Sex and Social Media
Posted on 15. Jun, 2010 by Dean Whitney in Marketing, Social Media, research and has 0 Comments
Just as social interaction has evolved over the years so has marketing. The pick-up lines that worked for hipsters would fall flat today just as marketing tactics of the the 80’s wouldn’t earn customers in the Facebook age. It seems a lot less successful pick-up artists are spouting Austin Powers pick-up lines while marketers seem quite content in going for the quick hit in their attempts at customer acquisition.
Today’s playing field has changed and requires a different approach. Sex & Social Media examines the effective pick-up artist and how it applies to new marketing in the age of social media.
Its all about me
The classic marketer makes the age old mistake of assuming their audience is very interested in them. The begin the conversation with an impressive list of amazing attributes.
The marketer has one thing in mind which is acquiring this person as a customer. So the list of attributes are all things that would benefit that deal.
This technique works about as well as if our pick-up artist approached a girl in a club and started listing all of his attributes that could benefit the deal he’s trying to close. “Hey there, I have great muscle tone, I smell good and shave my…”.
This “all about me” approach doesn’t work in relationships. In the nightclub or the marketplace its all about relationships.
Its all about you
The more evolved marketer of the 90’s read the Zig Ziglar and Dale Carnegie books and had the epiphany – people don’t care about me. So they change their line of communication. Marketers make poignant proclamations like WIIFM (What’s in it for me).
This approach, although slightly better, is much like our pick-up artist approaching a candidate and immediately saying “Hey, you’re pretty, have a boyfriend?, how would you like to come to my place for some champagne and…”.
It’s taking a huge leap to assume the prospect has the same end in mind as you do. What if it turns out this is an influencer to potential target customer? Did we miss a chance to engage? We know that people are much more influenced by other people so we need to begin more broad and let the target guide the conversation. Get them asking questions. Do this by creating compelling content consistently over time. It’s all about attraction – not promotion.
It starts with familiarity
Why is it so easy for celebrities to make deals (business or romantic)? It’s because the prospect is typically quite familiar with the celebrity. People feel a high level of intimacy with an artist through their familiarity with their work. Musicians and actors perform at a highly emotional level to an extremely emotional audience of young women racing with new found hormones. Regardless of their social tact these celebrities find swarms of people interested in engaging with them.
With the advent of social media the traditional sales funnel has changed. People do not rely solely on advertising and mass media to influence their purchase decisions. People are much more influenced by each other.
McKinsey Quarterly - Traditional consumer purchasing funnel
That means that the today’s pick-up artist must not only close the deal but maintain a good relationship after the sale. It’s those happy customers that will most influence future sales.
Customer Acquisition – the business ‘pick-up’
So how do we create that familiarity for a brand and achieve loyalty in today’s marketplace? Now that we know the pick-up lines aren’t so effective we should look at modern relationships. What does the successful pick-up artist in today’s business do to initiate the customer acquisition process.
McKinsey Quarterly - The consumer decision journey
The reality is that the “one night stand” is not a sustainable practice and both pick-up artists and marketers should understand that the customer experience goes beyond the direct relationship to the social web ultimately effecting the decision process for future prospects.
McKinsey Quarterly report – The consumer decision journey states “Consumer are moving outside the purchasing funnel-changing the way they research and buy your products. If your marketing hasn’t changed in response, it should.
The consumer decision journey –
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