePFFL. His idea was to go out on the town and get users to sign up. Sounds simple right? He was confident this was going to be easy and reaching his goal of 300 new users in an evening at $20 bucks a pop was no problem. I explained to him, this type of Guerrilla marketing was tough and would be challenging, even for a suave individual, like himself with great people skills and a genuinely honest perspective.
The First two words I received, via text message the morning after his big marketing debut were #epic #fail! Two of my favorite trending words by the way. An example of one huge oopsy, in the image below.
Notice anything? Well lets review. The words PFFL stand for ‘Professional Fantasy Football League’ now I’m no rocket scientist but notice the spelling, the word ‘Fantasy’ (Fatasy) epic fail. The worst part is, he explains on the phone, “I approved the flyer and didn’t even catch the error.” Surprised, not really.
This is not unusual, so don’t feel bad. It’s like this, when you’re the creator of something, it is embedded in your mind, your vested, it all makes sense and comes easy to you. So naturally it should come easy to everyone else, right? Hold the phone, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the same for everyone. For example; If you walk up and hand me a flyer or business card promoting your new product and nothing rings true right off the bat, you may be getting a blank stare and run into a brick wall. People vibe toward things they recognize, a familiar logo, face or saying they can relate to. However if I like you, I may stick around for a moment to learn more. And once you have my attention a call to action is a must. Don’t forget always be closing right. Not necessarily anymore, the term always be helping may go a lot further in todays crucial social networking phenomenon. What I mean is always be helping the end-user to understand what problem your idea is solving, why it’s important and how its beneficial right now.
When a person buys something or decides to join a new environment, often times it’s because they are interested in the person or promoters of the product/service. People are buying you, and everything else becomes a bonus. If what you’re offering is good, they may even go the extra mile and pass it along to their friends and family with similar enthusiasm as you did in your original pitch. Chances are you know this and I’m not telling you anything you haven’t already experienced in life. For the sake of this article, people assume that if you explain an idea briefly, the recipient has got it, nailed the concept on the fly. But in reality, everyone learns at their own pace and absorbs information differently, so it’s important that you give your audience different channels and means of adoption. If you forcing one specific social platform down someones throat, but they are not using that channel, you may have just lost an important advisory that would have been willing to adopt, engage and share your ideas, had it been accessible to them on a network or channel in which they thrive.
“Notice my own spelling error, ‘brojen’ lol broken, thx ‘fat thumbs’ on my mobile!
Don’t let a social platform get the best of you. Offer your audience all your social networks and let them choose how to interact. Chances are they will do a much better job at spreading the good word through a social channel in which they frequent.
So this friend decided to hire some additional help with his big campaign by posting a CL ad. Right away I hope you’re smiling while reading, because if you have ever posted an ad for promotional help, then you know, you get what you pay for. I will explain further. A few individuals were hired to fit the scene of the promotion, thinking that when briefed about his product and ideas, they would go out and take over the world with enthusiasm, using tactics and examples exactly as he had explained them. Not so! Instead he reveled in our phone conversation that the hired help was taking in the scene, sharing in inebriation and just having a good old-time. So whats the problem, isn’t this what you want, your affiliates mingling with the audience, fitting in and talking about your idea. Well yes, however there is a problem, they weren’t talking about the idea. Why? There is no definitive answer, but lets take a stab at a few possible scenarios. The new affiliates did not understand your infinite ideas and initial pitch, so promoting them would be near impossible. No accountability for conversion, or more simply put, the hired help would be getting paid regardless. And possibility number 3, they just didn’t give a Sh..! Is this a problem in corporate America? Yes, businesses strive to create a corporate brand that is professional yet cool. So how can you be cool and professional at the same time. Deliver a consistent corporate message at time of realization, meaning regardless of who is promoting your products, services and ideas, make sure when an end-user does invest their time and want to learn more, there is a quick, easy and consistent user interface, accessible from Smartphones, iPads, Tablets, Desktops, etc. (now that’s cool) Don’t make the end-user work to hard to participate. KISS ‘Keep It Simple Stupid’ and if people like you and what your brand represents they will adopt.
The point is, marketing is hard work. The responsibility of every little detail, placement and engagement is exhausting. I know first hand, as I too have tried the Guerrilla marketing approach in previous ventures. To reach a large audience and actually get them to participate is difficult and may be best left to the professionals. However every little bit helps. Remember when your meeting people and your excited to share your idea’s, treat your new acquaintances as potential fans that will promote and recommend you to others. Most important, make it easy for everyone to engage, share and promote you and your ideas. This is the power of social networking.
This is why *biztag software was created, free for everyone to use. Biztag provides a seamless mobile web experience. Enable users multiple channels to share ideas and business in a non obtrusive way. With biztag you can update, edit and change an image, social link, spelling error, etc instantly and you will never have to worry about how your promotion looks to end users, because biztag makes sure your content looks cool on every computing device, mobile or desktop, Apple or PC. This also gives you the ability to dedicate a little more of your marketing surfaces to #linkbait or something cool, trending that your potential audience may initially vibe with. Now you have their undivided attention, when time to engage, your consistent business message is securely waiting with a powerful delivery platform behind the scene.* biztag
Give your audience a chance to engage right away, at time of realization or as soon as they meet you and/or discover your brand. Biztag uses multiple functions to connect your audience to your business, Fast! Once you have someone’s attention, convert that person into a friend or follower of yours instantly using biztag. The fastest way to connect in the world!
Sign up now at biztag.com and in minutes create and deploy a full mobile web FastApp for your business. Never be unprepared again to deliver all your professional online business branding to your audience.
