Blogs

As a business owner, the not so distant past meant watching over the flock and tangibly relating to customers. A systematic order of establishing and maintaining customer relationships was established, and with experience, easy to command. Times have changed - maybe not so much changed but progressed. In the last decade or so the tools to use have not only improved, but the language spoken has completely been replaced. As an agency, untangling the social media approach for our fellow small business clientele has been a kicking, screaming, hand holding, break-up, make-up experience. The result is either lukewarm acceptance or complete denial of any existence of social media whatsoever. Three comforting mantras have helped our clients find at least a validation of the social media zen: acknowledgement, practicality and bravery in the new world.

Acknowledgement, or, crossing the bridge... at least getting to the bridge... okay, recognizing that there is a bridge. Social media is here, everywhere and from the immediate eye roll your client doles out upon hearing those two foreign, beguiling words, it is not welcome. To you, it seems like an uphill battle. To them it is simply unfamiliar territory. It is a language spoken by their kids, employees and jackasses. You are the jackass. Accept it. Once you do, you can carry them straight to the bridge. Knowing that social media is not a hand it over, 'here is how it works kind of thing', but that it is a 'work in progress, living breathing thing' eases much pain. By revealing this to your client and that you too are still learning has just opened a door and welcomed them in to learn the language. Now we're talking.

Practicality, or, listening to reason. It is all really common sense, but seeing the black and white of it is comforting. When test driving a new car, the wiper versus turn signal placement predicament is usually a fleeting test of humility. When boiled down, so is social media. It is simply different positioning of objects used daily. Conversation, building relationships, sharing, listening, offering, accepting, all social muscles flexed. Opening your clients eyes to the realization that this is simply all it is, is comforting. A facebook page is just sharing with current customers. A twitter account is networking with customers and possible customers.

Bravery, or, do not get bewildered by always changing social media moires and the latest newfangled whathaveyou. Nothing is worse than learning everything for the recital, then having two numbers change right before the show. Terror. Your client has come a long way... a sporadically updated facebook page... a twitter stream dotted with @'s and retweets. You are so proud. Stronger everyday. Then, it happens, changes to facebook, a new Twitter app, or the worst, the dreaded word from your client that makes you realize all your work is about to collapse like a house of cards... the introduction of a new "gizmo". You know that feeling. Arm your clients with the knowledge that, yes, all these things change, new things are constantly introduced, but, most importantly, we are on this road together. No new gizmo will defeat us, no 'like' option will get us down, no fail whale will sink us.

All in all, your client has a lot of smarts - or else they would not be your client. They know they have to face this. They know that results will not be instantaneous, (though they would like them to be). What they do not know is how to proceed on their own. The words Social Media harness schools of thoughts, ideas, methodologies and campaigns that can be overwhelming, confusing and deflating. Let them know you are there to help, to further, to grow, to go down that road with them, and, most importantly that you will be there when needed.

Over the last week, I've been doing my usual amount of "tweeting" during work hours and after - ranging from bouncing design ideas off of others, discussing my favorite hockey team, or just conversing with any number of people I've met thru Twitter. In case you've been living in a cave for the past year or so, Twitter is a »microblogging« platform - allowing people to communicate with each other in 140 characters or less. CommonCraft does a great way of explaining how Twitter works in this two minute video.

What that video does not tell you is this - Twitter can be a great equalizer. Take what happened to me over the last week, thanks to what I've been tweeting.

I was using the web interface supplied by Network Solutions to take care of some technical issues on some of my domains. I ran into what I'll politely call a few "snags" (see this and this) and tweeted my frustrations. Within a few hours I was not only contacted via Twitter by two Network Solutions representatives, but was also contacted by phone by a senior Account Representative the very next day. The rep on the phone didn't really understand how my account had been brought to his attention (read: has no earthly idea what Twitter even is), but he knew this - I had an issue with his company's product, and he was told to fix it (read: shut me the hell up).

While talking about these issues last week, I also was tweeting about NetSol's competitor, GoDaddy. Surprisingly, I was tweeted back by the GoDaddy representative on Twitter within a few hours. They were interested to hear about my issues with both NetSol and GoDaddy, and were willing to assist in whatever way they could.

Now get this: yesterday (the holiest day of the e-comm world known as CyberMonday), I got an e-mail offer from VMware, offering their software for half-price for the next 24 hours. I followed the link in the email and found that there was an issue with my existing account not letting me log in to purchase. I had been following @vmwarefusion on Twitter for a while, so I tweeted them about the issue and was tweeted back within fifteen minutes. Turns out my issue was not something easily fixed, so they contacted me by e-mail. Needless to say, by the end of the day I had purchased the software I wanted, and was happily tweeting about it.

But here's the best use of Twitter for customer service that I personally have witnessed, from the nice tweeps over at Rackspace. I have been a client of theirs for about two years now, and have occasionally tweeted about it. This afternoon, I got a phone call from a member of their design crew, who had read some of my tweets about their DNS control panel (flashback to the NetSol issue the week previous). They have a web GUI that I use to administer my servers hosted there, and are about to launch a new web GUI - v6 in the next month or so that they have been beta-testing very quietly. The guy that called me wanted to know specifically what version of the GUI I have been using (both, actually) and what my impressions were of the new design vs. old. I have to say, I was very flattered.

The great thing about Twitter is that like the internet itself, it is constantly evolving. There are some people and brands out there who just don't seem to get it, no matter how well known and respected they are (or appear to be). I won't mention them here, I'm not really in the market to make any enemies at this point. I will however mention two whom I do think "get it" when it comes to Twitter - @mleis and @armano. From the writing side, Michael Leis gives us a great 1,000 word explanation of what's going on in the twitterverse, and from the creative side, David Armano sums it up with a single picture.

Like their homepage says - Join the conversation.

Whether you're brand new to fathead or you've been with us for a while (as many of our clients have), you'll hear us say the same thing, over and over: "good design is the foundation on which functionality is built." That's not just some tired saying that designers throw around... to us, that's the core of our studio belief, and it's a design principle to which we fully adhere.

If you want to read more about why we think this way, you can read about that here. But this blog isn't about self-promotion (well, not too much at least), it's about applying solid advertising and design principles in day-to-day practice, and how these principles can apply to you. And one solid principle that tends to get lost in the shuffle in our opinion is the balance between design and functionality.

A perfect example of this principle in action is to look at two of the most popular social networking sites around, Facebook and MySpace. On the surface, these sites both offer the same basic functionality: allowing individuals and/or groups to interact with each other in a controlled environment. Design-wise, they are night and day.

MySpace allows their users complete control over what their pages can look like - adding music, backgrounds, photos and all sorts of endless add-ons. Throw into that mix a barrage of advertisements along the top and sides, and you've got something that usually ends up looking like a teenager's bedroom, but without mom to come in and clean up every once in a while. Facebook however, allows controlled customization - users can personalize their spaces with a number of different widgets and add-ons, all of which must adhere to Facebook's design standards. There's also plenty of advertising on Facebook, but it's not as "in your face" as MySpace, and again the advertising must adhere to the design standards set by Facebook.

Where am I going with this? Simply put: MySpace places design over functionality, letting their users totally control the look and feel of their own individual spaces. Facebook balances design and functionality equally, allowing users to customize their spaces while maintaining brand consistency. Each site is well suited for the markets they serve. The lesson learned by looking at these sites is about finding that balance between design and functionality, and where it fits in with your brand.