Earlier this week, I walked into a Caribou Coffee near my home and noticed a gentleman sitting at his table with a full-on iMac laptop. My jaw dropped. I almost laughed out loud. And, I immediately felt the urge to tell the world. So, I did. On Twitter.
It was a throwaway post. Something I just wanted to get off my chest. I just had to tell someone. So, I told everyone.
The response was instantaneous. And furious.
At least 10 replies within five minutes asking me, no BEGGING me, to get a photo of this crazy, or brilliant, man (depending on who you ask).
The lesson? You never know what’s going to interest your community or spark a conversation. That particular conversation continued for about an hour. This, all because a guy walked into a Caribou with a suitcase and plunked down a 17-inch iMac monitor on the coffee table.
For brands, the lesson also has merit. As you consider how you engage on Twitter, Facebook or a host of other social networks, sometimes you don’t have to over-think things. I think there are a few key learnings here:
* Experiment. Social media allows you to try a whole slew of approaches–all for little to no cost. Ask questions. Poll your community. Share industry research data. You never know who might be interested.
* Share the B-roll. Remember those ads that didn’t make the new campaign? Why not share them on Twitter or Facebook with a “left on the cutting room floor” disclaimer? If you’ve worked in a creative industry, you know the most creative idea is rarely the one that’s actually executed. And, wouldn’t your fans/community be interested in seeing those ideas?
* Brainstorm with your community. Think I’m crazy? Ask Best Buy. They crowdsourced for their manager of emerging media opportunity earlier this year, with great success. You might be surprised what your community offers up.
* Back to basics. What you might consider extremely basic and garden-variety, your customers may find truly interesting. Who knows why. You may be too close to it within the four walls of your organization. Or, maybe you’ve seen the information in four different spots already online. The point it, you might be surprised what your community finds intriguing. So, give the basics a try once in a while.
Has the situation I mentioned at the outset ever happened to you? If so, would you care to share?
I tweet a lot. And sometimes a tweet sparks a lot of conversation. Biggest conversation though? Last year I tweeted that I went to an event and a color-theorist said that “chocolate brown is out.” I shared that info and people…like people INTERNATIONALLY…went nuts — rabid retweets and debates and discussions about the merits of chocolate brown. Lesson learned…share it. Even if it’s not be news to you, you’d be surprised what comes as news to the rest of the world.
Great post, Arik! It really shows the untapped potential of social media if you don’t share what you’re currently seeing/experiencing in the real world.
This also brings up the idea of being careful what you do in public because anyone/everyone has a camera and can post to Twitter or Facebook and you may be the talk of the town (good or bad). It’s just like what the paparazzi do to stars but for us normal folk.
Arik – I LOVE THAT YOU POSTED THIS!!! I’m one of the guilty 10 who begged for the picture. I mean why wouldn’t I? A full on computer in a coffee shop – it’s kind of amazing and it needs to be recognized. I do think that instances such as these are very important to discuss, as you said Arik, “I just needed to tell someone, so I told the world. On Twitter.” You’re just one person viewing the world through your lens identifying various REMARKABLE or NOTEWORTHY things and you also have a variety of tools to publish these things. This is so powerful. I have found myself in a number of situations where commentary elicits a tornadic response from my peeps. Things as simple as a food favorite at a local restaurant, an observation such as yours with supportive imagery to back it up. I think the value of this in business communication is to tap the resources that are human and BE yourself. Curiosity, observation and reaction to surroundings have always been powerful and will continue to be powerful forever. Like you said, ” You just never know what’s going to interest your community and start a CONVERSATION.” Thanks Arik! You rock and I’m glad you wrote about this. Happy Thanksgiving:)
Jen: That’s a perfect example! Did it change the world or further your business? Probably not. But, I’m guessing it introduced you to a whole new slew of people you hadn’t talked to before. And positioned you as a though leader on color trends 😉
Sara: Great point. And definitely not one to be overlooked here. Maybe that guy with the Mac was having coffee while he should be working. Maybe his boss follows me on Twitter and saw that pic earlier this week. What happens then? We’re almost getting to a point where you need to assume anything you say or do in public will be shared broadly. It’s kind of sad, but true. Especially for brands.
Lisa: Maybe my favorite thing I’ve heard you say in a while: “where commentary elicits a tornadic response from my peeps.” 😉 Any specific examples come to mind? Care to share?
@arikhanson
Great post and VERY true! I would have definitely done the same though – or double checked to make sure I didn’t walk into his living room.
I had a similar experience! With Twitter, not with a guy at Caribou… I tweeted about how I felt no shame about eating peanut butter by the spoonful and instantly got all kinds of reactions from people who said they do the same thing! It’s funny how the tweets I put a lot of thought into or think are particularly witty are met with the loud sound of crickets chirping, but peanut butter gets people talking!
Specific example? You want me to actually answer your question? Ha ha . Of course. Being that you know me fairly well, you’re familiar with my sarcastically declarative tweets (I bet Jen can relate). For example: “I love this one hour commute home.” Off the cuff comments such as these have received quite a response, when really they’re not particularly exciting, or at least I don’t think they are. At the time, I just feel inclined to tell someone something and I do and then lots of people commiserate, react, etc. There have been many tweets like this where I leave thinking, wow, what a cool conversation – and it evolved from that tweet. Better answer? Nothing like the eating Peanut Butter. That’s good.
yes yes and yes. If you read my “Letters From a Young Journalist” post from last week, you already know what I’m about to say. If not, here’s the recap: student tweets link to capstone project about changing journalism curriculum at Mizzou (where I’m a student). Another student RTs link. Few students & a professor start talking about link. Student (Kelsey Proud) introduces hashtag #lfyj. Conversation grows to include students, professors, alumni, & others and lasts two hours.
When we get back next week? Meeting of J Students for Curriculum Innovation on Tuesday. On Wednesday, panel/discussion open to students, profs, & administration to carry on the #lfyj discussion and change J-school curriculum.
All of this sparked by a single tweet. I’ll allow you to use your own adjective to describe that.
@colbywg
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