“The doubters said, "Man can not fly," The doers said, "Maybe, but we'll try," And finally soared In the morning glow While non-believers Watched from below ~ Bruce Lee

Outside of being one the best martial artists of his time if not the best, Bruce Lee also studied philosophy. He was a pioneer, visionary and decades in front of most of the martial arts community.

Whilst many in the martial arts community strictly practised one discipline and a set of fixed forms. Bruce believed there was something good in all disciplines.

Some of Bruce's philosophies are timeless, so much so that I feel they make a great pathway to explaining new media (social). Because how we communicate with each other, is simply just another art form, and this is evolving too.

Those that are unaware they are walking in darkness will never see the light. ~ Bruce Lee

A report completed by CEO.com identified out of the Fortune 500 (F500) companies 68% of the CEOs have no social presence. Not surprisingly the younger CEOs are much more social, and LinkedIn dominates the entry network of choice.

In fact, Mark Zuckerberg is the only F500 CEO on all 5 major networks. I have seen debates suggesting CEOs themselves do not need to be on social media.

However, if you do not use something how can you understand it’s merits for your organisation? A simple entry step for most CEOs could be to establish a presence and commence by listening.

Mistakes are always forgivable if one has the courage to admit them ~ Bruce Lee

The number one reason in my opinion organisations do not use “social media” is fear. Fear of mistakes, PR disasters and reputational risk.

Finding courage to do something new, does not feel good. You are managing fear. Although only through committing to learning, and accepting mistakes occur, do you then find capability. It is only then you find confidence.

Even when you have found capability and confidence mistakes may happen.

For example, DiGiorno Pizza, who have a Twitter fan base of 83k, and are quite popular on that platform.

Recently they made a mistake to join the hashtag #WhyIStayed, without first understanding that it was about abusive relationships.

The Community Manager did not read the thread prior to joining the conversation with a poorly timed tweet. He was genuinely sorry and spent the rest of the night saying so.

Mistakes happen, because social media is just people with computers. What matters most is acknowledging a mistake has occurred, and genuinely apologising.

DiGiorno went further than most brands by apologising over 200 times and responding to many at an individual level.



@ellenmcgirt said it best when she responded.

.....

To hell with circumstances; I create opportunities. - Bruce Lee

In 1908, Procter and Gamble discovered interruption marketing could expand sales fast. They identified the more they advertised the more they sold. This was the beginning of mass media.

They did not wait for someone to identify an opportunity, they created it.

In fact, P&G was also the first company to conduct deliberate, data-based market research.

P&G was the first business to advertise direct to consumers on a national level with the first TV ad for the Ivory soap brand in 1939.

P&G was also responsible for the concept of the “soap opera” as the first sponsor of a radio drama.

P&G view on social media:

“New technologies provide P&G with unique opportunities to engage consumers, stakeholders and employees through the use of a wide variety of social media.”

Notice that the stiffest tree is most easily cracked. Whilst the bamboo or willow survives whilst bending in the wind. ~ Bruce Lee

Kodak, Blockbuster, but who is next? You have undoubtedly heard of Tesla, and if you were in the car industry today, you might be a little more than just concerned. It is like working for Blackberry or Nokia, the day the iPhone was released to the market.

Although disruption is now coming in all shapes and forms. Where there is a culture built on disruption, chances are they might disrupt more than one industry.

An ex Tesla and Nasa engineer just invented a very smart lightbulb.

One day while working at the Tesla factory he noticed the lights were on full, but sunlight was lighting up the room. He found this to be a poor use of energy, and wanted to know if he could create a light bulb that dimmed when natural light shone through.

Meet Alba (Italian for sunrise), the world's first responsive light bulb. The Alba light bulb uses embedded sensors to respond to you and your environment. Alba adjusts to rooms as they get lighter, for the ideal level of light.

It uses white light as your alarm so you are woken gently; it knows when you have entered the room and turns on. It also dramatically reduces energy use.

Oh yes, what does this have to do with social media. It was released at TechCrunch Startup Battlefield on September 9, 2014. By rough calculations since this date, the news has been shared on social media over 1,000 times. Every article has more shares the one that preceded it, with the very last article showing over 500 shares.

This is earned media, and the brand did not pay for this or my article.

Always be yourself, express yourself, have faith in yourself. ~ Bruce Lee

Be authentic which means “of undisputed origin and not a copy, genuine.”

There is no other brand like yours, so just be you.

A UK Agency recently surveyed over 1,000 consumers about how to be an authentic brand.

I believe the answers provide a very good guideline for all brands on this topic.

  1. Stories must be grounded in truth
  2. The narrative should best suit your situation, so it has integrity
  3. Be consistent, passionate, and honest
  4. Be mindful of pre-existing narratives
  5. Going outside your narrative brings opportunity and risk
  6. Imperfections and idiosyncrasies keep you unique and meaningful
  7. Don’t copy to follow others, aspire to be original and master your field
  8. Be proud of where you have come from and stay original. But don’t rest on your laurels

Or to put being authentic another way "I never wanted to be the next Bruce Lee. I just wanted to be the first Jackie Chan." - Jackie Chan

I am not in this world to live up to your expectations, and you are not in this world to live up to mine. ~ Bruce Lee

As a brand communicating in social media, there is always going to be an individual, group, or body who do not agree with you. They might have a genuine grievance, or a manufactured one.

It is a mistake however to try and meet everyone's expectations. If your brands purpose is clear, missing someone's misaligned expectations will not matter.

In fact time and time again, when brands are clear on this aspect a community will rally to its defence if an unfair position is taken.

Showing off is a fool’s idea of glory ~ Bruce Lee

This could also be termed as “viral marketing” campaigns. If a brand can create a campaign that goes viral, that can help launch a brand or raise deeper awareness.

However, long after any successful viral campaign a brand still needs to build a community. A viral campaign will not do this for brands, a well-executed strategy will.

In 2012, Finnair surprise dance went viral and was listed in AdWeek’s top 20 viral ads (So Far). In 2014, they are expecting to make a “significant loss.”

At number 19 in the very same list is the Dollar Shave Club, who’s video also went viral.

Their first video has 16 million views, their second 2.5 million. However, they are more focussed on building a community and loyalty as this is sustainable. They have increased their product line, and they are projecting $60 million in revenue in 2014, up from $20 million in 2013.

Their strategy being built on “building the next great mens grooming and lifestyle brand.”

If you spend too much time thinking about a thing, you'll never get it done. ~ Bruce Lee

A lot of organizations contemplate using social media or spend a lot of time trying to identify the right platform for them. This is not a complicated decision. You decide who your ideal demographic is, and which platforms they are using, and start there.

On June 6, 2014 the CIA chose Facebook and Twitter, and commenced with this opening tweet.


Just last week they retweeted the 1st tweet of the National Reconnaissance Office.

So even if rocket science or national security intelligence has been keeping you busy, it might be a good time to start.

Boards don’t hit back. ~ Bruce Lee

In 1973, the movie “Enter the Dragon” was released. In the final fight scene, Bruce Lee is paired off against a much larger combatant. Prior to the fight commencing, the other fighter breaks a board in front of Bruce Lee to scare him. Bruce Lee responds by saying “boards don’t hit back.”

This is traditional marketing; it does not engage back. It is almost impossible to measure, and you can never be sure of it’s true attribution towards sales, or how good the practitioners are.

It is safe, like hitting a punching bag. The agency does not need to justify its performance, and you have little to no idea how consumers feel about your ads or your brand.

Social media, on the other hand, is one to one engagement. The feedback is immediate, and you truly connect with your audience. Attribution is good and getting better all the time. In addition to this, you can engage with your right audience, as opposed to a general market.

You get to find out if your marketing is working, and if you have chosen the right agency.

After all marketing should be about creating opportunities.

Thank you for taking the time to read the article, your comments, shares, and likes are valued and appreciated. I am merely starting a conversation, but you make it meaningful.

Mathew Slavica is the Founder of Digital Stand, a Sydney Social Media Agency. We focus on meaningful engagement through social media for the most-innovative companies. If you have questions mjslavica@digitalstand.com