Populism and Social Sitting in a Tree...
I've been thinking about making this video for almost a year now*. As soon as I realized that we should not only take a Trump run for presidency seriously, but also a Trump win seriously, I knew why:
Trump was then, and still is now, very good at social media.
Okay, so some of you may be saying, "Are you freakin' kidding me?!? He rants incoherently at 3:00 am and acts completely unprofessionally. He's an embarrassment!" But your metrics of what makes someone good at social aren't actually metrics of what makes someone good at social. Professionalism and tact are metrics that come from the legacy of a pre-social business world.
What makes someone good at social runs pretty much the opposite of what made someone good at business (see last week's column) pre-the social era.
In this week's video, I talk about how calculated, spun, cautious messaging hurts not only politicians, but it also hurts brands. Trust is at an all-time low and, like it or not, people want to know your lumps and bumps and warts.
Now, as I say in the video, it's not about being crass and controversial, either. That's not the point (this part of the message will come back and bite Trump eventually, but not in the way you think it will). The point is that we need to stop trying to be perfect and start being open to taking risks with real conversations.
I know, scandalous!
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* I'm more than a little afraid of trolls with this one and I feel as if I'm going to get arrows from 'all sides'. Wish me luck! ;)
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Truly Social is a web series that you can share with your boss or client when they're not really "getting" social. It's also the name of my company - where I work with clients on helping them develop their own web series.
I've been working on this social stuff for over 16 years and I've been a participant in the social web since 1992. My videos will come out every SUNDAY...with ~5 minute "lessons" on what are truly social practices (and what are NOT).
Andre Kock & Son Auctioneering (Brand and Advertising Consultant in the Agricultural/Livestock Industry)
8 年At a very early age I learnt this saying about image marketing and specially if a product / event / person needs to be seen: " Good or bad, as long as they talk about you!"
Sales Representative at Patron Manufacturing
8 年I think we are seeing the end of traditional media. They have over-stay their welcome increasingly drifting to "fake" news hoping to hold on to their market segment. Now they find themselves trying to explain why a traditional Democratic candidate spent $1B on a failed campaign. While the master of social media spent far less and won. What traditional media really needs to fear is that they are far too slow on picking up the comments on the street. Their layers of political correctness will never be as timely as a free-flow of the social media and their ideas.
?? Event-Tech, ??? UGC, ?? SaaS ?? CEO at Walls.io, Founder at Swat.io
8 年Thank you for the great video, Tara. I think your advice can (and should) also be taken to heart by brands and businesses, not just by public figures. We're living in a day-and-age where the audience has access to a limitless amount of information and the worst thing you can do is to try to be perceived as something you're not. People will figure it out right away :)
Web and WordPress expert with 20 years experience.
8 年Hitler was a dab hand at getting a crowd whipped up too, I don't want to learn from his tactics either...
Charles T Sebesta
8 年Interesting