Everyone Connected. So, what now?

I admit it. I had a certain degree of envy towards the folks who came up with TM Everyone Connects campaign. It was big, loud and generated a lot of buzz. All culminating with that huge sing-along session at Bukit Bintang.

What was the objective? Here’s an excerpt from Adoi Magazine.

"The main objective is we wanted a campaign to portray TM as the enabler of the digital lifestyle, instead of just a broadband service provider. We believe that technology is an enabler of possibilities. So the campaign encouraged the public to experience the possibilities for themselves. It is just an example of how people can benefit from such massive collaboration. Taking the big idea of using the web to facilitate collaborations, TM decided to use a song,” said Dato’ Zamzamzairani."

Well, objective fulfilled…some what.

So, what now TM? You have amassed a sizeable number of followers to this campaign.

Someone is definitely updating the Facebook account on a daily basis. Is it an agency person or a TM staff? Does it matter? For me, it would. If I were a fan, I’d definitely want a TM staff to be talking to me instead of an agency stooge.

And for how long will these fans remain engaged with this? Any new songs in the pipeline? Or is it just gonna be a bunch of daily Facebook status updates?

And what about those Streamyx complaints that sometimes appears on the What’s The Buzz section of the site? Anyone dealing with that?

That’s the problem with using Social Media as a marketing tool. Clients always forgets the 2 Golden Rules.

Rule number 1. Respond accordingly. It is after all, a conversation. That’s what Social Media does. Enabling conversations. FB updates ain’t gonna cut it. It’s not interesting enough to carry a conversation. And ignoring complaints will just ensure that the conversation stops. That ain’t good.

Rule number 2. Monetization. That’s the real reason why any client jumps on the Social Media bandwagon. Try to make money while looking cool doing it. Nothing wrong with that if done tastefully in a subtle way.

But is it done so, though? Let’s examine this. On the Facebook profile page, there’s a tab that says “Free Indie Band Songs”. Now, before you get excited, it comes with a proviso. One only gets the free music when one upgrades their existing Streamyx accounts. If you ain’t got an account, then shell out some dough to get one. And if you already have one, don’t jump up and say ‘Hooray!’ just yet. The free upgrade is only for a few months (of course!).

Nothing kills a buzz in a relationship then when someone is trying to sell you something. It’s like going on a date, and your date pulls out an MLM catalog. Thankfully, this tab is not made up front. That would just be hideously wrong. Would love to see the click-through stat on that tab, though.

So, in my perfect world, what would TM do as next steps?

The most important thing is TO NOT LET THE CONVERSATION DIE.

1. Make yourself interesting. FB status dates? Puhleeze! How ‘bout more music? Anything else with the arts? How ‘bout mass collaboration on a 1Malaysia book? What about those kids who were giving out flowers in Bukit Bintang? Why didn’t TM organize that via Everyone Connects? How ‘bout mass collaboration on building an online game? That’s HUGE. Online games requires programming, graphics, voice talents, music, copywriting, game testers….phew! The list could go on…Everyone can get on this. (BTW, if TM uses this idea, I should get paid)
2. Don’t ignore complaints. A complaint is part of the conversation. Ignoring it shows that you don’t care. Or you don’t have answers. Either start caring or have some answers.
3. Don’t try to sell. That’s a buzz-killer, a deal-breaker. The kiss of death to the relationship.

So, if TM did at least that, who knows what could happen? Some might love them enough to never leave the brand. Some may even want to get other TM products. Or better yet, some may even fall in love with the brand. 

That is a whole lot of dough, y’all!