WIIFM?

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June 5, 2007
Yesterday, I noted the six entries on my blog that were the most popular based on a single metric - traffic. Two of my "taggees" immediately took the bait joined the conversation and noted their own popular entries, but with a twist.

Greg Verdino, in a Herculean effort to overcome his anti-meme streak, rose to the challenge by choosing three entries, each based on a different factor: traffic generated to his blog, and most conversation generated and most attention from other bloggers.

Both he and Doug Haslam also went further by selecting which past posts they liked the most themselves. I was initially thinking of doing that as well, but I decided against it because my feeling was that the blog exists more for you as my reader, rather than for me as a writer. As a marketer, I was trying to be sensitive to this perspective, because at times the marketing profession gets too wrapped up in its own message and seemingly ignores the customer. It becomes a game of "Look at me!!" rather than "What do you need?"

As much as any marketer's positioning, branding and message are essential, let's remember that customers are constantly wondering WIIFM - "what's in it for me?" To that end, it's our responsibility as marketers to ensure that we're delivering something of value to them, whether it's a 30-second spot, a product that meets their needs or a service that exceeds their expectations.

The point of this post isn't to pontificate - it's to share a perspective. And my perspective changed a little after reading Greg's and Doug's posts. Here's how they rationalized their decision to post their own favorite entries:
Doug: [my blog] is here to help me “create with the mind”– that is what “Gischeleman” means– and work on my writing and thinking by doing it regularly.

Greg (a little more unabashed): these are some of the posts that have given me the greatest satisfaction, that I feel are most consistent with my general views on new media and marketing, that come closest to nailing my vision for this blog. These are just a few of the posts that rank among the most popular with my favorite audience of one, ME.

Even though Because they were up-front about their desire to share their own (high) opinions of their work, I was forced to rethink the position I had taken. Although my readership has grown over time (albeit slowly) and I have the utmost respect for you as a reader (hey let's face it, if you've made it this far in the post, you have my thanks as well as my admiration), here's something that sets a blog apart from other marketing vehicles:

While a blog depends on good content, it thrives based on a good relationship.

You've come to know me through my writing style, the images I choose and the content I choose to post. I've come to know you through your comments or links you've made to my site - or even better, by meeting you in person. That represents the overall evolution of a blogger-reader relationship.

So at this point in our relationship, I guess I feel more comfortable sharing my own favorites with you. You can humor me - or you can move on to your next to-do. Either way, I hope you find value out of my work.

Twittermeme - ironically, one of my favorites is a meme, in this case "What Would Sherlock Holmes Twitter?" The reason I like it is that it allowed me to tie in another interest and it actually generated some minor conversation among a limited group of friends (including that good sport Verdino).

It's All Geek to Me - this was my first interaction with David Armano, in which he commented on my blog. It was my first "big blogger" reaction to anything I posted, and it was the beginning of great relationship with David - and eventually the connection to Greg Verdino.

What Is the Face of Your Brand - hey, any post in which I can mention Calvert DeForest / Larry "Bud" Melman is a winner in my mind.


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Posted by Scott Monty at 8:31 AM
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 Comments:

At 6/05/2007 12:23 PM, Blogger Doug Haslam said...

I suppose I could be less abashed. I wanted to highlight favorites because I thought they deserved a better lok from people who see my blog now that didn't before.

Was my Webkinz post that great? Not my favorite, but it got traffic from people who searched "Webkinz" -- and it's happening again because I used the word and the tag.

Some good posts aren't so search friendly and deserve another whirl. If they don't get attention the second time around though, it may be time to drop it.

And I love the Twittermeme. I'll have to think on that one.

 
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Ranked by Forbes as one of the top 10 influencers in social media, he has been called "an unstoppable force of nature," "the best corporate social media lead on the planet," and Alan Mulally, the CEO of Ford Motor Company, called him "a visionary."

At Ford, Scott heads up the social media function and holds the title Global Digital & Multimedia Communications Manager. He is a strategic advisor on all social media activities across the company, from blogger relations to marketing support, customer service to internal communications and more, as social media is being integrated into many facets of Ford business.


Prior to joining Ford, Scott served as Consigliere for crayon and spent a number of years with PJA Advertising + Marketing, a boutique BtoB agency specializing in health sciences & high tech.

In addition to his professional responsibilities, Scott is an active blogger and podcaster. He writes about the intersection of advertising, marketing and PR at The Social Media Marketing Blog and also writes The Baker Street Blog and cohosts I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere, two literary undertakings. Scott has been featured in hundreds of news and business publications in print and on the web, in nearly dozens of books, and on a variety of mainstream media, including NBC, NPR, CNN and The Wall Street Journal. Scott is a recognized thought leader in the social media industry and frequently speaks at industry events.

Scott received his Master's in Medical Science from Boston University's School of Medicine concurrently with his MBA from BU's Graduate School of Management. He lives in the greater Detroit area with his wife and two young sons, golfs all too infrequently, and has a hidden talent for voice over work.

Oh, and one last little-known fact: Scott coined the Oxford Dictionary of English-accepted term "tweetup."

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Hi, I'm Scott. I'm the global head of social media for Ford Motor Company. This is my personal blog, where I share my perspectives on social media - the convergence of marketing, advertising and PR on the Web - for marketers, agencies, the enterprise and the individual. This blog contains my personal views. My bio is available here and my headshots can be found here.

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