It's January 2018 and two big changes are heading for anyone who markets a business. Facebook has just said its News Feed will show more posts from friends and family and fewer from brands. And in May, GDPR becomes law, the biggest shake up of data protection rules in twenty years.
Most people are treating them as two separate headaches. The more I think about it, the more I think they're the same lesson.
Back to its roots
Think about what Facebook was for when it started. Finding people you knew and had lost touch with. Then meeting new people who shared your interests. Then businesses joined in, which was fine, until a lot of them treated it like one more place to shout buy my stuff.
Personally I've never seen it as an advertising board. Social media works best when you either teach people something or entertain them, and ideally both. Edutainment, like the title of the Boogie Down Productions album from 1990. Get that right and you connect people around something they care about. That's what Facebook was trying to get back to.
Why would anyone say yes?
GDPR pushed the same way. To email people about what you sell, you generally need their clear consent, given freely, not tucked away in the terms and conditions.
So ask yourself a question. When did you last tell a business, sure, sell to me whenever you like? Probably never. People say yes when they expect to get something worthwhile, and when they trust who's asking.
The trouble with a list
A list of names is transactional. It's a spreadsheet. A community is people who know you, like you and trust you, and who talk to each other as well as to you. One of those needs constant topping up. The other grows on its own because people bring their friends.
That doesn't happen by broadcasting. It happens through conversation, which is a big part of Marketing earns you the conversation.
The more automated it gets
The algorithms have changed many times since 2018 and the data rules still apply. The businesses I see doing well are still the ones with real relationships, not the biggest lists. If anything, the more automated everything gets, the more a real relationship stands out. (Same goes for begging for likes.)
Before you chase another sign up, look after the people already listening. This week, send something useful to your list or group that asks for nothing back, and reply personally to anyone who answers.
First published January 2018.
