Month: January 2021

You may recall that one of the reasons I elected to enroll in Media 275, Social Media Marketing, was to support a friend and former colleague to grow both her business and her online presence.  It’s not that she’s incapable – she’s one of the smartest and most creative people I know.  But after years of labouring under encouragement the likes of “that’ll never work, why would you even think of doing that,” for her craft, for her art – an extension of herself – and thus for her, entering the fray with a silent partner, and not alone, will help with her transition to “it did, and I did it!”

For the most part, she makes what I think is unique and colourful jewellery from stainless steel and Swarovski crystals.  It is versatile, and can be worn paired with casual or formal wear for seemingly any occasion.  She would tell you that, for now, her target market consists of women of a broad age range.  (I wear a couple bracelets that she made for me so I think her target market could one day be extended to include men – you can see them, if you look closely, on our Media 275 Zoom Classroom, a noteworthy social media site that doesn’t get the attention it deserves.)

I consulted one of my “market insiders,” who is familiar with her designs, and who seems to corroborate that assertion: 

“Marketing wise: I think your target demographic is large. It’s simple, classic jewelry that can be worn professionally or casually, so the junior-young adult-adult range is not out of question. It is relatively light weight which will be a benefit for some and will be a deficit for others. Some will see the weightlessness as being cheap (think of you oldies who grew up with real wooden furniture and think if it isn’t heavy it isn’t worth it – you know what I mean?). Others will see the weightlessness as being a feature not a bug.”  (Fuzz, Daughter No. 3,  MS1, PNWU, 2021)

So where does that point us?  First, to Pinterest.  Pew Research reports that 42% of women in the United States use Pinterest. (1)  Hootsuite reports that in 2019, “Pinterest gained 70 million monthly active Pinners. There are now 335 million people who use Pinterest every month.” (2) 

“Pinterest closed out 2019 by overtaking Snapchat as the third-biggest social network in the United States. Facebook and Instagram hold the top spots. Throw YouTube into the mix and Pinterest falls to fourth position.” (2)

“Last year’s Prophet Brand Relevance Index put Pinterest in 10th position, behind companies like Apple, Spotify, Android, and Disney. It’s the only social platform to crack the top ten. It also ranks as #1 in the survey’s “Makes me feel inspired” and “Engages with me in new and creative ways” categories.” (2)

So, yeah, we’ll probably start with Pinterest, but also use her website to showcase her art and her talent.  Facebook, I think, will come in time, as will Twitter and Instagram, which I’ll cover in a minute.

My personal goal is to capture for the prospective buyer her enthusiasm for what she does.  I’ve watched her in action, and I think what sells, mostly, is her.  As she has described how she makes this stuff, and how the buyer can use it, and where, and how it can be mixed and matched – it’s potentially a jewellery system, and not simply a piece – I’ve seen prospective buyers respond to her enthusiasm by purchasing or ordering one or more of her pieces.

How do we do that?  For starters, visual content, tips, how-to’s, and the like are a few of the means of engagement.  I’m encouraging my partner to capture through blogging all of those suggestions she has provided her in-person customers, all the “see how you can do this” tips, and tell the tale of how she came to do this, what inspired her, and how she does it, which is wonderfully interesting on its own.  We’re in agreement on all save the how – her concern is copycatters.

What would David Meerman Scott say of this?  Without pointing to anything specific in the first section of The New Rules of Marketing & PR, I suspect he’d say, “good start,”  and “don’t be afraid to tell the world how you do this.”

One of the products she offers is a lanyard, made of the same materials and in the same fashion as her jewellery, and in the same host of colours.  She selected the hardware – the ID badge clip, the breakaway supermagnet clasp – to be stylish and, made of stainless steel, to be durable.  It is attractive, and it is sturdy – my wife now teaches 1^st, and before this 4^th and 5^th Grades, and has worn one in the classroom for three years.  My partner has done well with her lanyard at the headquarters of her (and my former) employer, with mostly women, but men as well.  Anywhere that people are required to wear or openly display their ID badges is a potential market for this item.

What happens when the pandemic is over, but many employers allow their employees to continue to work from home?  Well, I’d say, they’ll have to go into the head shed every once in a while, where they’ll still be required to display their ID, so that market won’t disappear completely.

If it does, we’ll enter a new one . . . we may, regardless – Comic Con.  Early last year, before the pandemic changed the world, my partner suggested that we should look into attending the Rose City Comic Com as a vendor.  The boomer in me was initially skeptical, but heard her out.  In the spirit of trust, but verify, I then consulted another of my market insiders, Daughter No. 2.  She works in the Rose City as a software engineer, and is of the demographic that attends Comic Cons.  Her research indicated that “it’s full of tech boys,” and “everybody has a lanyard on – even Spiderman has a lanyard on.”  With the memory of The Gods Themselves’ video for Tech Boys fresh in my mind, I thought, “She’s right, probably something to this.”

The makeup of the Comic Con lanyard market is bit of a different beast than that which frequents Pinterest.  For starters, beyond simply the demographic, Twitter and Instagram appear to be the platform of choice for those who attend Comic Con. (3)  With attendance at Rose City approached 70,000 in 2018, 100,000 at the Emerald City show, the opportunity is reason enough to spend a few days in Portland and Seattle (as if you’d need more reasons . . .).  But first, we’ll need to better understand how to best reach out on Twitter and Instagram to those who may attend. 

Sources

1. “Demographics of Social Media Users and Adoption in the United States,” Pew Research,  https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/fact-sheet/social-media/#which-social-media-platforms-are-most-popular , accessed 20 January 2021.
2. Sehl, Katie, “28 Pinterest Statistics Marketers Should Know in 2020,” Hootsuite, https://blog.hootsuite.com/pinterest-statistics-for-business/ , Accessed 22 January 2021.
3. “Social Media analysis of the San Diego Comic-Con,” Cool Tabs, https://blog.cool-tabs.com/en/san-diego-comic-con-social-media/, accessed 25 January 2021.

Helluva title, ain’t it . . .

Let’s begin with the notion of Digital Citizenship.  Is this any different from the pedestrian, plain vanilla, good old citizenship, and, if so, how? 

Citizenship grants certain rights to its holders, but with accompanying responsibilities.  The cost of admission to citizenship, and the rights of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” includes, but is not limited to:  respecting others (and oneself), upholding the laws of the land (and changing them through lawful means), helping others, being responsible for one’s own actions and how they affect others, acting with honesty, honour, and integrity, and giving credit where credit is due.

So how does Digital Citizenship differ?  On the surface, not much – though they may be applied differently, the same old cost elements still apply.  The digital world is simply an additional platform upon which to exercise citizenship. 

But it’s become a slippery slope.  Although the truth exists, with all the information that abounds digitally, it’s become in some cases much, much harder to find.  Respect for experience and credential has diminished, and with it citation and attribution.  Scientific method has fallen out of grace, usurped by confirmation bias.

So what’s a citizen to do?  In a word, question.  If no sources are presented in support of an argument or assertion, ask for them.  If none are forthcoming, politely, but firmly discount the assertion.  “They said . . . ” is not a source.  “Everybody knows . . .” is not a source.  “I read in . . .” is a start, but only a start. 

What if you’re the one doing the asserting?  State your sources.  I may not agree with what you tell if you do, but I simply won’t consider it if you don’t.  At best I will consider you misinformed. 

Next word:  Respect.  Respect the fact that I may not agree with you, regardless of your sources.  Respect the fact that as a general rule, credential and experience deliver competence.  Be willing to accept the fact that in many cases you have neither, and at minimum consider what those with both have to say.  I have four children, and am reasonably conversant in the mechanics of from whence they came and how, but I certainly wouldn’t claim to possess the knowledge and wisdom of an experienced obstetrician.

Could be that as you show your respect for someone, whether, you agree with them or not, and acknowledge their work, they may in turn not only respect you back, but they may pay it forward by respecting the next guy, and he the next.  You never know, you might trigger a translational pay it forward avalanche. 

So why not try?  It certainly wouldn’t hurt your personal brand.  Yeah, I know that you’ve put in a lot of effort on social media to solidify your image, with your resume on LinkedIn, pictures on Facebook, and posts on your personal blog site, but none of that says much about your reputation as someone who respects others, welcomes their input, and considers their opinions.  (Okay, testimonials might help, but . . . ever read a review on Amazon or Yelp that sounded too good to be true?)  Remember that your reputation is part of your personal brand, too.  Be the part that you look.