interpipes

The Fans Know Best

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204482304574222062946162306.html

“In other words, in their efforts to set up brand communities, companies are missing out on a marketing tool with huge potential, particularly in this weak economy. At a fraction of the cost of traditional marketing programs, a well-designed brand community can be used to conduct market research with very quick turn-around; generate and test ideas for product innovations; deliver prompt and high-quality service to customers with a problem; strengthen the attachments that existing customers feel toward the brand; and increase good publicity through word-of-mouth.”

The Age of the Stream

http://www.steverubel.com/the-age-of-the-stream

“As the age of the stream takes hold, it will force marketers to get more creative about how we break through. It’s unclear if ads will be welcome. If they are, they will need to be brief, useful and funny. Otherwise, they will just get in the way and be ignored.”

I’d contend that a lot of them are already being ignored. It’s over ten years since we first came across ‘banner blindness’ and the predominant response has been to make ads bigger and yet more intrusive.

A bit more creativity needs to go into this. The ease of publishing to the web now means that there are ever more places where ads can be placed, but most people don’t want them.

Why Twitter will soon become obsolete

http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/23465.asp

“”Social networks” may be a popular buzzword these days, but the whole concept of the internet was based on social networking from the start — going all the way back to bulletin boards, email, and forums right up to today’s blogs, social networking sites, and, yes, Twitter.”

This. Is. Fact. I remember ten years ago pitching the Web as a great means for brands to build communities. As Jason points out in the article, the only difference is that the usability of the tools has become far better over time.

Whether Twitter (or Facebook, or YouTube) becomes obsolete over time is not important. The tools may change but the relationships built up with customers, prospects and employees should not.