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Prince – Giving it away |
What is social media if not the greatest opportunity in the history of time to show off what you do best? It applies equally to individuals and organizations. The world of music marketing and promotion serves as a shining example.
Take these examples: Back in July Prince gave away his new album “Planet Earth” free in the Sunday edition of the Daily Mail in England. Radiohead allowed their fans to download their new album “In Rainbows” from its Web site for a limited time back in November, asking fans only to contribute what they felt was fair in exchange – even if that meant nothing at all. Then, last Sunday, Nine Inch Nails pulled off a similar stunt. Watch how much coverage the band is already getting as a result.
The music industry has been going through tumultuous times and this experimentation seems only natural, and reminiscent of the past. Back in the day, the advent of radio mortified record labels to such an extent that they initially tried to forbid radio stations from playing records for fear of it killing record sales. What? Give away music for free? The same thing happened with the release of the VCR–Hollywood feared no one would go to theaters again.
What the major businesses industries need to remember is we have been through the challenges that new technologies bring before, and there are lessons to learn from past experience. With the social media world constantly throwing out new challenges and opportunities at us, we need to adjust and respond more quickly than ever before.
What do you do when your product, service or perhaps the whole business model gets bashed in blogs? What is your course of action when the top spots in search results for your organization are taken by your harshest critics? Your client’s competition seems to be everywhere online; do you have a strategy to resolve it?
The answer to these conundrums is actually pretty simple: embrace the new mediums instead of hanging on to the past. Be proactive and leverage your expertise by demonstrating thought leadership. Share your “tunes” for free, and in return you will see people talking about you, coming back to ask questions and willing to pay for your advice. Thousands of successful bloggers have managed to do just that by talking about the things they know better than anyone else.
Prince earned more by cutting a deal with the Daily Mail than he ever would have by going through the traditional music label channels. Radiohead’s move made more headlines than any traditional marketing campaign could afford. Think about what your clients or organizations do best and encourage them to share, talk, write, blog, vlog or podcast about it. The returns on a smart and innovative social media strategy are likely to exceed your expectations.