Controlled Capitalism is Changing
The problem with one-way communication and some of the old way of doing marketing is that for years, in an effort to solidify and meet our revenue forecasts, we have trained human beings to be the type of consumer that doesn’t think for themselves. They’ve been rolling with the consumer herd so that large corporations with nebulous names can spoon feed them what they need to like, and pay for, next week, next month, next year.
In this awesome age of information that we are swimming in, people are now learning from a young age to think for themselves when it comes to consumables and how they have the power to choose the next trend and influence others, even people they don’t know (customer reviews for example). This power has also made them hungrier and less patient when it comes to the ROI attached to something they read, eat, drink, smell, etc….people expect a return now when you engage them and frankly, I don’t blame them.
Think about how much time and money is wasted marketing something in a way that creates no return or meaning for the customer. Think about the thousands of banner ads that were designed by pricey agencies that were ignored and never clicked, the print ads were never read or that never drove one direct sale or word of mouth reference. It’s mind blowing to think about all the money spent on that with nothing to show for it.
Legos Are Deep, Man
A nice write up entitled, “Finding Purpose in Labor (and Labor Economics)” was posted by Daniel R. Hawes where he posts some thoughts and opinions regarding a study that was done and documented called “Man’s search for meaning: The case of Legos”
Here’s a quote from Daniel’s write up about the experiment talking about it’s premise:
“Meaning, or purpose, in the task was manipulated by what the MIT and University of Chicago experimenters did with Lego toys after a participant had put them together. For one group of participants – the group with the meaningful task – the constructed Lego toys were piled up on a table for the participant to see, and new Lego pieces were provided to build further toys. For the meaning-deprived group, each constructed toy was immediately disassembled (for the participant to see), and the parts given back to be reused for subsequent building efforts.
Maybe not surprisingly to you, but possibly surprising for economic theorists, the average amount of toys each person was willing to build significantly differed between the two groups.”
……and here is a quote from the researchers doing the study:
“Despite the fact that the physical task requirements and the wage schedule were identical in the two conditions, the subjects in the Meaningful condition built significantly more [Lego toys] than those in the Sisyphus condition. In the Meaningful condition, subjects built an average of 10.6 [Lego toys] and received an average of $14.40, while those in the Sisyphus condition built an average of 7.2 [Lego toys] and earned an average of $11.52.”
After reading I was reminded of one of the most simple rules to good marketing, and more importantly in this day and age, surefire tactics for upping the statistical odds of you getting a return for your social media campaign initiatives: Meaning & Purpose.
As a Social Media Marketer, It’s Already In Your Bag of Tricks
Something as simple as Legos remind us of one of the low-hanging fruits of social media. The study above reminds us of something very simple and fundamental.To me, the above data states something that should be obvious to any social marketer.
When you run a campaign, is there a meaning or purpose for the user when they arrive at your campaign landing page, click on your shortened URL, follow you on Twitter, etc.? Do they feel that when you engage them does your promotional delivery wreak more of the ‘take’ than the more important scent of ‘give’?
If you build your social media efforts on a foundation of meaning for your audience, the revenue and brand awareness will come naturally. Even something as simple as Legos prove it.
Onward.
. When I hear or read that phrase now, it is starting to feel like I’m getting my first tattoo and the artist keeps going over the same spot again and again and again even though he should be moving on to another spot. “STOP I GET IT!” Shotgun marketing methods and not knowing the real point of Social Media is the cause of all this chaos.
Being a Moderate is a Pain in The Ass.
The cool thing about us moderates is that we can fit in with almost any crowd, have meaningful conversations with both sides of the fence. The other side of this though is that moderates need to put up with more people giving us shit for being who we are because we choose not to exclusively surround ourselves with fundamentalists on a one way street to blind chaos. We moderates are stuck in the middle of the political and social storm that by definition won’t let it resolve itself. We are sandwiched in between the soul-less fascist nightmare and the whiny unorganized emo-hippie. What is a well-intentioned, intelligent, open-minded, non-judgmental, communicative group of people supposed to do in a country whose majority population can’t stop thinking in black and white? It’s bittersweet I tell ya….but it feels good to know that I’m not drinking anyone’s Kool-Aide just because it’s brightly colored and has a little extra sugar in it.
To Clarify
When 9/11 happened and I started to learn about the history behind the west vs. east, I had switched to the left. I was much more on the conservative (and very uninformed) side of the moderate needle for a long time before that. The left doesn’t fit me though either I’ve found because I’m still conservative on some stuff. For the last 9 years I have hung out in many social circles that lean towards every belief and ideology under the sun. Aside from a few unique individuals, I’ve found that no matter where you go, who you vote for, what type of car you drive, what your sexual preference is, the majority of the people are all the same. Defensive and insecure. The moment moderates propose a new idea about something, a new way of thinking, a different path, everyone around them immediately tries to pigeonhole it to the left or the right, airing on the side of delusional self-preservation. They can’t seem to help themselves.
For all those radicals out there, right left up or down, that think they have their shit together by hanging out ONLY with like-minded individuals, I have some information for ya…..
You Are Not a Fascist, Redneck Office-Thief If…
You Are Not a Bleeding Heart, Lazy Socialist Freeloader If…
It behooves humanity for you to think for yourself, to question yourself, and to keep an open mind.
Onward.