If you haven’t noticed organizations
and individuals are trying to produce something using social media. The
efforts are intended to fulfill the desire for a results, more sales,
brand awareness and yes more followers.
The proliferation of social tools, social media and all things social
is creating a frenzy to “produce” something, anything and everything
aimed at getting results. The chase for the secret sauce to get results
has the marketplace consumed with the production of content aimed at
attracting awareness, attention and an audience. Marketers are trying
everything to get our attention so they can move us to a transaction,
the result.
The process of marketing has been focused on reaching the masses
using numerous forms of media. Marketing has been designed to create
attention and awareness of an offering targeted to a specific
audience. Marketing followed “production thinking”. The more we market
the more sales we’ll “produce”.
The model of “production thinking” creates environments in which
“people” are used to “produce more” at less cost. The aim is to make
profits from producing more and production is enhanced by optimizing
people, processes and technology. Management
methods to optimize production evolved around measuring anything and
everything with the aim of finding out how effective people, processes
and technology are at
producing a results. The problem is the “production model” is that the
people part has changed while the model for using people has not.
The Difference Between Producer vs. Conductor
A producer creates things aimed at producing results using people,
processes and technology. A conductor
helps people optimize their use of something which synchronizes with the
talents and interest of others. The producer aims to use things to
create a result for them or their organization. The conductor enables
people to use things to create the result they want, desire and need.
The optimum business model is one of embracing the “conductor”
function aimed at providing people with “ideas, information and
knowledge” they in turn can use to produce what they want with their
community of friends and followers. Giving people the “right instruments
to create their own communities” of conversations will ultimate lead to
production of commerce.
A producer tries to “pull people” to their business. A conductor
enables people to find the people, products and services they want, need
or desire. A producer pulls people to their web site and the people are
confronted with an anti-social experience and tricked into a “capture,
control and frustrate” process. A conductor ensures that
people are enabled to access, collaborate and share information
seamlessly with no tricks, no intents to capture, control or frustrate
people trying to use something to their benefit and the benefit of
others.
Pepsi opted out of the Super Bowl Ads and
chose to “conduct” a social experiment by giving away
$20 million for the best community development ideas. Coke Cola chose to
spend millions to run Super Bowl ads aimed to producing a lasting
impression on viewers. Which was the producer vs. the conductor?
Which method produced the best results? You decide.