Social Media Advisors

Gap is our “Social Media Winner of the Week”

In case you missed it, over the past week or so, Gap decided to change their corporate logo, then got pressured (largely via social media channels) to change it back. My initial reaction on seeing this was to assume that they planned it this way from the beginning, but I don’t have any contacts in the “Gap circle of trust” to know for sure. Gap has been around a little longer on the earth than I have, and my cursory research didn’t reveal whether their iconic blue box logo had been around since they were founded in 1969, but I know that they’ve had the same logo at least since the 80’s, when I used to shop there during high school.

So, one of two things happened here, and I see them as mutually exclusive:

1. In a stroke of business branding genius, Gap knew that their new logo would fail miserably and cause a public outcry, at which point they could save the day by reverting back to the original, comfortable logo we’ve all known for years, OR…

2. Gap simply messed up, but they were paying attention and responded swiftly to the unhappy consumer audience.

Frankly, it doesn’t matter which of these comprises the truth. Either way, Gap wins.

Why is that, exactly?

Well, do you remember the last time you talked about Gap with your friends before this incident? Or the last time Gap made headline news? Yeah, me neither. In fact, this could be the first time in their 41-year history that they did something worth talking about. I applaud them for this move (and for the change back, because the new logo really did kinda stink), since they did something buzzworthy. How often do you see large corporations making bold moves? Every once in awhile, you might see a risque GoDaddy commercial, but, by and large, companies tend to play it safe.

The bottom line question: Will this sell more clothing for Gap? My guess is that it will, simply because they managed to get top-of-mind awareness this week, even among people who were mocking them. This much exposure can’t ever hurt a brand, and I bet Gap’s holiday earnings are better than expected.

So, whether it was accidental (a la New Coke) or intentional, congratulations to the Gap executives. I bet this is one risk that will pay off for them.

P.S. I considered posting the new logo, then thought better of it. It’s ugly, in my humble opinion.

Social Media Relationships is the ROI Overlooked By Many

Online Consulting, Social Media Advisors, Social Media Training

So many times when you discuss social media with someone they want to know what type of Return on Investment(ROI) they can expect from using social media in their marketing efforts. They want to know how business will increase from the time they spend in tweeting each day and Facebooking. They want to know how many blog posts have to be written before they will see results. But the one factor that gets passed over many times is the relationships that are formed through social media.

I was listening to a keynote today by Scott Stratten of Unmarketing and the one thing that rang so loud and clear to me was that we often overlook social for the media part of marketing. We are so busy trying to figure out how to grow our sphere, increase SEO and more that we forget about just interacting with others. Those interactions can be much more effective to your business than reaching 5,000 followers on twitter.

Shortly after finishing listening to Scott’s Keynote, I looked at the mail for the day to find a package there with my name on it. This envelope was rather large in size and had *as requested! written on the top. I saw the return address label said my good friend Mike Mueller. Mike and I met about two years ago through social media. He lives in California while I live in South Carolina. We had commented on each others blog numerous times and became friends on Facebook. Then, through my business partners connection we both became co-hosts on a radio show. We also connected on Twitter and had multiple conversations since.

To say we became friends would be an understatement. We now talk regularly about various things in business and are huge supporters of each other. Mike creates amazing custom Facebook pages. Our company helps businesses with their online social media presence through coaching and also builds affordable custom WordPress sites. Whenever a client of ours mentions the first thing about Facebook, we instantly send them over to Mike. He knows about the current and upcoming things with Facebook batter than anyone I know. He does amazing work and is better at it than anyone else I have ever seen. When it comes to custom Facebook Pages, there is none better. Because of our trust in Mike’s work, we have been able to send multiple clients his way and increase his revenue.

On the other hand, Mike has done the same for us. I have been able to help several of his clients that wanted to learn more about SEO, or how to write blog posts, and much more. Our social connection has become a win-win for both of our businesses. I’ve never once tried to sell Mike something nor has he tried to sell me his products. He doesn’t need to market to me. Why? We have formed a trust relationship that allows us to freely recommend each others services without hesitation. To give you an idea of how powerful social media can be for building trust, I only recently met Mike in person for the first time while in Orlando. We shared a hotel room at a conference we both were speaking at.

So you may be wondering, what sparked writing this post. Well, it was two things. The first was the speech by Scott that I listened to today. The second was to share a funny story about Mike. Last week Mike and I were chatting on Facebook and he said that he was heading out the door with his wife to pick up some things at Costco. I immediately said, “Hey while you are there can you get me some pizza?” Later that evening Mike sent me a message saying he had it, and that I needed to come and get it. I replied “don’t you deliver?” Which brings me back to the package in the mail today.

As I began to open it I was immediately greeted with wonderful smells of that pleasant pizza from Costco. Unfortunately, with it’s week delivery time thanks to postal carriers, it was already starting to grow things that most people are not fans of consuming. I guess it just goes to show that we should stick to social media for our jokes for quicker delivery. 🙂

In closing I leave you with this, take time each and every day to focus more on your social and less on your media. You never know when that person you are connecting with could be your next client, or send you 10 prospective clients. And lastly, don’t mail pizza across the country!