Shadow: Marketing Genius
The other day I discussed a few of the social media marketing lessons that I’ve learned from Shadow, my big ol’ Chocolate Lab. He’s a bit of a lunkhead, but I love him. Now here are a few more lessons that he has taught me over the years.:
Lesson 4: Loyalty – It’s a well-known fact that dogs are incredibly loyal to their owners. I can scold Shadow one minute for bad behavior, and win him back as a friend just as fast. Some of our social community members (not all) will exhibit this type of loyalty. Tap into that. Those are the members you need to nurture, possibly as street teamers, to help spread the word about you, your product, business, or organization.
Lesson 5: A.D.D. – Yes, my dog is loyal to a fault, but he also exhibits typical lab behavior in that he is rather A.D.D. When I play with him outside (“Squirrel!”) I often find that he can’t focus (“Rabbit!”) on one task for very long (“Cat!”). The slightest movement in another area of the yard and I’ve lost his attention. As marketers, it is our job to keep the attention of the members of our community. This goes back to the earlier lesson on engagement. We can’t just sit back and use what has “worked before.” Community members can be fickle, and our competitors would love nothing more than to lure them away. We not only need to engage them, but engage them in new and different ways.
Lesson 6: Predictability – Shadow gets fed two meals a day. At exactly the same time. If we miss that time, even by just a few minutes, he starts to bark at us. In fact, he’ll even start to let us know BEFORE the appointed time. As we engage the members of our social community, we need to recognize that there is something to be said for predictability. For some, it might mean that you blog on the same days every week. If you promise a weekly contest, make sure you don’t miss a week, and if you do, tell them why. Follow through on your promises.
Those are the lessons I’ve learned so far…but I’m sure there will be more…so stay tuned! Shadow is a veritable fount of marketing wisdom.
