26/02 2009

Switching from Function to Feeling

We are into the 7th of 10 Commandments for Using Social Media. We have been investigating using personality and transparency when using your social media tool… We are going to continue that beautiful trend.

From Function to Feeling

It was hard to relate this commandment to the one Marc Gobe uses for his book, Emotional Branding. In the book the seventh commandment is related strictly to product design and sensory experiences.

I wanted to shift your focus from the “use” of a social media tool to the learning process surrounding the tool. Many small business owners focus solely on how to use a tool and then forget that a strategy needs to be in place in order for return on investment to be realized.

Learning the functionality of a tool like Twitter or Facebook is the first step towards success. We all know that… You have to be able to function around a tool or product in order to make it work. Common sense will prevail.

Now… where should you be spending the majority of your hard-earned knowledge and time: feeling. How are you going to be make social media a success? Personality. Emotion. Transparency. Be human.

This is especially true for the owners or sales people surrounding a service company. When you are selling your expertise do people buy for functionality or feeling?

Feeling. Always. They are buying into YOU as a business owner or marketer.

The important thing to remember when using social media as a marketing tool… never focus too much on the functionality of a service… you will learn as you go…

Always focus on how you can recreate yourself, your personality, and your traits in the online environment.