Jay Zheng's Marketing Blog

YouTube, Blogs and the Future of Music

JayZ — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 05:59:49 +0000

Here is Jac Holzman, the founder of Elektra Music talking about YouTube, Blogs and the future of music. I think his take on several topics are right on cue, including:

Trust is what matters most.
It takes time to build anything (including trust).
The power of free.
The power of friends.
Anyone can make music today. The question then becomes: Is it worth listening to?
People are intelligent enough to differentiate great from average.

And of course, these don’t necessarily only apply to the music industry.

Small Promises

JayZ — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 23:36:03 +0000

Small promises are promises that you know you can keep without spending a lot of efforts.

No, small promises won’t make your life that much better or your business that much more successful, but they are a good way of getting you into good habits.

I started this blog a little over a year ago promising myself that I would write one post per day for 3 months (about 100 posts), regardless of the length or the content of a post. It’s a small promise that has done me a world of good.

I have seen people break a small promise just because they think it’s not that important. Perhaps so. But wouldn’t you love a business (or a person) that has the courage to say, “we dare you to find any promises, small or big, that we have not kept”?

If You Have Never Failed in Life…

JayZ — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 16:10:40 +0000

…then you have failed life.

Inspired by someone saying never to ask advice from someone who has failed.

Decide First

JayZ — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 07:58:47 +0000

…then figure out what the obstacles are. After that, figure out what’s needed to overcome them.

Instead of wondering, “what if I try really (really) hard and it still doesn’t work”, it’s probably much more effective to ask, “what do I need to do in order to get from point A to point B?”

After all, you can’t really go from point A to point B without knowing where point B is, can you?

Lastly, the answer to “what if I try really (really) hard and it still doesn’t work” is pretty simple: try harder.

Seth Godin TED Talks

JayZ — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 15:20:14 +0000

Seth Godin on Slice Bread

Seth Godin on Tribes

Obsession

JayZ — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 09:04:28 +0000

Many people are turned off by restaurant owners/managers responding to negative reviews they leave on Yelp, especially if the responses don’t come in a very friendly tone. The most common reactions being: “why are you so obsessed with one negative review on Yelp?”

I, for one, don’t mind that at all. In fact, that alone could entice me to give the restaurant at least one try.

Every business could use a little bit of obsession. A little extra caring leads to passion, and a little extra passion leads to obsession. That’s why great businesses and great artists are obsessed with even the smallest details, because to them, there really isn’t any other way of doing things.

SPEC and Art

JayZ — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 18:23:22 +0000

It may be a parody, but the video above demonstrates a major difference between iPhone users and Droid users: Droid users are mostly SPEC people and iPhone users aren’t.

There is nothing wrong with being a SPEC person. In fact, most people I know are SPEC people. But as someone who is trying to sell to SPEC people, you should know that the approaches aren’t always the same as selling an iPhone.

For example:

- SPEC people think in charts, and they are accustomed to compare.

- As a result of comparing, SPEC people shop around. Of course they do, because if they can find a cheaper deal with the exactly same SPEC, why not?

- SPEC people create SPEC companies that make SPEC products. And they make their decisions based on SPEC’s.

- SPEC products can’t avoid price wars.

- SPEC businesses like to go for quantity. They don’t have much choice.

The opposite of SPEC is art.

- Art is unique. You can probably line up 2 Droid devices next to each other and compare, but as far as iPhone fans are concerned, there really isn’t any comparison (yet) to the iPhone.

- People don’t (and can’t) compare art.

- There really isn’t an organized or standardized way to create art. If there is, then that piece of art has just turned into SPEC.

- Art makes more profit, but it generally has smaller market.

Manufacture SPEC or create art. Make your mind up on doing one or the other, because there really isn’t any middle ground.

Simple Advice

JayZ — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 16:19:48 +0000

A client asked me last month about how he should promote his website on Facebook. I gave him some awfully simple advice. You see, when you first start, your Facebook page isn’t for your fans yet. In the beginning, your page is really just for you. How you build your page can and will change your approach to business.

Just do this: post an ~~interesting, relevant and/or helpful~~ article about your industry everyday for 3 months. Spend 15 minutes everyday to do some researches and share your result. And don’t stop even if it’s a weekend.

I checked back with him yesterday, and guess what? He stopped after 4 articles, and of course, the reason being that he simply didn’t have the time to do this.

I told him it’s okay, because it really was. After all, everyone else in his industry pretty much does the same thing.

The problem in his case, though, is pretty obvious: If you are just starting and are trying to gain an edge, you can’t be doing the same things as everyone else.

When People Hate You…

JayZ — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 07:34:32 +0000

Making people hate you isn’t as easy as one may think. Because in order to hate, one needs to care first. Not only that, one must care with enough passion to declare hatred.

No, don’t go around and try to make people hate you.

Just know that when they do, they probably have a very good reason, and realize that maybe, just maybe, you are not that far away from love.

Facebook Before Google

JayZ — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 04:28:44 +0000

One of my friends posted a status update today on Facebook asking about “a pantone color for white”. Five minutes later, she updated the status stating that she has found the answer.

So I asked her why she didn’t try to find on her own in the first place, and her answer was that she was trying to save time, and was hoping that someone would have provided the answer before her Google search. Even though she didn’t really save any time in this case, but sure enough, her friends answered her question and they had a discussion on the topic all within 1 hour after it was published.

I think there is something significant happening here. And it’s important for brands to understand that perhaps Google is losing its ground on “finding answers for people”,aka, search. And it’s not to the obvious competitors like Bing or Yahoo or even Wikipedia. It’s to Facebook.

Now I understand Google is extremely good at what they do, which is, to organize all the information in the world and display it in a way that makes sense to its users. That said, it’s not the same getting an answer from one of your friends whom you know and trust versus some random website.

Does this mean that Google will soon lose its biggest (and only) revenue stream? Hardly. But it’s kind of nice knowing that you now have some other options (e.g., try to get people to mention your product when they answer their friends’ questions on Facebook) than simply spending $30,000 a month on one keyword for AdWords, isn’t it?

A Fan For Life

JayZ — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 06:14:26 +0000

Imagine this: when you were 8 years old, your favorite baseball player went out of his way to shake your hands, give you an autographed baseball and offer to take a picture with you, without you ever asking for it.

Would that be enough for you to tell the story for the rest of your life? Probably. And to think that all of the nice gestures above cost the player less than $10 and 5 minutes of his time, was it worth it? You bet.

On the other hand, about 10 years ago, my parents and I had a horrible experience at a Toyota dealer from one sales rep. I have owned 3 cars after that, none of which is a Toyota. I know they don’t make bad cars — I am just not ready to forgive them just yet.

There are things which brands do that would turn their regular customers into fans for life. And sometimes it doesn’t even cost that much money, time or resources. A little extra attention and nice could be all it takes. The question is: do you care enough to see that?

Social Media is Narcissistic

JayZ — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 00:55:47 +0000

I think you have figured out by now that most stuff that most people do and/or share on social network spaces are pointless, unhelpful and random little details such as where they went for breakfast.

You could argue that for the most part, social media is narcissistic. But I think it’s mainly because people are generally afraid to open themselves up for criticisms.

It’s so easy to ask someone to share their personal taste on food, clothing or music because nobody could argue that they are wrong. Ask for an opinion about legalizing drugs in America, on the other hand, you might just shut everybody up for good.

What does this mean for brands who want to create some conversations online?

Simple, really. Ask about something trivial, and don’t give your audience a chance to be wrong.

Your Social Network Spaces Are Yours

JayZ — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 15:47:25 +0000

…and mine are mine.

Don’t let anybody tell you otherwise. Sure, there could be 1 million people sharing their success stories and telling you how they have managed to use social media to build and grow their businesses, and these stories may point to 10 thousand different directions.

You could choose to ignore every one of them.

Think of every social networking site as a place where you choose to host your personal parties. Facebook Fan Page, Twitter, your Blog, YouTube Channel, whatever. You get to choose your own decoration, food, music, people who you want to be around with, and method of communication (here is a list of examples.).

It could be you (and only you) speaking (singing, dancing) to all the guests, and nobody else gets to talk. Or you could allow everyone to sing and dance at the same time. You could provide all the party food, or have people to bring their own drinks, or even make their own food. The party could be open to everybody or to VIP’s only.

Really, it’s all up to you.

…as long as these parties are helping you reaching your eventual goals, which may or may not be, to make friends and bring them back to your house (website).

So next time when a party planner tells you that you should only invite famous people to your pool parties and forget about everyone else, just remember that you have the option to say “No”.

Google’s Philosophy

JayZ — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 17:34:59 +0000

“10 things we know to be true.”

Everyone, and I do mean EVERYONE, should check it out. Even if you have read it before, I think it’s well-worth another 10 minutes to read it again, as a reminder of things that you might have forgotten while being buried under your daily office tasks.

1. Focus on the user and all else will follow.
2. It’s best to do one thing really, really well.
3. Fast is better than slow.
4. Democracy on the web works.
5. You don’t need to be at your desk to need an answer.
6. You can make money without doing evil.
7. There’s always more information out there.
8. The need for information crosses all borders.
9. You can be serious without a suit.
10. Great just isn’t good enough.

The Half-Life Of A YouTube Video

JayZ — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 07:40:33 +0000

Here is the thing: a YouTube video clip today, in 2010, gets 50% of its views in the first 6 days after it’s published. And the trend on the half-life is getting shorter. In 2008, YouTube videos get 50% of its views in the first 14 days.

What does that mean?

#1) As a business, if you are using YouTube to promote something, you’d better have a very good idea of what you plan to do after it’s published. Wait 5 business days or a week, and half of your viewers are gone.

#2) Want more viewers? How about publish a new video every 6 days?

8 Management Lessons Learned At Apple

JayZ — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 04:06:42 +0000

Here is the entire story, a very good read.

I counted 9, but I am sticking with the title of the original article.

#1. A tech company should be run by engineers, not managers
#2. Build a culture of respect between managers and employees
#3. Give employees the freedom to own and improve the products
#4. Challenge your employees to grow
#5. Deadlines are crucial
#6. Don’t play the “feature game” with your competition
#7. Hire people who are insanely passionate about your product
#8. It’s important to emphasize work/life balance
#9. You should maintain that startup culture, even when you’re a big company

Unfortunately, most businesses compromise on both the do’s and don’ts on this list, and at the same time wonder why they are not as successful as Apple.

Hatred and Silence

JayZ — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 22:28:58 +0000

The reason for iPhone’s sucess is not only because people love it, but also because people hate it. Sometimes the negatives are even more passionate than the positives.

That’s precisely why Google failed at Wave. Because after the initial hype, nobody wanted to talk about it, good or bad.

Blogging is Free

JayZ — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 16:42:07 +0000

…and for the most part, it’s not meant for anyone else except yourself.

I think this also applies to pretty much anything meaningful that you are trying to create online.

Layers and Reaches

JayZ — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 06:01:41 +0000

Facebook has officially reached 500 million users. 500 million, that is a huge number, isn’t it? If it was a country, it is already bigger than the United States in terms of population, behind only China and India.

What’s more impressive is that EVERYONE in that country has at least three qualities: 1) basic reading and writing skills, 2) access to a computer and 3) access to the Internet.

Therefore, theoretically speaking, you have the capability to reach ALL of the Facebook population, and try to sell them something.

OK, maybe that’s not realistic.

What is realistic, though, is that when you decide to create and/or share something, you (only) have access to about 150 of your friends. 150 is the average number of friends a person has on Facebook (it’s actually 130, but math is easier at 150). Then if what you have shared is impressive enough, it will make its way to their 150 friends. 150 times 150 gives you 225,000. Not bad. But(!) if you can manage to reach the 3rd level of friends, congratulations, you have just hit the 3 million mark.

And you guessed it, 4 levels is all you needed to reach every single person on Facebook.

So the reality is that the Facebook Nation is broken down into layers.

1st layer: 150 reaches
2nd layer: 225,000 reaches
3rd layer: 3 million reaches
4th layer: 450 million reaches

The toughest thing on this list isn’t to go from layer #3 to layer #4, even though that’s where the biggest gap is.

Instead, it is to go from layer #1 to layer #2.

Sadly, for most businesses, they concentrate on building up their audience at layer #1 and forget that the most profitable and cost effective/efficient way to reach Facebook audience is to create content that penetrates the layers.

BlackBerry

JayZ — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 16:14:27 +0000

I can’t think of a single incident in the past 3 years in which I was WOW’ed by a BlackBerry device.

In fact, I have never even paid attention to a BlackBerry device.

So perhaps in this “mind-share rules all” world, it’s not so surprising that 50% of current BlackBerry owners are planning to switch to either an iPhone or Android based phone.

Two out of Three

JayZ — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 16:31:28 +0000

You know the old saying? Good quality, good service or good price, pick two out of three and you have a winner. Good, in this case, could be interpreted as “better than your competitors”.

It seems though, in the consumer-oriented market today, that’s not enough anymore.

I think this is the new motto for today: Good quality, good service and good price, you have to have all three. And then you pick one, and make it great.

Great, in this case, means that “it’s so much better than your competitors that your customers can’t help but to talk about it.”