KEEPING IT SIMPLE, TWITTER, PAINTING THE PERFECT PICTURE and PAWN SHOP COMMERCIAL CRITIQUE & RE-EDIT

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• Steve C. October 4, 2008, 11:24 pm

  For me the jury’s still out on Twitter, and I’ve been using it on and off for nearly a year. It’s new and shiny and interesting (for awhile anyway), but I’ve ended up unsubbing from the business feeds… too much message “noise”.

  There’s something to be said for just picking a social technology and sticking to it. Cell, email, Facebook, blog, SMS, chat, Skype, Twitter… pick any two. Or one.

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• Dan O’Day October 4, 2008, 11:39 pm

  My limited research suggests for professionals it has most value in promoting a brand (rather than simple networking). A friend of mine has just signed to write “the definitive” (probably the only) “book on how to profit from Twitter.” Hopefully there’ll be lots of juicy tidbits in it.

  Re: “social technology” — I’m in the planning stages of a major effort that radio people might like a lot. We’ll see what happens….

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• Zack Stone October 4, 2008, 11:53 pm

  Sheldon Hovde. Good ad.

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• Parker October 5, 2008, 7:10 am

  Re: Twitter et al. Yes, it’s the Hot New Thing. But really, how much more communication can one individual endure in the name of “social networking?” And who’s got the time? We’re suffering a surfeit of communication like never before. All of my “communication needs” have been sated. My sponge is full. Prediction: this social networking boom will eventually bust just as the dot com boom before it.

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• Dan O’Day October 5, 2008, 9:09 am

  @parker: While I am as far from being an expert on this as one can be and still be from this planet, I suspect your prediction is wrong. Or, I’m taking a wild guess that your prediction is wrong.

  I definitely share your bewilderment at the explosion of communication pipelines. Personally, I want to have fewer avenues of communication.

  That’s why, for example, I don’t make my cell phone number public; I’m always astonished when I see it on other people’s business cards and email signatures. If I’m not near my office phone, I’m doing something else. If I wanted to take calls, I’d be in my office.

  In fact, the only reason I got a cell phone is because I travel so much. But even then 95% of the calls are made by me, not to me.

  But….

  You’re over 30. (Just a guess, from your posting.) I’ll bet you use email a lot, right?

  Guess what? People 25 and under rarely use email, considering it a quaint, archaic mode. In North America, they communicate via Facebook and texting.

  Startling statistic: Facebook is the largest social network AND the fastest-growing social network. With so much competition and with having supassed the MySpace behemoth, that’s extraordinary.

  As I mentioned in my current Radio Advertising Letter, I’m exploring Twitter purely for business reasons. My personal inclinations aside, businesses need as many avenues of communication with their customer base as possible. And I already can see how Twitter might greatly benefit radio stations.

  Here’s a free report that explains some of the psychology: https://tinyurl.com/6e3gob . (This in no way is any kind of sales pitch. Just an informative report on the topic by a friend of mine.)

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• Nick October 5, 2008, 9:53 am

  Thanks for the link to the “Twitter Secrets” report.

  The Home Depot (https://twitter.com/thehomedepot) is an often-cited example of a company that uses Twitter well by making the communication about the customer, for example this one posted during Ike: (“Hurricane Tip: Take photos, make a log of damages – this may help with insurance claims. Save receipts from clean-up purchases too”).

  In an economy where experiences are increasingly as important as the goods or services provided, I think this is a great way to have positive interactions with customers. I launched one for our business a few weeks ago; we’ll see where it goes.

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• Rob Holding October 5, 2008, 5:32 pm

  brilliant paint spot

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• Corey Cruise October 7, 2008, 11:19 am

  The room in my mind was black & white until you mentioned color. Nice job painting a picture in the listeners head..well done!

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• Corey Cruise October 7, 2008, 11:54 am

  Re: Dan’s comments of ‘Monster Pawn’ spot. Definitely not too harsh. (Most of) today’s ad-saturated listeners are savvy enough to see through empty cliche phrases like “..everybody’s doin’ it!” and phony testimonials. The light came on for me when I attended Dan’s 1st Creative Summit back in ’95??..and subsequent Summits have served to reinforce basic copy writing tenets such as this. Biggest challenge for me has been breaking ‘old-school’ radio salespeople and clients of wanting to use these bad advertising habits.

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