Time is the Bane of all Marketers and Brands

You are not that important. Get over it. Really. Get over it. The quicker you deflate your Brand Ego the quicker you can really focus on making sales. I wrote about this in December. Time to revisit. LINK

The fact is we have 24 Hours in a day. In that day we will with work, sleep, eating, socializing, etc. All sorts of activities. As a Brand whether online or off line you are competing for people's attentions. Yes much of marketing forces their way into your face. TV Commercials. Bill Boards. Direct Mail (even if you don't open the mail you see who sent it to you).

Meanwhile you have businesses like Facebook, Vitrue / Likeable, Social Media Agencies, Social Media Guru's who tell you where people are spending their time and that you can reach them there. This is a flat out lie obviously. You can't reach people on Facebook. You can reach a small number on the Twitter. People don't want to see you. They don't want to talk about your coffee or your car on your terms. They want it on their terms. End of story.

It is really hard when companies like Facebook and Mashable bullshit people out their ass with crooked numbers. 700 million users on Facebook? That is the biggest crock of shit since crocks of shits came into existence. To be included in that number you need to log in 1 time for less than 1 minute during a 30 day period. Facebook refuses to say how many only log in once. Or twice. How much time most people spend. Because it hurts their brand and their IPO efforts. I have deducted by number crunching that less than 20% of all Facebook users are responsible for 85% of all time spent and content sharing. In fact for every 2 people who log in today there will only be one action taken (Status Update, Like, Comment). So obviously if one person takes two actions, 3 people then take no action.

In June I covered this using the numbers from Compete: Why Math Really Hurts Facebook

I like to tell clients to do two easy things to bring them back down to earth. To prove we don't give a flying shit about 99% of Brands on Social Media (unless we are pissed and need to call them out).

1] Spend the day noting all the brands in your life that day. I bet it is way over 100. From your clothes, to food, to businesses you patronize, TV/Entertainment you consume, Websites you visit, News Outlets, etc etc etc.

They all want to talk to you right now. How many do you want to talk to today or this week? 1? 4? 8? I bet I just maxed you out. So what makes you so special that out of 100+ brands in someone's day that you are so special? There is a reason the average person only engages actively with 4 Brands via Social Media in their life.

2] Secondly and even more important. Go through your day today and observe all your activities then start ranking them in importance. Then figure out where 'Engaging with Brands via Social Media' is going to fall. Guess what? Possibly Dead last. Right above sweeping out the garage but right below scratching that itch on your ankle.

Let's make a list:

Sleep. Work. Eating. Reading News. Watching TV/Movies. Playing Video Games. Going to the Gym. Chatting with friends or family on the phone, text or email. Shopping. Chatting with friends and family via Social Media. Sports/Hiking etc. Cooking. Reading a Book. Sex. Partying. Travel. Listening to Music. Showering. Brushing my teeth. Getting dressed. 

All of this takes priority in my life over 'Engaging with Brands via Social Media'. You will never capture but a small % of your customers and potential customers. This does not mean ignore them or don't use the platforms. This means you need a reality check and figure out the real value and how to use these platforms. They work. But not in the way Facebook, Mashable, the Vitrue's and Likeable's, the VC's and the Social Media Guru's are telling you they will.

Don't believe me still. Spend your day asking everyone you meet how many brands they engaged with today via social media. I bet most say 1 or less.

We just don't have the time for your Brand on Social Media. We will buy your product. We will go to your website and shop or browse. We will go to your store and shop or browse. We will watch/consume marketing that is forced on us (or at least zone out like during boring commercials). But we don't have time for you on Social Media. THIS WILL NOT CHANGE! So get over it. 

Focus on having a great product, service, quality etc at the right price point, delivering something people need or want.