Getting Passed a Get-Over Mentality

Creating a Social Movement #NoMoGetOver

Anyone who knows me knows that the only “movement” I am interested in…Okay, let’s start again.

I am not the social change type.  However, I have noticed an increase in behaviors that I like to describe as “Get-Over” mentality.

Let’s define this as: An opportunistic reinterpretation of societal rules in order to suit the immediate needs of an individual.  

We have all seen this.

 The guy who parks his SUV in the No Stopping zone because “he just has to run in for a second.”

The woman on line in the grocery store who refuses to meet your gaze because she knows she has WAY more than 15 items in that cart.

The co-worker who seemingly has a pediatrician who only works on Monday mornings and Friday afternoons.

On a larger scale

 The customer service line that gives you every option except the one to speak to a real person.

Or that service you canceled but not in time for them to take one more payment.

On the largest scale there are entire countries whose entire culture revolves around this concept. But let’s focus on what we can fix.

Let’s instead ponder the fact that there are people who are continuously looking to get over; to take shortcuts; to find the most convenient way to get what they want, regardless of how it affects others. What that means is people are increasingly taking less responsibility for their actions. That's not good for a social society. 

The double-parker no longer thinks about the person who may be late for work because of his sloth. 

And anyone who owns a home knows (and is probably feeling the result) of the mortgage bankers with the Get-Over Mentality who aren't  losing any sleep because you can't pay your mortgage.  

I am asking today that you stand with me against the Get-Over Mentality.  Let’s use the power of social media to point out and blow up examples whenever we see them. Raise your smartphones up in the air, and use ‘em like you just now care!

The next time you see someone double-parked just to bring their brat into school. Grab it and share it.  That over-flowing shopping cart in the 10 items or less line? Snapchat that shizz.

Let’s pledge today that we are going to stand up to the Get-Over Mentality and make people accountable for their actions.  Any time you see someone displaying Get-Over Mentality, use your social media power to share it with the world with the hashtag #NoMoGetOver. If we focus on the small-scale things, maybe the larger things will take care of itself. 

Happy hunting!

And, fade to black.

5 Social Strategic Insights to Help You Reach the Multicultural Audience

If you have yet to adopt a strategy for reaching the multicultural audience via social media, you can already consider yourself behind the 8-ball.  The latest studies prove that Hispanics, African Americans and Asians over-index for integration of social media into their daily lives.

It is not enough to have a social media strategy in place and assume the multicultural audience will adopt  the same usage habits as the general market consumer.  But the reality of the situation is that social media still has a long way to go to prove ROI.  And many clients simply don’t have the budgets to hire an entire separate agency to develop stand-alone multicultural social media strategies.

With this in mind, here are five ways you can take your existing social media strategy and evolve it to reach the multicultural audience. Let’s look at this from the traditional strategic pillars:

Target Market

The latest studies show that Hispanics, African Americans and Asians have unique habits when it comes to social media.  However the common thread running through all of these audiences is that they are somewhat exclusive.  From a targeting standpoint you can assume that Hispanics are interacting with other Hispanics, etc. When developing a hub strategy to drive audiences to certain website landing pages, promotions, offers, etc., this is a key point to keep in mind.

Communication Objective

When it comes to brands and the multicultural audience, your objective should never be to start a conversation between you and the consumer. The dialog you want is between consumers and their COI (Circle of Influence). You don’t want them going to your facebook page to comment or tweeting questions to you. You want Likes, Shares, Retweets, Repins, etc. Your objective is to be an objective conversation starter.

Product/Service Benefits

It is wise to seed benefit messages that are as specific as possible.  The multicultural audience already assumes that brands are not speaking directly to them.  When you generalize your product or service benefits—even to a specific ethnic group—that assumption still applies. Try to communicate a single-minded benefit that gets as specific as possible to the individual you are trying to reach.

Benefit Support

Social media has allowed consumers almost unlimited potential to research products. Whether it is word of mouth from a trusted influencer or the latest published data in a professional journal, it is all there with the swipe of an index finger.  Providing support for your brand benefits that are easy to access will help you get the organic promotion you will need to make it into the multicultural consideration set.

Tone and Manner

Often a throwaway in many strategies, the way in which you speak to this audience is crucial to success.  My mother actually has a phrase that captures the idea best. When it comes to connecting with the Hispanic, African American and Asian American audience…”You can pretend you know me, but don’t pretend you know ABOUT me.”  This means that your communication should be friendly and casual, but stop way short of empathetic.  Pretending you can empathize with the day-to-day lives of this consumer is bound to trip you up.  And in an age where any misstep is instantly shared and lives online forever, it’s just not worth taking the chance.

The multicultural audience is a great place to build brand advocates who will create loyal and trusted consumers for your brand.  If you don’t take advantage and take the right approach, you will miss a tremendous growth opportunity.

--And, fade to black…