Nichification Archives - Area 224 Ltd.

A survey, of whiskey drinkers, on LinkedIn.

We are not sure this is the best use of brand dollars by Knob Creek.

With all due respect…this is just not focused. It’s the opposite of Nichification. Don’t despair, whiskey drinker…We’ll give some advice below.

First, the background:

Visiting LinkedIn, and someone in our network, who is in the SEO space and appears to be a rather smart cookie, had the ad you see over there right below all of the “Send a Message,” “See Profile” options.

And this jumped out at us.

What’s wrong with it?

Well, first of all, truth be told, we’re not against the marketing of alcoholic beverages. And we’ll assume that LinkedIn has a filter of some sort that only shows this particular ad to people who are above 21 years of age.

Once you get past that…Is LinkedIn really the place to ask questions about whiskey?

You’re on LinkedIn for professional connections. Professional networking. So, when I’m seeing what one of the smarter SEO people in the planet is up to lately – am I even in the mood to talk whiskey?

Beyond that…this is a poorly worded Poll.

They’re asking two questions. The first one asks if I’m a fan. What if I’m not? What if I’ve never tried the stuff? What if I don’t know the difference between Knob Creek and Boon’s Farm?

What if I don’t know the difference between “complex flavor” and “full-flavored?”

Since Area 224 is looking out for you, brand marketers, we’re not just going to raise a problem – we’re going to propose a SOLUTION.

In three steps.

Step 1 – Scrap the poll.

I’m not inclined to vote for or against alcohol when I’m on LinkedIn. I’m treating LinkedIn like a combination of Twitter and Google – I want to see what my network is up to professionally, but I’m also searching for something or someone.

Step 2 – Buy a bunch of laser-focused keyword ads.

You can spend just as much if you know what you are doing. If you don’t know what you are doing, find someone who does and get them to buy the ads for you.

Step 3 – Reach out to a bunch of bloggers and see if they want to try your stuff.

Turn them loose – let them comment on the full-flavor, or the fine craftsmanship, or the fact that they can really taste the aging. Or not.

You can invest probably a couple grand, watch what gets said, and get so many more insights than you’d get from the LinkedIn poll.

You’re welcome.

Hey! Today, Area 224 decides it might be cool to pick out three Twitter folks to follow – and we’re using some different criteria.

It seems like everyone’s list of Friday Follows goes a little something like this:

Someone with mass appeal.
Someone who tweeted with us once and is still on a list.
And no real reason to follow them.

There are some alternatives, of course. @ginidietrich refuses to play that game and gives you a few on the Spin Sucks blog each week. Cool.

But, for the most part, it’s all about the #FF and big lists of confusion. Since we’re part of the team STILL working on the Nichification book (with Jim Alexander), we thought three nifty niche folks would we worth a follow. Here are our recommendations.

Kyle Thill – ToyotaEquipment. Yes, you heard right, I am suggesting that you follow a guy who tweets on behalf of a company that is in the lift truck business. He’s engaging and having conversations with folks in and out of the B2B space. Check out their blog here – falls right into the “Nichification” stuff we’ve been talking about at HQ. Find your niche, give them relevant information. Then keep giving it to them until you are the obvious expert.

Rick Bakas – Wine, Social Media, More Wine. Okay, this chap is rather popular on the Twitter front. (46,000+ followers.) And he has interests beyond wine (and food); spin through his site and learn that he actually designed the Denver Broncos’ branding.

Jennifer Vides – Outspoken Latina. Actually, it would seem like a bit of a cliche to say that you should follow Jennifer and check out her blog just because she’s a Latina and she’s outspoken. Yet, this week she has dialogue about the fact that, well, pinning down the Latino culture, and pigeon-holing folks into various categories is dangerous. Worth a read. Worth a follow.

What about y’all? Any good niche folks we should be taking a look at, or interviewing for the book? Let us know…

A Tweak for Knob Creek