Purple Cow

Chairing the Pacific Social Media Conference in Singapore and Hong Kong. reminded me of Seth Godin and his now famous book - Purple Cow.

Purple Cow is all about being remarkable. You won’t be noticed if you’re not. 

Many brands want to be noticed, and talked about on social media,. but aren’t willing to pay it’s currency - topicality, uniqueness and relevance. 

They are okay with being ordinary, average, mundane - not spirited, remarkable or out there with the best. Small wonder that in many cases the only people who ‘like’ their content are the people who created it in the first place! 

Purple Cow has big lessons for marketers, businesses and social media protagonists. If the things you do aren’t remarkable,  it’s unlikely that the results of your campaigns will be either. 

What goes Viral on Social

I discovered the answer to that a few days ago. I shared a really funny picture that said “Hope you’re life is as good, as you make it out to be on Facebook.” In 3 minutes, one person had liked and shared it with their friends. In 10 minutes, 2 more had. In a day, about 20% of my friends had either liked or shared the simple visual I’d put online.

What did that teach me? 

What gets shared is often what reflects what people are thinking - whether consciously or unconsciously - at a point  in time. 

The trick, therefore, to understand your audience,figure what’s on their minds and then develop an idea that taps into the way they think.

Singapore and the PAP

In Singapore, much of the country was angry with the PAP. during election time in 2011. The party didn’t realize that until it was too late - and they’d come back to power - but had lost seats. 

Citizens delivered a clear message to the party - change or else. PAP, probably one of the world’s most progressive parties, ultimately got the message (and hats off to them for that!). PM Lee Hsien made a public statement on the learning and how the party hadn’t been listening. It vowed to change that - which is precisely the effect people wanted. http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jcADRqZ8s8J5nf02rRQlEsn0MkJQ?docId=CNG.ef749c4b04acc4b9a6daf7f483c33229.931 

You’re a brand and you’re looking to use social media 

Don’t just jump in there. Listen, understand and then act. 

Recently, I was asked to see a company on social media. The CEO was gung ho about a new product that he wanted to launch using social as a channel. 

I had listened in on some of the conversations people were having about this brand. They weren’t pretty. There were complaints about service, costs (that the public thought were unreasonable) and staff - who the public thought were simply apathetic. 

Launching this new product and positioning it as the best thing since sliced bread would have led to a social nightmare (and haven’t we all had them). Twenty minutes into our conversation, and once the CEO’s defence barriers had been lowered, he agreed. The company had to address the social commentary that was following it around like a lap dog before it could enter into meaningful conversations with its customers. 

Is social media on your agenda?

Perhaps you need a consultant to help you develop your strategy. The Planning Agency is an agency of people who are constantly thinking about social media, where it is and where it’s going next. 

To view our work, experience and case studies on brands like Toshiba, British Council, F&N and others do get in touch.

Thank You.

Patrick D’souza

CEO 

+65 9386 8678 

patrick@theplanningagency.com.sg 

www.theplanningagency.com.sg