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Never Miss An Opportunity To Be Good To People
October 1, 2013
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Making a lasting impression that strengthens loyalty is critical if we want to earn believability in the social space – ultimately increasing listenership. But that's not always an easy task – or is it?
Realizing their show might be "a little scary sometimes" to watch alone, Dateline NBC correspondent Josh Mankiewicz and the show's producers have created a contest called, "#DontWatchAlone."
Each week, Mankiewicz and the Dateline team head to a winning entrant's city to host a live tweet party in their homes as they all watch the show together. (It's one of the funniest things to watch play out on Twitter on Friday nights.)
And leave it to Dateline to never let contests become predictable.
Last week, just as the winning fans settled in from the excitement of having one correspondent, Josh Mankiewicz, in their home, something extraordinary was about to happen.
Dateline correspondent Keith Morrison gave fans something they will always talk about:
What an amazing way to use social – as a conduit to meeting fans and giving them some of our time in return for the attention and loyalty they give us. As you see, when we make the commitment to acknowledge fans, wonderful things happen.
But when we only look at fans based on what they can do for us, we come up short of being an effective social brand.
You'll notice three common themes that run through a memorable social brand's presence and behavior like Dateline NBC:
1. Every Person Counts:
Never underestimate the power of the personal touch, one fan at a time. Making people feel that they have been seen and heard bolsters the anticipation and trust brands need.
2. All Hands On Deck
While Josh Mankiewicz does most of the "heavy tweeting," a variety of Dateline NBC producers and other correspondents also socially sharing these moments and exchange with fans, too. Success can only be accomplished when everyone is on board.
3. Permission To Be "Flawsome"
"Flawsome" was coined by the monitoring firm, trendwatching.com. It means to allow and "own" your flaws, while always being awesome. Dateline NBC isn't trying to be perfect socially – the goal is to be human and likeable. And most fans will tell you that it's OK when a brand has flaws – it makes them real.
With brands – as in life – we teach people how to treat us. The more disconnected and dismissive we are socially, the more we are teaching our fans to be equally detached from us.
The more exciting we are with social exchange, the more revved up fans get with our brands.
If social is going to correlate to higher ratings, genuine effort is required. Fans will not automatically participate with us socially just because they listen to or watch us.
There are steps involved in putting a social fan base in place and when executed properly, you will find this group of fans to be more active and engaged than the passivity you might see in your email marketing database.
It's because these are chatty folks who love to voice their opinions and point their friends in directions where they perceive value.
Evaluate your social behavior. Are you giving fans those "holy crap" moments?
Allow this space to not be just about your brand but an indirect path to your brand that fully involves the fans.
By the way, you'll have an opportunity to hear more about what it takes to be a real time social brand when Dateline NBC's Josh Mankiewicz speaks at this year's Jacobs Media Summit on Dec. 12th in Baltimore.
Josh is a great storyteller with a tale you'll want to hear about how national personalities can connect locally – in York, PA or Yakima, WA.
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