Marketers are a shrewd lot, some have customers in mind, but most have their own hides at the top of the food chain, then their company’s. This is not a criticism. This is the premise upon which the most successful and productive societies are built. Humans act in their own self interest, it’s OK no need for apologies.

This is why gift cards have expiration dates, fees are hidden, and introductory pricing are used as gateway drugs.

Marketers are certainly aware of the time pressures on “average” consumers and as such, we consume mostly with the “easy” button. When was the last time you read a “terms and conditions” agreement? Sign here, here, and here, and you’re done.

It is the same with privacy policies. Google’s new privacy policies that have met some criticism. As a consumer of online websites, we think about privacy policies in general as whether your email will be sold and, among the more sophisticated users of technology, will a cookie be placed on your computer that impedes the machine’s performance.

Today’s Google policy, similar to Facebook’s failed Beacon tracker, calls attention to a user’s every digital action and whether it will be shared in some way. The primary question to ask is whether your actions will be shared publicly. For example, if a consumer is looking for another job will their searches and website visits show up in their Google profile visible to their current employer. For now, most of the complaints are about collecting data and sharing it with advertisers, not with public exposure, but, the burden for privacy policies is on the consumer. It is getting more complicated and that’s what marketers understand and are taking advantage of, keep it simple, click here and don’t worry about the details. Today it is more evident that a consumer’s habits, their every digital and physical move (now that Google apps are used on mobile devices) are of interest to marketers and they will get it.

Is social media at a resting place being evaluated by companies perhaps to be adopted by more or has it seen its best days? A Marketing Sherpa survey makes be pose this question. After all that social media has been through in the last year or two I’m surprised by today survey results published by Marketing Sherpa called Perceptions of Social Media at Budget Time. Only 7% of 2300 marketers surveyed at moving ahead with increased budget and time for social media. Really, 7%?

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You mean the Dave Carroll United breaks guitars video wasn’t enough to inspire more than 7% enthusiasm from marketers working with customer relations departments?

You mean the few million tweets to crowd source the naming of Kodak’s inspiring pocket video camera PlaySport didn’t move the confidence needle more than 7% from marketers?

You mean with more than 80% of all business travelers booking more than half of their own business trips themselves using online tools like PriceLine and Hotels.com and TripAdvisor with the hundreds of thousands of comments about destinations those sites have, you mean that is not enough to generate double digit confidence in social media?

Wow, and marketers are supposed to be a source of innovation and creativity in American companies? There is either A) much more work to be done to inspire the profession that is charged with inspiration or B) the lipstick on the social media pig ain’t doing the trick.

Marketers, does social media work in your world, for your company’s product or service?

Time 24:33

You know I could have done the solutions headline and just throw a number in there, but I hate those things. The hungry part is because in some of this podcast we talk about Facebook and restaurants. Facebook Marketing, An Hour A Day is a book by Chris Treadaway and Mari Smith. In this podcast we talk to Chris Treadaway about some of the ways Facebook is used to market companies. Facebook is a place that requires attention, lesson one if you are not prepared to give it attention, forget it. This is where the hour a day comes in.

To pull a favorite useful idea out of this podcast I’d call attention to using Facebook as a market research tool. Creating an ad in Facebook will give you insights into potential online market size. Here is an example where I took the city of Chicago, people age 21 and over that self identified interest of football or fantasy football. The kind of information of interest to a sports bar owner. Targeting by interest, geography, age and other variables is a great feature of Facebook.

Using Facebook Advertising for Market Research from Albert Maruggi on Vimeo.

We are holding a drawing for the book Facebook Marketing An Hour A Day. Email MarketingEdge AT Providentpartners DOT net – put Facebook in the Subject line. Link should do that for you.

Other Examples of Social Marketing to Hungry Patrons

Smalley87Club – Tied Twins ticket drawings to items people like on the menu with a link to the Smalleys 87 Club menu page. (I helped on this one)

Dino’s Gyros IAMDEZ – Guess random number between 1 and 10,000 on Tuesdays before 7PM, closest 10 get a free gyro.

Izzys Ice Cream incorporates a variety of platforms and communities. Also has unique notification of the availability of limited time flavors Dave Erickson

The Sterling Cross Group broke new ground with Motoi only Japanese saki brewer in Twin Cities

Time 22:32

True story, I get a pitch about a marketer who is getting ready to leave the hustle of the rat race to go on a Buddhist retreat next year. I’ve got to tell you that I was a bit skeptical, I think the two disciplines, marketing and Buddhism are about a contrary as you can get.

The marketer, James Connor is the author of the book the Perfection of Marketing. It’s a quick read and told though the eyes of Connor as he weaves a story around a typical discussion with a CEO about marketing. It certainly is a different narrative than most business books, and I recommend it to every marketer as a gift to a skeptical CEO.

So I write back that I’d like to interview James not just about the book but what I see as the contradictions in the idea of being a marketer and a Buddhist. This is part two of my conversation with James Connor. We focus on the spiritual aspect of his journey in life and business. Did he completely convince me that marketing and Buddhism are made for each other? No, but Connor opened my eyes to a different perspective, and for that I’m very grateful.

As a participant of social media, Connor’s spirituality is insightful and shows the beauty and peace of giving. These insights give him a unique perspective on human nature and that perspective is an asset as a marketer. A premise of Buddhism is the concept of giving, and taking care of others. The best way to succeed is to help others, and I believe that is a principle of social media. Those that understand this principle and live by it will get back more than than give.

Comment & Give to Others

Leave a comment below or better yet, call the comment line 206-600-6887. Enter the contest to win the book The Perfection of Marketing by email marketingedge AT providentpartners.net put the word perfection in the subject line.

Time 21:52

I’ve always found it interesting that many company CEOs view marketing as an after thought. Their concept of brand begins with a logo rather than a culture. Some may believe that brand is only for large companies that have time and money for a brand strategy and its execution.

I take a different view. Brand is rooted in a company’s belief system and value proposition, so while you are thinking about why a company should exist, it is also thinking about its brand. So when you think of service in the hospitality industry Ritz Carlton comes to mind, and when it comes to automobile safety it’s no accident that you think of Volvo.

When a company views a brand as part of its core, part of its reason to exist and the major quality that motivates people to purchase their product or service, then it is much easier to execute the messages that will flow from their brand position.

Just as Stephen Covey refers to True North as the ethical and moral direction for personal growth, I think True North for a company is its core brand value.

James Connor, author of The Perfection of Marketing believes you can drive sales in three steps to brand building. We get into the details in this podcast the first of a two part conversation. Tomorrow we chat about Connor being a Buddhist and a marketer, a seeming contradiction for me.

Enter the contest to giveaway Connor’s book by emailing me at marketingedge AT providentpartners DOT net and in the subject line put the word Perfection.

Every entry, every comment on the blog or on the Marketing Edge comment line 206-600-6887, Provident Partners will give a food item to a St. Paul, Minnesota food shelter. The Marketing Edge podcast is celebrating its fourth anniversary this month, gives us a call and we’ll get you on the next show.

Also check out a new show I am hosting Social Media Throwdown First show is a discussion about the merits of personal branding with Hajj Flemings and Geoff Livingston