The answer seems simple, I like your product or service, I like you on Facebook as I want to learn more about you, I want to follow you, maybe be in your tribe.
I’ve now given you consent to engage with me – that big consent word that marketers love (that I’ve written about before). You then feed me content about your products or services, I’ll read more of your content, I’ll buy more of your products, I’ll visit your restaurant, I’ll like you more to the point I might even recommend you and share my likes.
But… is it really that simple?
Seems not.
I’ve just moved to a new city and on the first weekend, we’re unpacking, I’m painting the house and I’m spending time back and forth to Home Depot and various other errands.
Flicking through the unfamiliar radio stations I found a song a really liked (some 80’s funk if you must know) and the DJ followed this with another great tune, then another and I was hooked, my alone time in the car to run my errands become a happy indulgence.
So, who were these geniuses that had found the key to my musical soul? I had to find out, so I found their Facebook page and hit like.
I hit like because I liked the music and I wanted to tell them that.
I hit like because I wanted more of this
I hit like because I wanted to be on the inside of what they played and why they played it
I hit like because I was engaged with the product, the thing they do.
I hit like because I wanted to be in their tribe
I did not hit like because I was interested in celebrity gossip.
I did not hit like because I was interested in the political perspective of their perceived demographic.
I did not hit like to discover that “Haves and Have Nots star Tika Sumpter is revealing secrets from the season finale!”
But.. guess what fills my feed on a daily basis?
Which mean’t I did not get more of this, I did not get inside, I did not get engaged and I don’t feel like I am in their tribe. I therefore have to un-like.
Strange as it may sound, the magic has gone,I don’t feel connected to their station, I stopped listening as I felt like it wasn’t really for me and I’m back to PBS where I probably belong. This “like” experience killed it.
If you are a content strategist or a digital marketer have a think about this before you hit the big red button on an awesome content marketing strategy.
You may find that actually your audience wants to engage with you, not a smoke screen of content, but actually you, your product, your services. You.
Fancy more of this?
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I’m a 3xCMO, now a marketing strategy advisor and podcast host at Rockstar CMO. Although, I’m not a rock star, but a marketing leader, strategist, content marketer, columnist, speaker, industry watcher, and creator of ART (Awareness, Revenue, and Trust) for the companies I work with. But most of all, I am an enthusiastic tea drinker.
You can find me on LinkedIn, Twitter, or now Threads! – or listen to my weekly podcast at Rockstarcmo.com
The half-baked thoughts shared on this blog may not reflect those of my employer or clients, and if the topic of this article is interesting or you just want to say hello please get in touch.