Dude.....You've Changed.

One of the first things you learn in life is that nothing stays the same. As you grow up seasons change, different trends become popular, governments sway from one side of the aisle to the other, and Van Halen gets a new lead singer. Ok so maybe I wasn’t there for the forming of Van Hagar, but you get the point. Everything changes. This is even truer in today’s technology fueled society. Websites, gadgets, and gizmos are constantly being improved upon and changed to fit consumers changing lifestyles and demands. The same thing is happening with Social Media. 

Since I got involved in the social media game a couple of years ago a lot has changed. It wasn’t until I started looking back that I noticed how much was actually different and what was still the same. For those of us that spend a fair chunk of our free time checking out the latest feeds on Facebook and Twitter change isn’t an issue. We are surprised by it for a few minutes or maybe a couple of days, but then we move on. However, for those of you that aren’t a slave to your Samsung Galaxy or any one of the numerous Appleganda devices, change can be quite noticeable. If you have taken an extended break from the social (media) scene, these changes can be a roadblock on the path to picking back up. I feel for you so I’m leaving you with just a little advice and a strong urge to shoot me any questions you might have after reading this post. 

Facebook – Don’t worry it’s still the number one site in town. It hasn’t gone all “Myspace” on us yet. Sure, Google + is throwing big numbers out there, but they still don’t have the type of use or social traffic to compete yet. However, Facebook is losing some ground. Young visitors don’t necessarily see it as the playground that it used to be. Also with the new algorithms that Facebook has put in place your fans don’t always see your content. It started out as a great (read: Free) way to connect to new audiences and current customers. Now Facebook is all about the pay to play. If you want to get exposure for your business page, you have to throw in a couple dollars towards FB ads. Luckily you can be extremely selective with your demographics.

Twitter – Twitter is probably the least changed. Everything is still 140 characters or less. Teenies are still filling up news feeds about Justin Bieber and One Direction. Not much besides a few vanity changes. However, big things are in the works here. Twitter desperately wants more of that Facebook money and has been testing out new profile prototypes. Luckily you made it back now before any major changes happened. Also, Hashtags are still here although it’s beginning to seem that perhaps their value is depleting a great deal. 

Pinterest – Pinterest is still alive more than ever. Things have remained relatively the same except that they are now recognizing business and have a validation process. Things are getting cleaner and Pinterest is learning how to become better at what they do, and how to capitalize on partnering with businesses. Lately they’ve been working with Target to boost sales. Pinterest gets it. They are an ecommerce site in disguise. 

Snapchat – Apparently the all powerful Evan Spiegel must have something great up his sleeve. He turned down deals with Facebook and really in my opinion came off as a cocky tool in his conversations with “The Zuck”. McDonald’s recently got involved with some Snap campaigns. It could be cool for you to use with some of those high value customers out there. Right now it could serve as a way to invigorate your old mailing list. Maybe some of those weekly emails can be replaced with a few Snaps?

Everything else – Expect this category to explode this year. As we find new ways to connect we will become even more social. Like I have said many times: I expect that in the next year or so we will see many more smaller niche social sites going after one or two demographics of people, and catering to their wants and needs. I think we are exiting the era of mass communication. We  know that we can say something to the entire planet, but we now know that there are ways to share things with a select group of people. We have gotten past the “I just ate a sandwich” tweet…..or at least I hope. 

For all things horticulture and social please contact me anytime here: mday55@gmail.com

Also find me on LinkedIn here: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/mason-day/20/9aa/233

And you know you can always tweet at me here: www.twitter.com/mday55 

The Writings on the Wall.... or is it Timeline?

Teens are leaving Facebook! Teens are leaving Facebook! I repeat, Teens are leaving Facebook! If you spend any time reading social media news or studies on popular culture, you might think that this is the headline of 2014. The prophets are heralding the demise of a giant! According to some “experts”, brands should set sail today for better waters.

Breathe deep. Relax. It isn’t the apocalypse. Sure, there are signs showing that teens are becoming less interested in Facebook, but it is far from the end. We are simply seeing a shift in the way new generations think. Trust me, Facebook, will continue to be popular in the next few years. We now have people 40 years and up hooked on Facebook, and to them it moves at a speed that they are comfortable with. Don’t expect that age group to leave any time soon. In the horticultural industry, our main age group of customers is still discovering the social network and still remains highly active on Facebook. Yes, we have to worry about reaching younger audiences, but we also have to make sure we don’t alienate those customers that we already have. Don’t give up on Facebook just yet. Hopefully, with that your Social Media stress levels are coming back to normal.

However, that still leaves us to solve the other issue at hand. If all of these young people are leaving Facebook, where are they going and why are they leaving? It would be really easy to say that they’re leaving Facebook because social media was a fad. I know a few people that are still waiting around to hear that. Sorry, but that’s not the case. It’s not that people are leaving social media. People are evolving in how they use these platforms and which platforms they use. Back in 2005 we had two social sites: Facebook and Myspace. Those were the only two mainstream platforms you had to choose from (bloggers I’m leaving you out of this). Think about where we are 9 years later. We have Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, Pinterest, Snapchat, Vine, Pheed, Foursquare, and about a thousand other social networks.

Teens are leaving Facebook because they are finding better ways to connect. We, Millennials were the real proponents of Facebook and Myspace because we had this need to feel like we could access the entire world. We were the first generation to grow up as part of a true global community, and we had to break all the rules that were previously established.  For the generation that follows us, this is old news. Being able to connect across the globe is nothing new. They were born into a global system. The concept of social media connecting them to people in Japan and Africa is more of a “Duh” moment rather than the “A-ha!” Millennials had. They now see it as a means to connect based on specific interests or cliques. It’s about reaching others across the planet, but at the same time finding their niche. That’s why company websites that are working to create miniature social spaces within their own websites are actually succeeding in a lot of cases. They are able to create a space for people who identify with each other to discuss whatever they want. Social media is becoming integrated into teens daily lives everywhere they go so much that they don’t NEED Facebook like Generation Y did.

I predict that over time we will see a decrease in the use of the big social sites like Facebook and Twitter. However, some people will still want to congregate in those large “meeting spaces”. Also Facebook still acts as a major data storage site for people. Pictures and memories are now locked into Facebook’s care. I also predict that we will see an increase in the use of overall social media. People want to connect (well unless you’re Dexter), and this is what social media does for the world. It connects the masses, however big or small they want their groups to be.

Instagram is the new Facebook. #SWAT

See you here: www.twitter.com/mday55
Or here: www.linkedin.com/pub/mason-day/20/9aa/233/
And Apparently here: mday55@gmail.com
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The Generation that Isn't

As the weather here begins to get colder, I get ready for another retail season. Sure, it’s not the retail season that I particularly care for. The only plants that get sold are Poinsettias and the occasional potted house plant. However, I’ve found that you can learn a lot about sales, marketing, trends, and culture in general by just observing what happens during the holiday season. If the upcoming retail season proves to be anything like the rest of 2013, we will see businesses pour millions of dollars into marketing geared to entice Generation Y. Some of that marketing will help to generate millions of dollars in holiday revenue while a most of those efforts will miss in some fashion. Companies will hope to break even, or possibly realize that those marketing efforts were costly risks.

It feels like every business magazine that I’ve flipped through in the past few months has at least 3 articles aimed at getting Generation Y involved. Everybody wants to get their hands on those Gen Y dollars! In the horticultural and agricultural industries it seems to be at a peak. We not only want to get these “Millennials” or Gen Y-ers to buy our products, but we are also looking for better ways to incorporate these people into our companies. There are THOUSANDS of articles out there offering what seem like miracle cures for the plague, and sure they have probably helped a lot of businesses make a few more dollars, but has anyone out there really hit the grand slam yet? Is anybody really bringing in this new demographic in astronomical numbers? The answer is: No.

This would be such a terrible post if I just ended it there. It’s like in college where the professor would hand you a test back marked with the questions you got wrong, but he refused to let you see the answer key to see what the right answers were. If no one’s truly getting it right, what is wrong? Are our industries just that unappealing to Gen Y-ers? Are plants irrelevant to society? Have we seen the last of the pretty flowers? I would say the exact opposite is the case. Plants are really freaking cool, and when done the right way, even young people think so! The problem lies in our assumptions of this mass of people. We have taken the most diverse generation ever and put them into one clump. Generation Y includes far too many different subsets to be placed into one group. It’s like putting all the kids in high school in one clique and trying to sell them the same c.d. We spend our marketing efforts trying to reach this general audience and it doesn’t always work. Even if the research suggests that it should work, sometimes we come out empty handed. How can we change that?

I’m sorry if you were hoping that this blog post would offer you a solution to your Generation Y conundrum. It will probably leave you with more questions than answers. However, in this case, I assure you, questions are better. The first step to taking a better look at this Generation Y is to take the image that you have of the typical Millennial and forget it. Start over. We no longer live in a society where one or two model citizens sum up an average generation. Your marketing campaigns can no longer target the whole of Generation Y. You have to dig deeper than that. You have to find your target demographic within that demographic, and if you want to reach multiple audiences, it might require you to develop different strategies.

Who are you trying to cater to? Stop thinking of what the average Millennial looks like, and think about what your Millennial customer looks like. Then once you’ve identified that target audience, make sure it is real! Do your homework! Does this idealized person even exist in the real world, or have stereotypes clouded your judgment? Only once you have found your realistic target segment can you begin to develop a strategy to expand your customer base into this Generation Y.

Don’t worry, I didn’t plan to leave you hanging for too long. If this concept of a multifaceted generation interests you, stay tuned for my next post highlighting some of the key faces of the generation.

As always I hope everyone is doing well! I’m all over the social media scene, you can find me anywhere from Pinterest to LinkedIn. Let’s connect!

We Can't Stop....... Thinking About Social Media!

I wanted to use this blog post to discuss Miley Cyrus and her VMA performance……. Not! I don’t know if you feel like I do, but I’m ready to get back to real news and fresh ideas. Lately, I’ve been doing a lot of local traveling. I’ve learned that in the Chicagoland area you really don’t have to go very far to meet some interesting people with great ideas and loads of motivation. Last week I had the opportunity to travel into the city and attend the IGC Show (Independent Garden Center) on Navy Pier. Social Media guru Peter Shankman offered up some great advice during his keynote address. I then had the opportunity to elaborate on some of his ideas during one of the educational sessions in which I happened to be on a Panel discussing trends in media.

I came away from the show refreshed. For a while I was worrying that some of the excitement around social media was beginning to die down. I was worried that people in the industry were starting to second guess their social media efforts simply because it isn’t always something that can directly be traced back to a profit. A coupon can be tracked to a sale, but it’s hard for a business owner to know what sales were generated due to a Facebook post (unless you put a coupon in it!). However, the IGC Show quickly proved me wrong. I just hadn’t had the chance to talk to other people in the industry in a while! Walking around from booth to booth it was clear that social media is becoming more important than ever in our industry. More companies are starting to realize that it isn’t just a new gadget, but rather a new channel that presents many different opportunities that were never available before.

After spending some time at the show, and reflecting on what I had seen and heard I came up with three major takeaways that can help you out with your social media initiatives.

1. Find your customer – Your social media strategy will be a failure if you do not reach out to YOUR customer. That means people that buy from you. It’s great to have followers from all over the globe. It shows that you might be more influential than you think. However, if you aren’t focusing on those followers that actually spend money on your business, you’re doing it wrong. That means talking to the right people and being on the right platforms. 

2. Forget the Hard Sell – People understand that you want to sell more plants and vegetables. They get it. You don’t have to push it on them. They come to your business on social media for something else. They want to see what’s behind your business. They want to know why you’re selling what you’re selling, not what you’re selling. Use your social media platforms to shout what your business believes! If you do this, people will follow your cause. However, despite my ideas against hard selling on social media, I will say everyone loves a coupon or deal once in a while. 

3. Gain Followers through Followers – Word of mouth is more important than ever. With social media people can talk to more people on a regular basis. You want to be the topic of as many of those conversations as possible (for good reasons of course). You can actively follow people on Twitter to increase followers; it works, but those best leads come from word of mouth interactions. They are coming to your pages with interest. This is why it is more important than ever to publish content that is unique and insightful! It is this content that drives people to talk to their friends about your pages. Social media is not a place for mediocrity.

The next time you sit down to try and figure out a social media strategy take these concepts with you. Content is king above all else! It doesn’t matter if you’re farming 2,000 acres of corn raising awareness in your community about agriculture, or if you are a small local garden center selling plants and gardening supplies; when it comes to social media tell people what you believe, and they will follow you. If you give your customer something to stand behind, it is less likely that they slip through the cracks.

Email me: mday55@gmail.com

Tweet me: @mday55

Or just search Mason Day on LinkedIn

Also you can find me in the 2014 Issue of Flourish for IGCs talking about Facebook, and in the September issue of Grower Talks!

Who ya gonna call?

In every action movie there is always some sort of go-to team. When things get crazy people in the movies always seem to call on a specific group of people to “get in there and take care of things”.  Whether it be the Ghostbusters, the Avengers, or just Rambo himself, it seems that in the movies people always have someone to call on when things get bad. It isn’t just in the movies either! When things get hairy for the military or there is a top secret mission they send in the Seals or the Rangers. When police come across situations that are especially dangerous they call the SWAT team.

The point I’m trying to make here is that in these instances everyone is (at least) somewhat prepared. People have someone to call on when everything is going wrong. Wouldn’t it make sense for your business to do the same? In the past year we have seen hundreds of businesses and people take PR hits for things they have said or done. With the world becoming more connected every day information slips through the cracks. Everyone has made their mistakes, and with social media it’s very easy for those mistakes to be blown way out of proportion. Even your small town greenhouse business can make the evening news if one of your employees does something inappropriate, or makes a claim against your business. This one spot then translates to an angry Twitter mob demanding for you to shut down, and leading others to harass your business. Like it or not the human race operates off of mob mentality. You certainly don’t want to fall victim to it. How do you prepare for something unexpected like this?

That’s when you call in your team of “experts”, your SWAT team. I’m not talking about a group of henchmen that would resemble the cast from The Expendables, but rather a team of three or four people that are extremely knowledgeable about your business, who are the best communicators in your organization, and that can make sound decisions at a moment’s notice. Type up a guidelines and procedures that are the limits of what your business will and will not due during a crisis; this acts as a boundary for your team and they know where they can act if the time should ever arise that they are needed.

It’s also extremely important to have an outlet for your team to act in. If something goes wrong and rumors are going around that you have been selling drugs out of your greenhouse or farm, how do you combat it? There has to be a channel in which your people can make a statement. Not addressing the issue is seen almost as an admission of guilt these days. This is where blogs come in handy. You can publish whatever you want. It gives your go-to guys a place to write the real story out. Twitter can be useful too, but only if you can handle your problems in 140 characters.

I know you’re thinking that it won’t happen to you. Your business is safe from the digital rumor mill. In reality it’s not. In some cases it’s almost worse. If you sell to a local region and something negative gets out to the local Facebook or Twitter community you can lose large quantities of your smaller customer base within a few days! Don’t let that happen to you simply because you didn’t have a plan in place for this kind of situation. For larger companies that span over many regions, a small local incident might hurt the business, but for smaller businesses a local incident might shut the operation down.

Even though you and I both agree that it seems ridiculous that it would be necessary for a business to have a digital crisis team to manage bad PR on social media, it’s the way the world is these days. It isn’t changing back either. The more connected the internet community becomes, the faster it can spread information. You as a business owner must ensure that the information being spread around is both accurate and non-damaging. If not you might not be around to fix the mistakes “next time”.

As always I’d love to hear your thoughts on this!

Feel free to shoot me an email at mday55@gmail.com

OR find me on Twitter www.twitter.com/mday55