Move away from the generic social ask
- 17 Comment
A few years ago I read a quote from Blackbaud’s George Rubanenko in regards to fundraising,
“After six solicitations a year, the likelihood for long-term loyalty diminishes significantly.”
This means too many asks leads to the ultimate communications breakdown–the tune out.
Think about it, today it’s even easier to both reach your consumer AND HELP THEM TUNE YOU OUT. You may be encouraging your customers to tune you out and not even know it.
For those who are online conversationalists (participate on a social network a few times per week) you are most likely asked to: “friend,” “follow,” “like,” “click here,” “donate” and a plethora of other actions many times each week. These asks aren’t only when we’re online, but reach us on television, radio and print. Overwhelming!
Let’s use the ever-popular “Follow us on Twitter!” example we now see just about everywhere. What does this mean? Why should I follow you? Instead of the generic ask, let people know WHY they should connect with you and WHAT’S in it for them via another platform. Don’t you want to save an ask to your customers for something REALLY important?
For example, if you’re a news organization you can continue a story with an additional discussion “now happening on Twitter.” Instead of a random, “follow us,” you’ve offered substance for your audience. Even better? Feature those who participate or “tweet” back with them. You’ve bypassed the ask and created something valuable for those who want it.
Think about your social assets less as one more thing to drive people to and more as an extension of something:
- You’re already doing (e.g. marketing campaign);
- That benefits the customer or consumer (e.g. discounts, customer service).
If your social marketing consists of “Like us on Facebook,” or “Watch us on YouTube,” etc, it’s an opportunity to improve. You’ve already embraced social networks (which is great), now it’s time to change your frame of reference away from the ask.
How do you feel when you’re asked to “do” something for a brand online? What advice do you have to offer?
17 Comments on this post
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Kathy Manweiler said:
Smart advice, Sarah. Thank you!
Personally, a couple of years ago I didn’t mind so much when a brand asked me to “do” something — if those asks were infrequent AND offered something in return. But now those asks seem endless and everywhere!
So now as our nonprofit is starting to get acquainted with the world of social media and I’m responsible for almost all of the content and “asks,” I try to be mindful of listening much more than I talk and giving more than I ask. Even though we give grants and don’t raise money, your advice here also makes me realize that I need to be more careful about when — and why — our nonprofit asks people for something. What’s in it for them? Why should they care if they “follow” us or not? We need to make sure we have good answers to those questions before we do any more asking.
Thanks again for your valuable insights! @kamkansas
March 16th, 2011 at 3:44 pm -
NEENZ said:
This ‘do’ something for a brand online (follow, like, RT me please, etc.) are often times “social media strategies” offered by people afflicted with “social media marketer” syndrome. The same way their client ignores me, I ignore them as well
March 16th, 2011 at 3:47 pm -
Joel Capperella said:
Excelent examples od how to think through the conversational intent of todays social/digital comm tools ultimately the ask ought to include value to the askee. I find that too frequently this is the last element considered. Maybe it should be the first?
March 16th, 2011 at 3:49 pm -
PRsarahevans said:
Kathy – Thank you so much for sharing your experience. Having a non profit background I can completely empathize with your position. I think that you ultimately “get it” though. It’s just about being cautious how you promote and engage your online entities versus “wasting” an ask when your big ask may be for money, time, volunteers, etc… Thanks for reading! -Sarah
March 16th, 2011 at 5:49 pm -
PRsarahevans said:
Joel: Absolutely.
-SarahMarch 16th, 2011 at 5:57 pm -
Kathy Manweiler said:
I really like how you summed that up, Sarah. It’s a high priority for us to have a dialogue with people online and also to share our mission and the wonderful work our grantees are doing. But we don’t want to do that by “wasting” asks. Great point!
A couple of months ago, when our nonprofit was just starting to get our feet wet in social media, I watched a video of you talking about your Crisis Overnight project. That was so inspiring, and you really helped to demonstrate how social media can help mobilize people around a great — and particularly urgent — cause. Thanks again.
March 16th, 2011 at 6:36 pm -
JB said:
Agreed. Way too many generic social asks. I like the “now happening on Twitter” vs generic “follow me”. Great stuff. Thanks.
March 16th, 2011 at 6:59 pm -
Ariel Sasso said:
It’s funny because I was just having a conversation to this effect yesterday. I was explaining how important it is to tell your audience what specific value they will get from subscribing to your email list, following you on Twitter, friending you on Facebook and THEN delivering that value. A generic “Follow us on Twitter” a. is not very persuasive and b. doesn’t illustrate the benefit that will be derived from following you.
Instead, saying something more specific like “For daily deals and offers” or “For updates on future events” provides a more tangible benefit. But then aligning the content shared with that communicated benefit is just as important.
Great post Sarah, glad we’re on the same page!
-@arielinmotion
March 17th, 2011 at 9:17 am -
PRsarahevans said:
Kathy – Thank you so much for your response. It made my day! I wish you and your organization best of luck in all you do…it looks like they have the right person leading the way! -Sarah
March 17th, 2011 at 10:11 am -
Mandi Wise said:
Hi Sarah – Thanks for this post! It’s so easy to push, push, push and ask, ask, ask in social media. Your advice is a great reminder that listening, engaging, and creating value may be hard, but they’re absolutely necessary.
March 17th, 2011 at 10:22 am -
Aaron Tony Lobato said:
PR S.Evans
I believe you make a good point Sara. Engaging your consumers is key and what better a way than to make them feel important or give them something useful. As a consumer I know what I want and when, so pushing me to purchase something is per-se not as effective for my market segment. For example: I’m a Coca-Cola fan but PepsiCo actually engaged with my mentions of their company which also led to gaining access to a presentation for a panel they had just participated in. I’m not saying Coca-Cola never engaged me but I haven’t benefited from any interactions with their company.March 17th, 2011 at 11:04 am -
PRsarahevans said:
Thanks for letting me know, Aaron! I also tend to become more “engaged” with a brand who interacts with me. It can actually change or influence my preference. -Sarah
March 17th, 2011 at 7:02 pm -
PRsarahevans said:
Right on, Mandi! -Sarah
March 17th, 2011 at 7:02 pm -
Liz Schmidt said:
I actually read a post today by Jay Baer that reminded me of moving away from the social ask –
In the post, Jay talks about how “social media success is a byproduct of being a good company” and is tied to customer experiences. It made me think, even if a company has thousands of Twitter followers or Facebook fans, what good is it if the real-life communication breaks down along the way in terms of bad customer experience?
Instead of making the social media “ask” to potential customers, why not look for ways to connect with current customers to improve their experiences — and let them make the “ask” for you.
March 22nd, 2011 at 11:41 am
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