Posts Tagged RAM

Not Joe McElderry apparently

Let’s get the musical issue out of the way first off because this is clouding the real business involved here. For what it’s worth, I am delighted Rage Against the Machine got to the Christmas No.1  because no one individual, whether answering to the name of Rupert or Simon, should control our tastes and opinions.

Incidentally, I wonder if there will be an X Factor version with a radio edit. Lyrically,  “by jove I am not going to buy your tat,thanks all the same” doesn’t sound quite as powerful as “fuck you, we won’t buy what you sell us.”

So what, in a business was actually achieved here? And what lessons can be learned for small businesses?

1) Social media is a viable method of marketing if a strong social message is conveyed skilfully. Regardless of whether Cowell has a financial interest in the Sony artists, RAM the real issue is that social media beat massive TV, radio and press exposure into second place. Incredible!

2) Small businesses, and artists in particular, should be encouraged to use social media as a method of persuasion. This is nothing new. As I pointed out in an earlier post about Glenn Hughes, Nine Inch Nails, Smashing Pumpkins and Radiohead have all had some success creating desire through skilful use of social media.

Phil Jones whom I recommend you follow in Twitter is Sales and Marketing Director for Brother. At a recent M Power conference run by Profile Communications, he gave some examples of small businesses who were actually selling direct from Twitter. NicolaTheFiat, a trader in hand made shirts, was one. Phil himself was another. Oh and while you are at it, why not clue me in too.

Cadburys Wispa was launched as a result of a social media campaign by “fans” of Wispa. Cadburys didn’t dance at the school disco. They simply provided the keys to the hall.

Relevance is the key word here. Imagine that you enter a room full of people at an office party and shout “anyone need a web designer?” Security! People tweet according to how relevance you are to them. Facebook is used by most as a showcase for what important people we we are. Yet if you can harness why people want to know you online and then build on that, you have relationship marketing to its nth degree.

So before wasting energy barking at Simon Cowell’s frequent red herrings, stop and think about the issue you could promote. Remember, this is about selling the sizzle not the steak. What I bought was a download of a song I have heard a thousand times before. What I cherished was the right to challenge the dictatorship of a  multi millionaire together with the message RAM eloquently conveyed.

So in 2010 what buzz can you create?