Two “Someday” Things To Do—Right Now
First, an apology to our readers and clients who are already doing these things. But we’re continually astounded by the number of people who say, "Yeah, well, those are for the future. We’ll do them . . . someday."
Here are two "somedays" that should be right now:
1. A Strategic, Long-Term Entry Into Social Media. No, not just a build-and-abandon MySpace presence. Not a single Facebook app. Not a one-shot user-generated contest. But a strategic, long-term plan for social media that starts with a presence, continues with ongoing, relevant communications, and features useful, engaging applications.
Why? Lots of reasons:
- Basic brand protection. You care about having your company name, or product names, as a .com extension. Shouldn’t you also care about protecting that brand in four or five key social spaces that collectively reach half a billion people?
- Effective, relevant visibility. Currently, advertising on social networks is one of the lowest-cost ways to micro-target specific customer bases, both on a CPM and CPC level. Think: lower than AdWords. When was the last time anything you did beat AdWords?
- Engagement and yes, even sales. An ongoing communications program with relevant information (not just shilling your latest product) builds trust and familiarity, leading to engagement and sales.
Need more convincing? Consider these numbers: five out of the top 10 websites in the world are social sites. 70% of US adults will participate in social networks or social media this year. 40% of moms are on MySpace alone. Widgets have 600MM potential worldwide reach.
In short, social media is not just for kids. This is not for one-shot campaigns. It is not going away. You need to engage—now.
2. Developing An iPhone App—Or Several. Yes, there are other platforms. But they don’t matter. Yes, I’ll repeat: they don’t matter. Apple has shown us what the future of mobile looks like. They’ve built a user base of 15MM high-income, leading-edge, gadget-buying, high-spending early adopters.
"But you’re ignoring the eleventy-billion other people out there on seventeen skazillioon phones/carriers/platforms! Don’t they matter?"
In a word: No. Here’s why:
- Unless you have very, very large resources, deploying a multiplatform mobile application is simply out of reach. Think of the logistics of developing across multiple platforms to reach a significant portion of the standard phones, Java featurephones, Symbian and Windows and Palm and and and and . . . you get the picture. It involves huge dev budgets, user testing, deals with carriers to get it on-deck . . .
- On the other hand, an iPhone application is within the reach of virtually every company on the planet. We’re talking weeks or months of development. Budgets in the five to six figures. A built-in distribution platform. And even the opportunity to earn that money back through actual app sales.
- Every other viable contender to the iPhone will end up with an open platform and an app-based strategy. Until then, you can ignore them. When they build market share, you’ll be ready to port your proven iPhone app over to them.
So. Yes. iPhone apps. Now. Even if you don’t carry one.
