It takes a lot today to differentiate yourself, your company, your brand from the competition. It takes courage to stand out from the crowd and take risks. It means having vision and the ability to see the larger picture. It’s having passion and the innate drive to be the absolute best. It’s laser focus that is unwilling to give up. It’s confidence in yourself, your organization, in your people. And, it’s the committment to walk the walk and deliver on your brand, every time.
Well, what if you sell beds? In the sea of retail, the only dry land tends to be commiditization. Come and get ‘em for the lowest price. Prices slashed. Two-for one. We’ll even throw in free delivery! Sometimes there’s good will and a donation or two. All that noise sounds like a car dealership. But, there’s a company in the U.K. called Benson for Beds. They aren’t selling beds – they are selling sleep. Something everyone wants but not everyone gets. Their focus isn’t on showing hundreds of beds on sale in a warehouse with giant-sized price tags (okay, yes they had some ads like that in the past). They focus on what you can do if you get your sleep. Sleep to Live. Check out their very cool intro spot on their site. http://bit.ly/i1p8f
Their brand screams “have all the fun in the world and at the end of the day you’ll get the best night’s sleep” or in other words, Sleep to Live. Brilliant brand position. They embraced their Sleep to Live mantra by shooting for the Guiness Book of World Records in mattress dominoes. Gimmicky? Perhaps. But, it does go to show that when you think outside the box, you can turn a simple idea into something that helps differentiate who you are and what you offer. It can help an organization rally around a common goal and ultimately help everyone deliver on the promise made to consumers. It can help you grow. And, in the end…might just help you sleep.
This week, the U.S. Census Bureau announced Internet usage statistics based on is November 2007 population survey and The Business Journal reported that Portland ranked #13 in usage among states. While it is interesting to see where our fine city ranks, many of our clients market on a national basis, so I found myself wanting to know a bit more — even if the data is more than a year and a half old (the wheels of government apparently turn a little slowly).
The data summary tables made available on the bureau’s website pretty much reinforce what us digital marketers already know or sense, but I think everyone can find a few nuggets that strike them as interesting. Here are the things that jumped out at me:
38% have no access at home, but 50% of households have broadband access. Even if we’re not reaching everyone, at least dial-up is going away.
Households are connecting to the Internet nearly twice as much at home than at work.
42% of people under 25 years old have no Internet use at home. No reasons given but mobile devices, school access and cost are likely culprits.
Blacks and Hispanics are being left out. Better than half of each population have no access at home.
Mississippi is not helping it’s brand as a back-country state with only 51% of people having Internet access. Somebody get those people a federal grant. Intel, can you help?
Male and female access at work is equal, even if the pay still isn’t.
And get this: 9% of the unemployed have Internet access at work. Huh?
So, what are people doing online? Because the census bureau already asks a billion probing questions on other matters, they don’t go too deep here. But, the survey does show that people are searching for healthcare information in a big way — especially females in the 35-64 demographic who are dealing with the health issues of parents, kids and doctor-avoiding husbands. Nearly as many are using the web to search for government services. And I would imagine that data being collected in 2009 show a big jump in job searching.
If you are interested in diving into the data yourself, see the announcement on the U.S. Census Bureau website where you can download Excel files and, if you are really motivated, read 353 pages of data collection methodology.
Can’t deny that we’re going through a digital revolution. We see and hear so many messages today it’s no wonder many suffer from communication breakdown. But where is it all going and what implications do these new (and future) digital tools have on people? On business? On our communities?
This evolution is visualized in a most insightful digital ethnography video titled, The Machine is Us/ing Us by Michael Wesch, a professor of cultural anthropology at Kansas State University (he’s also on Twitter @mwesch). Turn up the volume and watch it. Closely. What you see will make you think.
Social Media Club PDX is holding their second meeting tomorrow, Tuesday March 24th at WebTrends. Kelly Feller, Social Media Strategiest for Intel’s Social Media Center for Excellence will be speaking about Careers in Social Media. Below is a summary of the event.
Getting It: Careers in Social Media
Are there really jobs in social media and if so, how do I get one? With all the self-proclaimed social media pundits, experts and gurus out there, it’s easy to wonder if the only jobs in social media are for consultants or agencies trying to help big corporations “get it.” Well Kelly is living proof that some big companies do “get it” and are willing to put their money where their online mouths are by hiring specialists with expertise in “being social online.”
Join Kelly Feller for the second official Social Media Club Portland meeting where she’ll summarize various corporate social media jobs (hers included) and what they actually entail. She will also explore ways to stand out in this increasingly crowded space and give some hints to agencies and consultants who are helping companies make sense of the growing social media marketing movement.
Date: Tuesday, March 24rd, 2009 Location: WebTrends
851 SW 6th Ave. Suite 1600
Portland, OR 97204
Time: Networking 6-6:30, Presentation: 6:30-8pm Cost: Free. Seating is limited. Supported by Widmer Brothers. RSVP
The more I dive into social media, the more I start to realize there is an endless amount of information, articles, technologies, case studies, do’s, don’ts… and the list goes on… it starts to become exhausting. I tend to get easily distracted where there are too many sites to visit. I find myself hopping from one place to the next until I can’t remember what I was even searching for. Here are some basic tips for sorting through the clutter and finding the info you need (and still be able to get some work done).
Read Groundswell- This book does an excellent job of setting you strait on how to approach social media from a business perspective. It walks you though valuable information on not only the technology but the strategy behind it. It also has some really powerful case studies that provide real life examples.
SmartBrief on Social Media- This daily email has been a quick way to reference the most popular topics in social media of the day. I find that I can easily skim the email to find the most relevant information.
Follow key people on Twitter- Depending on how your using twitter (or if you’re using it at all) it can be a great way to keep up on the recent buzz in social media marketing. Find some interesting people to follow (that also provide valuable information) and check in daily. (for example, @mashable is a good one) Also, if you are tweeting on behalf of multiple accounts use tools like Splitweet into consolidate your tweeting to one interface.
Create a dashboard- If you look at my iGoogle homepage, it somewhat resembles a command central, filled with widgets to keep me posted on all of my social networking sites, mail, blog & twitter feeds, news, docs, etc. This helps me find the information I need w/out visiting multiple sites.
Don’t focus too much on the technologies- There will always be another widget, social networking site, etc. It can be really overwhelming. If you put to much emphasis on keeping up with each new technology, you can begin to lose sight of what the purpose for the technology is and how it can help your brand connect with its audiences.
