Eleven years ago, when online social networks were pretty much non-existant, four guys wrote the Cluetrain Manifesto. This is what they declare:
Corporate firewalls have kept smart employees in and smart markets out. It's going to cause real pain to tear those walls down. But the result will be a new kind of conversation. And it will be the most exciting conversation business has ever engaged in.
A decade later... they've been proven right. So here's a hard-and-fast, non-negotiable rule: conversation matters. Conversation matters more than follower counts, newsletter subscribers, and quantity of content. Sometimes, as product pushers, we forget this.
The Essentials of Conversation
It may seem elementary, but sometimes we need a reminder about the rudimentary elements of conversation. In the definition of conversation, we find working principles we can apply to our marketing plans. I would define conversation by these crucial characteristics:
- Listening. Where there is no listening, there is no conversation, there is merely broadcasting.
- Response. We make choices daily to either tune in and respond to what we're hearing and observing, or to quietly ignore it all. Responding is the pivot point to get conversations going.
- Repetition. It's that simple. Listen more. Respond more. And take notes along the way so that you can apply changes for increased effectiveness.
You can start conversations in hundreds of ways, or you can join in on existing conversations. The former is tougher but the latter can backfire. Either way, branding and marketing success are absolutely and completely dependent up on our willingness to engage.
Starting Conversations happens as we take the risk to invent or highlight stories that are easily passed from one context to the next. With the exception of the golden age of mass media (which was a short-lived experiment in the grand scheme of things), news has always spread more quickly through a crowd than to a crowd. People have been telling stories since the beginnings of modern civilization. Social media is just a timely recovery of this ancient art.
Joining conversations might be much easier, and sometimes just as effective. Joining conversations means having a grasp of trends and the ability to recall resources quickly. Making up stories is fun, but so is helping someone else tell theirs.