Facebook Knock Down
Facebook
gets more responses than a newsletter.
But not because of why you think.
 Jacqueline's
karate black belt testing was a day I won't soon forget.
Bowing into the studio promptly at 7:45 AM on a cold,rainy
Saturday morning in November, her face showed her apprehension.
The students poured in dripping wet, each exhibiting his
or her own degree of nervous energy.
In the studio, Mr. Callahan stood in front of the packed
room. The students lined up like soldiers at attention
on the mat.
"Welcome, everyone, to our 24th bi-annual black belt
testing at Callahan's Karate!"
Visibly
anxious, they listened to the instructions for their grueling
four-hour physical testing. A three-mile run tested their
endurance. Directly following that, they did 125 push-ups,
non-stop. Designed to have them draw on their inner strength,
they did 125 sweaty sit-ups, and over 500 power kicks
and ten thirty-second slammin' rounds of punches. In addition,
each candidate stayed in horse stance for five minutes.
With
tired, aching bodies, their final challenge was the most
demanding physically and mentally. Their mission: to spar,
AKA fight, with their peers.
Sparring
With full sparring gear, including a helmet and a mouth
guard, Jacqueline stepped into the middle of the circle
to begin her first round. Imagine eight to ten karate
students in full black uniforms staring Jacqueline down
and sizing up her every move. Her directive was to battle
all of the participants for 1 minute each.
There
were boys in the circle too and most were much bigger
than my 75-pound, wispy blond peanut. But that didn't
stop her from taking risks in the seven adrenaline-charged
minutes. And as Jacqueline stepped out of the center,
she wiped her forehead and then had to get right back
into it. She knew that she still needed to keep her guard
up and spar again and again until each student in her
group had an opportunity to be in the center of the ring.
The room was filled with shouting and coaching, cheering
and encouragement. They hit each other hard. This was
not a game. This was serious and intense.
Only after everyone had an opportunity to fight in the
center, did they take a brief break.
When the last round was complete, Mr. Callahan applauded
each and every red-faced black belt student.
And though visibly exhausted, Jacqueline showed their
intense elation.
Next, steeped in tradition, they held the formal black
belt graduation ceremony.
Celebration
To celebrate, we did two things we've never done before.
First, we told Jacqueline that she could have her ears
pierced. And second, we honored her accomplishments at
a very special lunch at the Cheesecake factory.
Jacqueline absolutely could not contain her joy.
 She
was beaming and she had to share it. And after we returned
home, unbeknownst to me, she sent an email to
her friends and relatives to share her success.
She
was now a black belt, "yahoo!"
About 6:30 P.M., I noticed that Jacqueline, my black belt,
was a little sad.
Black and Blue
Me: "Why so blue, my black belt?"
J : "I sent an email to Auntie and Gramma and my
friends about me getting my black belt and nobody responded,"
with big pouty lips she continued, "Nobody said congratulations
on becoming a black belt."
After a big "Awww" and a deep breath, I put on
my mom/counselor's cap and said, "Aw Jacq. Nobody responded.
Not one?"
J: "No."
Me: "How did you send it?"
J: "From my email."
Me: "What did it say?"
J: "I told them I was a black belt."
Me: "What else?"
J: "That's it."
Me: "Did you include a photo?"
J: "No."
Me: "Oh, well. Aw, come here." Hug. Snuggle. "Let's
have a warm cup of tea, you and me."
She agreed and after some time together, she felt a little
better. She went off to read and I went to my laptop
to kick off my not so diabolical plan. First, I published
a photo of my black belt in her full black uniform to my
Facebook page. Next I posted the following:
"Jacqueline's
a black belt! What do you think about that?"
P.S. Jacq
just sent an email to friends and family.
She is bummed
out because no one responded.
Within an hour, there were several responses on Facebook:
-
Tell
Jacq. I said that's awesome!
-
-
-
- Congratulations!
I
called Jacq over to my laptop to look at this."Woah."
She mouthed. A smile came back across her face. She clearly
felt much better.
Which made me think...
-
Sending
an announcement via email is one thing, but will every
statement always garner a response?
-
If
you want to be acknowledged, do you have to ask explicitly?
-
When
you don't include an image, are you limiting the number
of people who will read your message?
-
My
friends to instantly and easily respond
-
Visibility
to friends that are online - there's no responsibility
or pressure to respond to a "boatload of emails"
that have been piling up
- My
friends to contribute comments in a communal way
Jacq
was clearly disappointed that her simple text email with
a statement didn't give her the accolades that she was craving.
She let her defenses down and she suffered a blow to her
core.
It's clear to me that if you want a response from a newsletter,
Facebook, or other marketing efforts, then you absolutely
do need a specific call to action and you do need to follow
classic marketing rules.
Facebook won the knock down here, and it's
an amazing tool for getting quick results, but if the enewsletter
had shown black belt qualities by following the advice of
the marketing mentor mama it, too could be celebrating by
getting its ears pierced.
And if you don't have a Facebook page yet, or aren't
getting the sorts of responses you would like to get from
one, let me know. We have been creating and maintaining
Facebook company pages that deliver a punch and don't get
knocked down.
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