Social Media: Why Twitter Matters to Marketers

One of my Twitter buddies, Stuart Robertson (aka 'designmeme'), tweeted me this bit of wisdom yesterday:

@carol_phillips Facebook is the backyard BBQ, Twitter is the Convention, MySpace is the NightClub, LinkedIN is the Job Finding Club. :)

I promptly 'retweeted' his idea to my 179 'followers'. That ended an exchange that started like this yesterday morning:

designmeme: How To Turn Twitter Followers Into Friends http://tr.im/gQmg

carol_phillips: @designmeme Not sure I want followers as 'friends'. That's what I have Facebook for. Twitter brings me acquaintances with common interests.

This exchange illustrates what I have discovered to be Twitter's primary attraction, which is to have "conversations" with people you would otherwise never meet. designmeme is on the faculty and web manager for University of Guelph-Humber. We are unlikely to have met anywhere other than cyberspace. We don't care about what each of us had for lunch or even want to know any details of each other's lives. I didn't even know or care what his real name was until I started writing this post. But I like what Stuart has to say, and I must have said something that caught his attention, as well. And this is precisely the reason I think Twitter will be more important than Facebook: Twitter is not about friends, it's about strangers.

The first lesson I learned about Twitter is to refrain from answering the prompt,what you are doing? No one, outside of those who love you, cares two tweets about what you are doing. But acquaintances and your larger network just might care about what you are reading, thinking and talking about. And that's where Twitter comes in. Twitter is about ideas; you don't need to be 'friends' to want to share ideas. In that sense, designmeme is right, Twitter is a convention, a virtual watercooler where interesting conversations are happening day and night. The conversations are easy to find and make little demands. You can just listen, or you can chime in.

In contrast, Facebook is the backyard BBQ. You can't stand silent on Facebook you have to participate; Facebook is where you connect with people you know and like, aka, your friends. The in-house sociologist at Facebook, Cameron Marlow, revealed that most users actually communicate with a relatively small circle of friends. While many people have hundreds friends on Facebook, they still only actively communicate with a few.

The average male Facebook user with 120 friends: Leaves comments on 7 friends’ photos, status updates, or wall Messages or chats with 4 friends

The average female Facebook user with 120 friends: Leaves comments on 10 friends’ photos, status updates, or wall Messages or chats with 6 friends

The average male Facebook user with 500 friends: Leaves comments on 17 friends’ photos, status updates, or wall Messages or chats with 10 friends

The average female Facebook user with 500 friends: Leaves comments on 26 friends’ photos, status updates, or wall Messages or chats with 16 friends

I prefer Twitter to Facebook because I have other ways to connect with friends.

Most Millennials I know have yet to use Twitter. They prefer to talk to their friends online and Facebook is perfectly designed to do just that.It therefore comes as no surprise that the average Twitter user (Twitterer?) is older than the average Facebook user.

Which brings me to my point (yes, I have one): While they are lumped together as 'social media', LinkedIN, Facebook, Twitter and Myspace are fundamentally different in ways that will be increasingly important for marketers to understand.

Because Facebook is intimate, it is inherently unfriendly to commercialization and marketers will continue to struggle to find a way to leverage it effectively. (The exception will be 'events, such as Starbucks 'Red' event in December. Advertising a specific event (party) on a specific day makes perfect sense.) Because Twitter is about anonymity and connecting with people you don't know very well, it is inherently much more friendly to breaking news, self-promotional messages, causes and ideas. I predict Twitter will surpass Facebook fairly quickly as a marketing medium.

Marketers: Start your tweeters.

Dentyne's 'Face Time' Campaign a Winner with Millennials

I love Dentyne's contrarian "Face Time" campaign. It leverages the current obsession with Facebook and virtual friending to make a point about the importance of face-to-face encounters. First launched in October, the campaign includes TV, a web site and remarkably, no NO Facebook group or application I could find! In fact the web site only gives you 3 minutes to find what you want and get out.

Last night, a new 'Face Time' commercial on The Colbert Report caught my attention. It features a charming couple who can't stop kissing. Adorable. And it makes the point: kissing is fun, do it more often (with Dentyne)! (I can't find the new spot on YouTube or I would have inserted it here).

I was pleased to see Millennials, not just boomers like me, enjoy this campaign. Adrienne Waldo, creator of the blog AskAMillennial, says she likes it for being 'genuine' and 'happy' (how Millennial of her!):

"I am absolutely crazy about the most recent Dentyne campaign.It is fun, warm, unique and targets Millennials without being patronizing. I think the essential goodness of this campaign comes from its genuine nature. ..The commercial ties in well with the print. The song selection, "Summer Day" by Coconut Records, comes across pleasantly quirky, the setting is beautiful, and the whole thing leaves me feeling happy."

Tough Sells: Anti-Tobacco and Responsible Drinking

Good news for Millennial marketers! Advertising works! A slew of new studies document both these statements are true:

1) Tobacco advertising and promotion cause young people to smoke

2) Mass media campaigns are effective at reducing smoking among young people, especially when combined with other tobacco control strategies.

Two new studies in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine (Feb 9, 2009), conclude that the National Truth Campaign to Prevent Youth Smoking has been highly effective cost efficient in reducing initiation of smoking among teens. One study found that truth(R) was directly responsible for keeping 450,000 teens from starting to smoke during its first four years, while a second study found that the campaign not only paid for itself in its first two years, but also saved between $1.9 billion and $5.4 billion in health care costs. Impressive.

Unfortunately, there is equally impressive evidence that the better-funded efforts of tobacco marketers are even more effective and cost efficient. New research by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (Feb 13, 2009) found the three most heavily advertised cigarette brands - Marlboro, Newport and Camel - were preferred by 78.2 percent of middle school smokers and 86.5 percent of high school smokers. Marlboro is preferred by more high school smokers, 52.3 percent, than all other brands combined.

What's true of tobacco also appears to apply to underage drinking. Despite clever drink responsibly campaigns (I especially like the Captain Morgan pizza delivery ad), better funded youth-oriented alcohol advertising may be contributing to an epidemic of binge drinking on college campuses. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism estimates that 1,700 college students between ages 18 and 24 die of alcohol-related causes each year, while about 600,000 suffer from alcohol-related injuries. Nearly 25 percent of all college students report academic consequences of drinking, including missing class, falling behind, doing poorly on exams or papers and receiving lower grades overall. (Colleges Crack Down on Binge Drinking).

There is plenty of evidence that college culture on many campuses now celebrates drinking to get drunk. The "official" Motown/Asher Roth "I Love College" music video on YouTube has over half a million views without counting the many unofficial versions. On Sunday night, 60 Minutes interviewed college students about drinking games and attitudes toward drinking. This short clip captures the matter of fact way students accept that drinking to get drunk = social life on campus today. (More 60 Minutes clips and transcript.)

The moral for Millennial marketers? Advertise responsibly!

Being A Millennial: It's Not That Easy

Found on the Blog: The Perennial Millennial, by Blake Sunshine. I like how Blake reminds us of the danger of stereotypes... not all Millennials are hip or on Twitter, or even want to be!

I know what you are thinking as you read this post’s title: WAH WAHHH being a millennial is sooooo hard. But, what you may not know is that being a part the youngest, smartest and most influential generation comes with heaps of responsibility. Mostly, as a millennial, especially in the work place, you are expected to be perfect. So in order to live up to our name here is some advice for others on what it takes to be a good millennial:

1. You have to know everything. And I mean EVERYTHING. You have to read newspapers, watch tv and follow every blog. You also have to offer business insight with each new article you read and share it with all of the other folks you work with. You have to know old, you have to know new, you have to know it all.

2. You have to be hip. Besides being on the cutting edge of almost every trend in your business area, your coworkers also expect you to be hip. They want to ask you about new songs, celebrities and what Zac Effron was wearing at the Oscars. You have to be hip, even if in your real life you aren’t really hip at all.

3. You have to be online. It’s a pretty safe assumption that as a millennial you know way more about being online than your colleagues. But the real truth is that most millennials could care less about any social networking tool but Facebook. So when people want me to teach them about Twitter or other new online tools I am usually learning about it right before I teach them.

4. You have to pretend it all comes naturally. In addition to the above mentioned difficulties, the hardest part of being a millennial is pretending like it’s easy! And it’s not, trust me.

So next time you see a millennial take it easy on them. Being perfect 24/7 is hard work!

Actually, Blake, you do make it look easy. I did find your blog via Twitter. And who is Zac Effron anyway? But I understand your point. Thanks for sharing.

Career Advice for Millennials from Daniel Pink

Career Advice '08

View more presentations from garr. (tags: career advice)

Here is a great example of how to talk to Millennials. This presentation, while long, can be viewed in 5 minutes or less and speaks right to the anxieties we hear among Millennials about their career paths. Namely, the fear that there is no path. This presentation, created by Garr Reynolds, provides some solid advice in an entertaining, Millennial-friendly way. The content is based on Daniel Pink's new book, The Adventures of Johnny Bunko, the Last Career Guide You'll Ever Need, 'with some other stuff thrown in'. (FYI, the book itself is written in Manga.) Bravo.

Millennials Seek Government Jobs

My 15-year old son recently informed me he is considering becoming a diplomat. He is right on trend. When times are tough, the government may be the job of first, rather than last, resort.

Last year, every single branch of the U.S. armed forces from Marines to National Guard hit or exceeded its recruiting goals. Now Yahoo reports that the hottest recruiting sessions at MBA schools are those sponsored by the government (MBA's: Uncle Sam Wants You , 2.18.09).

Career services directors predict that government and nonprofit hiring will increase this year, though it's too early to say by how much. According to recently released data from the Career Services Council, 35% of schools reported an increase in recruiting activity for government and 12% reported an increase in the nonprofit sector, even as overall recruiting activity was level or down at 75% of schools.

The Federal job site, USAjobs.gov lists 39,500 jobs. A search for 'marketing chicago' yielded nearly 468 results, many of which pay $67K or more. While government and non-profit jobs may lack glamour or high salaries, they offer two things of value to Millennials: steady employment and the opportunity to make a difference. The yearning to make a difference in their job, not just volunteer work is a theme we hear repeatedly in our focus groups with young working Millennials. In an ideal world they would forgo the money for the chance to make an impact. Here's a sample exchange from a group last summer:

Moderator: What is your IDEAL career?

Mike G: I want to be a Fireman, but I can't benchpress enough.

Mary A: I would want a career where i made a real difference in someones life. Working for non profit maybe The barrier for me is experience in that area and a degree in non profit.

Mike G: Kidding.

Katie H: haha mike.. eventually i want to go non-profit but I want to get good business experience now to make the most of that job.

Mike G: The truth is almost just as silly. I work professionally as an actor, but it's very difficult to devote myself full-time to it because I've got to eat and pay rent. In an ideal world, I'd perform and not have to worry about money.

Moderator: Do you all think a nonprofit is the best way to make a difference? or can you see yourself making a difference in the world through a corporation?

Katie H: i don't think its the only way but its the way I want to do it

John C: The barrier to obtaining it is the need for a large income to provide for a family.

Katie H: there are many corporations that do a lot to make a difference.

Mike G: The last company I worked for went down to New Orleans to help with the Katrina clean-up effort.I know people really enjoyed that.

Katie H: the company i work for now does a lot with Habitat Moderator Carolyn: do you see a trade off between making a difference in the world and making a lot of money?

John C: Yes. Plenty of non-for-profits that would be fun to work for that make a difference but you can't earn the same there.

Mary A: I lead the company in a fund raiser for a battered women's shelter, something small but makes a difference.

Mike G: In fairness, taking time out to do some good -- while great -- is a lot different than being in a career where each and every day you're supporting a cause or a purpose you believe in.

Justin D: Making a ton of money should not go hand in hand with making a difference, most of the time.

With the choice increasingly between a job that makes a difference and no job, it's not a surprise that Millennials may be turning their attention to what they perceive as 'worthy' pursuits.

Millennial Target: Ford Fiesta

Ford just announced it is seeding 100 German-built Fiestas with hand-selected Millennial 'agents'. In exchange for this largesse, the agents will be expected to Twitter, Facebook, Blog and Flickr their experience to their friends. According to the press release, the cars are rolling off the line today. Starting this spring, the agents will perform monthly 'missions' and report on them to their friends and to Ford for six months via social media.

Ford is the only one of the big three U.S. car-makers who is not looking to the government for bail out loans, which appears to be a good business decision. According to today's Wall Street Journal (Ford Benefits as GM Chrysler Tumble), they are also the only U.S. car-maker who has grown share in the past four months.

The car is designed to appeal to younger, Ecologically Conscious and Economically Challenged drivers. The giveaway effort is intended to both build buzz as well as provide Ford with feedback prior to the 2010 official launch. Ford claims to have already received 1500 applications on its www.fiestamovement.com web site. The application asks applicants to submit a two to five minute video explaining why they want the opportunity to become part of the Fiesta Movement. Applications will be accepted through March 13, 2009.

We’re looking for an elite crop of drivers to take the wheel: people with a strong presence on the web, an ability to craft a compelling story through video, and a hunger for adventure. As a driver, you’ll receive monthly secret assignments from Ford Mission Control that will take you to places you’ve never been, to meet people you’ve never met, and to experiences you’ll never forget. And you’ll bring your friends and followers along for the ride. We’ll hand you the keys to your own Fiesta for a six month period, and we’ll even handle the gas and insurance for you, too.

Is this move into 'social media marketing' a smart move? A lot depends on execution, but the strategy seems sound. There are no guarantees that Ford will pick the right Millennials, that the missions will be of interest to other Millennials, and that they will even like the car. But, assuming $10,000 per car (a guess) the effort probably costs about what it would cost to make a commercial -- in other words, a pretty good deal and worth the risk.