In an Ever-Changing Landscape, Prepare for Everything
At the Labs, we like to throw around two very similar, but very distinctly different words to describe the way we build content for our clients:
- Strategic
- Tactical
Their specific definitions in our business world are hazy. However, I’d describe them like this:
- Strategies involve activities that serve an overarching and specifically-defined goal.
- Tactics address and fix perceived needs and problems.
The distinction is minimal, but very crucial to engaging relevant audiences in new media in an effective way.
Beware the snap bracelet of the web
Photo by jllyfish
Something I’ve realized recently is that you can make yourself look very smart by writing an article that predicts the demise of ANY new media channel, no matter how long it’s published before the actual demise. ALL channels will eventually fall from favor. Heck, I once did an entire week’s worth of research into building a comprehensive Second Life presence. Doors never opened though. The Second Life fad had just about passed in that one week … kind of like snap bracelets.
A strategy would have addressed the exodus from MySpace to Facebook. A strategy would have armed you with the tools you need to create content for a new channel in any phase of its life-cycle, provided your strategically-defined audiences are in that sandbox.
1. MySpace 2. Facebook 3. Twitter 4. ????
In my experience, tactical engagements usually begin with something like, “We need you to build us a Facebook fan page.”
We can do this. No problem. We have a talented team of developers, writers, and designers in house that can provide you one heck of a Facebook fan page in a matter of hours. But what then? This is tactical. You’re addressing a very narrow and poorly defined “need” that may or may not be beneficial to your business at all.
Facebook v. Myspace
In fact, Facebook is another example of how tactical engagements yield little value. Three years ago, brands were building up their MySpace profiles. How does that look now? Perhaps this graph will give you an indication.
Now, I know you’re thinking, “Brad, it wasn’t the user-generated content that dethroned MySpace, it was poor corporate decision-making. It’s not our fault, really.” True. Double true.
The point is, companies that bet on channels as a social media strategy are ill-prepared for the future. In other words, if you bet on MySpace, you’re only prepared for MySpace. So, when that site fell from favor and became simply the realm of striving bands and gamers, brands like Aquafina were left with a static page that hasn’t been updated in about a year and offers little value.
2010 will be the year brands start realizing that they can’t achieve any meaningful business goals with a MySpace strategy, or Facebook strategy, or Twitter strategy; they need a web strategy.
2010 will see the idea of tactical engagement and “I need to get on [INSERT SOCIAL NETWORKING SITE DU JOUR HERE] now!” change into higher-level and thoughtful questions like, “What can I provide to new media channels?” This kind of thought makes your web marketing more future proof. When Twitter falls from favor, and all of your social media “experts” turn out to be “Twitter experts,” those with strategies defined by clear goals will be ready and able to distribute and promote the right kind of content on any platform to any audience.
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About the author
Brad Schwarzenbach -
As an analyst on the Tippingpoint Strategy team, Brad explores new opportunities for clients to build relationships with their customers. He’s always testing new social media channels, poring over analytic data, and identifying emerging trends. He also speaks at conferences & events about uncovering powerful messages hidden within brands' unique values.
Brad’s research has contributed to the development of content & contributor strategies for such clients as Breville, Rodale, Long’s Jewelers, and Fusionapps, as well as being a frequent contributor to the Tippingpoint blog. He’s been “listening” to the way we communicate online since the old AOL People Connection days and watched the way that digital communication has evolved.
An English and Creative Writing major at the University of Connecticut, Brad’s spent most of his career creating web content and becoming intimately familiar with web theory for Bayard, Inc. and TomTom Inc., giving Brad keen ears and eyes to what, exactly, makes web content valuable.
Outside the office, Brad feels most at home with his beautiful wife-to-be Kristina, or on the golf course. “There’s a distinct pace and rhythm to the way people communicate online. Understanding and taking part in them yields amazing opportunities for my clients to not only grow but to improve their business. I’m constantly looking for those opportunities.”Popular Posts
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I’m in the middle of reading Being Strategic by Erika Andersen and she’s doing a great job at providing a structure for thinking in the more fundmentally strategic way you are calling for.
Beth,
Thanks so much for the recommendation! I will most definitely check it out.
And thanks for reading!
Brad
Brad,
Great post. I think it goes beyond just a web strategy to what does the brand want the consumer to learn/feel/desire from what is communicated? It is all about having a message that resonates on an emotional level. It can be on a practical or aspirational level. Why do I want to buy a vacuum that doesn’t loose suction? Because I wasted enough money on ones that do in a year. Why do people buy sneakers because they are told to “just do it”? Because they usually don’t and wish they did. These are 30 spots; but imagine the life of their own they take on when consumers communicate directly with the brand and share it on Facebook, twitter or wherever they want to consume or share content. Imagine the Facebook page or YouTube videos displaying how Apple folks think different…I’m definitely interested.
In my mind it all comes down to what engages the consumer and triggers a response?
They are in control…as a brand how can I maximize their enthusiasm through whatever platform or channel they choose?
Rob,
You are, as always, right on point.
A good message you raise is that, in whatever medium, platform, or channel you are engaging in, you have to communicate for the entirety of that engagement and always stay on message.
In :30 TV spots, you get 30-seconds of continuous brand communication. When that time is up, engagement over. So, obviously, you have to communicate your entire brand’s value in half a minute.
New media are the same but different. You still have to stay on message and communicate your unique value at all times, but you have to be prepared to do so forever because new media engagements don’t end. Content lives forever.
The challenge, then, is to be prepared for this endless engagement and long tail brand conversation and THAT is strategy.
Thanks again Rob!
Brad
You are totally right, a Web Strategy is what is required. Without that you end up being a slave to whichever platform that is most popular at the time. It can be difficult then to move on to the next platform and switch all efforts to that. I can understand though why this happens – all these new channels popping up all over the place – it’s hard to stay on top of them all.
Amelia,
You are indeed correct. A focus on channel participation does not a strategy make. That’s simply tactical engagement.
I just read a GREAT article from Shannon Paul about strategies and how to help define them. Really great stuff: http://tr.im/OKjZ
Thanks for reading!
Brad
Great point Brad. When someone asks you about your online strategy, having a web strategy is the difference between saying, “I’m on Twitter….” and “I communicate short window deals to my fans to keep them engaged with my brand.”
On a related note, really getting into a web strategy probably helps you understand the overarching similarities between new media channels, and helps you move more quickly and effortlessly between them.
Jason,
Excellent point on moving between channels. A real content strategy helps you look at the web much more holistically as a medium… not as a series of independent tubes.
This knowledge can only further enhance the strategy because it offers a clearer view of the theory behind web communication. I think that’s why channels that successfully navigate all the way through the new media life cycle get to and successfully live in the Maintain phase. They grasp the patterns and motivation of their community and know exactly how to harness their “power.”
Thanks for stopping by!
Brad