Marketing Technology Blog

I just read a press release from a company that was targeting marketing technology folks like myself. In that press release, they mentioned:

OTT, PaaS solution, IPTV, AirTies hybrid OTT, and OTT video service platform, OTT video services platform provider, over-the-top video delivery through an integrated media management system, hybrid demo of OTT, digital video broadcasting (dvb-t), AirTies Air 7320 hybrid set-top box, IP Multimedia Product Line, set-top boxes that support integrated OTT solutions for both SD and HD video

I’m not making this up. That’s not all… here’s the last bullet point:

A new range of DVB-T/IP hybrid STBs, the Air 7320 and the 7334, the Air 7130, a Personal Video Recording (PVR) STB with internal Hard Drive and the new Air 7100, standard definition low cost STB.

After reading the Press Release, I have absolutely no idea what this company does. Not a clue. They are so heavily embedded in their industry and their technology that they assumed anyone reading the press release would understand what it is that they did, sold, whatever…

As you write your blog posts, Tweets, press releases and website copy, please explain industry jargon and spell out your acronyms. Maybe I would have discussed this ground-breaking technology had I understood what the heck it was. Instead, I wrote about wondering what the heck it actually was and why it was important.

Tomorrow morning I’ll be on a panel discussing how social media is impacting business. I was invited by the University of Tampa Center for Leadership along with Tampa Bay & Company.

I haven’t been down to Tampa in a while, my parents live 50 miles south in Bradenton. Landing in Sarasota was a bit funny (it’s a huge retirement community) – the first drama I witnessed was a guy yelling for his wife, Helen and wandering aimlessly around the baggage claim.

Tampa is a different world. While Miami is for the dancing and night life, Fort Lauderdale is for drunk college students, Orlando is for the kids, and Sarasota for the ol’ folks – Tampa is an incredible city that’s marketed itself well thanks to the strategies deployed by Jeremy Fairley and team. Tampa has elements of all the other cities but I think it’s a bit more beautiful on the gulf coast, accessible with a close airport, and still has all the charm that Floridians have perfected over time.

Tourism and social media isn’t a simple task. Tourists don’t spend money with tourism agencies – they spend it with the restaurants, hotels, events and venues that they support. Tampa Bay & Company has been successful because they continue to spread the word on the region. They recognize that their job is to get businesses and visitors here, but then the industry has to step up. I’m writing this post from the incredible Sheraton Suites Hotel by the airport.

Full disclosure: I’m in a complimentary suite and was greeted with a wonderful cheese plate as I opened the hotel room door. On the cheese plate was a kind, personal, note from the Director of Sales & Marketing here, Colleen Beck.

Geek moment: I can actually use the suite’s television as a second monitor through a little A/V panel on this desk… how cool is that?!

Those small details are what makes Jeremy’s teams’ efforts worth while. Why would Jeremy invite me down here and why would Sheraton comp a room like this? Because they recognize that I’m their targeted market. I’m in business. I’m a traveler. I attend conferences. I am an influencer. I work with a lot of businesses. As Zappo’s Chief Marketer, Aaron Magness, states, “Customer Service is the New Marketing!“.

And I want to come back to Tampa Bay.

I’m sure some of the reason to have me is to help educate their clients and businesses as well. Do I feel used? Yes, wonderfully used, thank-you. This is social media marketing works, though. You set expectations with people with your marketing, you over-deliver with your products and services, and then you allow social media to take over. Social media will amplify your message.

Here’s my message today: Give Colleen a call to find out why you should have your next conference in Tampa and have your visitors stay at the Sheraton Suites.

I hope this post amplifies the efforts of Tampa Bay. After a cold, snowy winter in Indianapolis, I’m pretty happy warming up to a Gulf Sunset hanging around at Sheraton Suites. I’m excited to get on campus at the University of Tampa tomorrow as well. If you’re at the breakfast, please stop by and say hello after the panel!

Social media platforms are tools. Social media platforms are software. There are other tools and software out there. There will be better tools around the corner.

Twitter doesn’t matter. Facebook doesn’t matter. LinkedIn doesn’t matter. Blogs don’t matter. They all just help us get a little closer to what we really want.

• What we really want is the truth.
• What we really want is to trust.
• What we really want is to understand.
• What we really want is friendship.
• What we really want is help.

This month is a HUGE month for one of my good friends in technology. He’s moving his social media company from Indiana to California. He’s going to be embedded in the heart of The Valley with some of the other sharp minds that have grown their social media applications explosively. (Yes, I’m a little bit jealous).

The application that his team built is simple (so is Twitter!) but it gets to the heart of what people really want. They make it easier. The platform is simply the means to get to the social part. I’m not underestimating the incredible talent and imagination it took to launch such a cool application, there’s no doubt. But the popularity is because of what the application enables. It enables a social engagement we’ve not seen yet.

I educate clients and customers about the technology so that we can fully leverage it and maximize their social impact. So, when clients ask me, “How do I get more [insert followers, fans, subscribers, buzz, retweets], I’m always a little put off. If your company is not a social company, if you don’t care about your clients, if you don’t write fantastic content, if you don’t have a great product, if you don’t have special people, if you’re not remarkable… then the big numbers won’t do you any good.

I keep saying it…. Social media is an amplifier. If you have nothing to amplify, then the biggest amplifier in the world won’t help! Stop searching for bigger and better social media experts to keep building bigger and better amplifiers for you. It’s what they’re amplifying that makes the difference.

It’s the equivalent of someone who can’t sing asking us to fill a stadium. After we fill the stadium, then what? If you can’t sing, we had no business selling a single ticket! Folks like me can get people to show up to the concert… then it’s your job to put on a heck of a show!

So… quit asking me to get you more if you can’t handle the ones you have now. If your 500 followers aren’t doing business with you, then how is getting you 5,000 more going to improve your results? Here’s a tip… it will result in ten times the impact.

Ten times zero is zero.

Some day Twitter won’t be here, Facebook won’t be here, LinkedIn won’t be here… and we’ll be working with newer channels that may continue to make things just a little bit easier. Those new media platforms still won’t be able to fix the core issues challenging your strategy, though. Let’s fix those first.

Good friend, Duncan Alney shared this with me today. Let’s hear it for New Dorks…

Heidi, if you’re still looking for me, you can reach me at 317.456.2564…. if I clear out my voicemail box.