Browse the net, and it becomes clear pretty quickly that somebody out there is giving lots of companies dubious marketing advice. Based on the evidence, here’s my take on the Top 10 Worst Marketing Tips for 2009.
1. Let’s add 2.0 to that noun.
2. Let’s add 3.0 to that noun.
3. If we use a cat in your video, it’s sure to go viral.
4. Don’t worry about running it through legal review — this is the social web.
5. We need to differentiate your message. Let’s turn all those keywords into verbs by putting an “ize” at the end.
6. It’s a mistake to strive for excellence. You should aim for good enough.
7. Every blog post should be short and pithy.
8. Create good content.
9. Let’s place your messages where customers don’t expect to see them.
10. Be brilliant.
Remember, friends don’t let friends market under the influence of misguided and useless advice.
Popularity: 5%
September 5th, 2009 at 2:56 pm
I may be missing something here. How is "create good content" bad advice?
This comment was originally posted on Social Media Today
September 5th, 2009 at 3:11 pm
OK. I give up. Why would "create good content" and "be brilliant" be bad marketing advice? I thought those were the point.
This comment was originally posted on Social Media Today
September 6th, 2009 at 6:41 am
Would be interesting to see you motivation for each of the points on that list. Can´t say I find it even near self-explanatory…
This comment was originally posted on Social Media Today
September 6th, 2009 at 8:55 am
Thanks everyone for so many Tweets! I’m so pleased that David, Susan and Lars took the time to follow-up with comments!
David and Susan:
You asked why I included #8 "Create good content" and #10 "Be Brilliant". A few others asked me the same questions on Twitter. And here’s my thinking:
Advising clients to "create good content" or "be brilliant" is really advising them to market for the sake of marketing, and all the trappings that go with that mindset. I call it ego marketing. It’s a far cry from social media marketing.
Today, great marketing is about engaging in great conversations.
My own emphasis on influencer relations probably explains why these two items made my list.
Lars:
I don’t want to lose sight of the light-hearted intent behind this post. On the other hand, I’m happy to explain and debate any or all of my Top 10, as they are all based on real world marketing. Do you sincerely think it would be interesting to explain and debate? What do you say, shall we go for it?
My only caveat is that I won’t point out specific examples or gurus.
Thanks again for the opportunity to discuss,Barbara
This comment was originally posted on Social Media Today
September 7th, 2009 at 1:18 am
Why “Create good content” and “Be brilliant” are such bad marketing advise?
September 7th, 2009 at 11:56 am
Benyamin,
Excellent question, and one that several people have asked me via Twitter and at Social Media Today. Here’s my thinking:
Advising clients to “create good content” or “be brilliant” is really advising them to market for the sake of marketing, and all the trappings that go with that mindset. I call it ego marketing.
Today, great marketing is about engaging in great conversations.
Instead of wowing customers and prospects with marketing brilliance, companies need to be engaging with them as part of everyday conversations. Your work at Onyx is a great example of the best kind of advice to give to clients today.
As for me, my emphasis on influencer relations probably explains why these two items made my list.
Does that make sense?
September 8th, 2009 at 7:42 am
Isn’t creating good content the start to engaging in great conversations? My advice would be create good content, but don’t just create it and walk away. Create good content for the sake of engaging and helping your customers.
This comment was originally posted on Social Media Today
September 8th, 2009 at 7:58 am
Deelirium, What’s the better way to start engaging in great conversations? Placing the emphasis on listening, creating content, both or something else altogether?
This comment was originally posted on Social Media Today
September 8th, 2009 at 9:46 am
Had to share this:
Jan Bruin, Sales Manager at Fortress Music (http://twitter.com/Jan_B) suggests…
“another terrible tip could be: ‘we need to get as much traffic as possible to your website’
September 8th, 2009 at 1:31 pm
A couple of my favs…
“Let’s do a sweepstakes so we can collect email addresses and build a database.”
As told to a luxury hotel brand…”Your keyword list should include ‘cheap hotel’ so you get lots of hits and rank high in search results.”
September 8th, 2009 at 3:32 pm
Thanks, Laura ROFL!
And, another to share:
Evan Quinn, Director Corporate Analyst Relations at HP (http://twitter.com/evanquinn) suggests…
“Put a hungry, inexperienced ‘professional blogger’ in charge of monitoring and responding to all blogs posted about your firm.”
Sad but true!
I’m sensing an update — or a bigger list!
September 10th, 2009 at 10:19 am
#11. All blog headlines and content should be based on a numbered list such as "The Top 10 blah blah" or "Six Ways to blah blah" or "Five Things Every Marketer Should blah blah"…
This comment was originally posted on Social Media Today
September 10th, 2009 at 12:14 pm
KevinI would agree with you if it weren’t for the fact that the entries on our blog that get the most hits are the ones with a number in the title. So there is a grain of truth in it.
As you say though, not every headline has to be that way.
This comment was originally posted on Social Media Today
September 10th, 2009 at 4:30 pm
Brilliant post.
But, here’s a sad fact: The reason this post is so brilliant is that SO MANY companies/marketers do exactly what you’ve listed.
And in the fun of adding more sad-but-true-isms…
“There’s no way you can measure ROI from social media, so just forget about assessment.”
September 10th, 2009 at 6:03 pm
Ouch! Good one.
It’s really nice to meet you. Your Word Post blog rocks. Hope the new job is a blast, and that those folks are ready for you.