What 'Psycho Killer' can teach us about social media.

I've always thought of the Talking Heads' David Byrne as being ahead of his time, but I admit I might be pushing it a bit by applying his lyrics to social media.

Still, I've been noticing several corporate roadblocks lately, and I feel like there are some good lessons buried in Byrne's 1977 classic, "Psycho Killer." 

Here's the verse that's been stuck in my head. You know you know it:

You start a conversation, you can't even finish it.
You're talking a lot, but you're not saying anything.
When I have nothing to say, my lips are sealed.
Say something once, why say it again?

Let's break it down line by line — and let the overthinking commence! — after the jump.

"You start a conversation, you can't even finish it."

Is your company ready to keep talking once you're past the "Hello world!" phase of social media?

Recently, my colleague Jay Waters, chief strategist for Luckie, told me a story about the time he overheard some tourists speaking Russian. Since he knew a little of the language, he stopped to say hi. Delighted, they responded with a barrage of rapidfire Russian that was far beyond Jay's ability to comprehend.

Jay's point is that it's great to be polite and say hi — by starting a blog, getting active on Twitter, sending samples to online fans — but you have to be ready to actually have a conversation. Otherwise, it's just a nicety, one with little hope for long-term impact.

"You're talking a lot, but you're not saying anything."

Are you actually providing some level of value to your online audience? Or are you just talking to talk?

This is one of those good-and-bad issues. You want corporate folks to feel comfortable and chatty online. The tone of social media, even on corporate blogs, is much more relaxed than the usual business fare.

But there's a point when it gets out of hand. If you're using a business account to ruminate on American Idol or pass around puppy videos, you might want to get a bit more serious about why you're online.

Doing business in social media is still doing business. Sure, it's fun, and it beats making sales calls. But corporate accounts should not be immune to accountability.

Expectations for growth and other metrics should be built into the job descriptions of everyone representing the company online. That's the single best way to keep your posts consistent, compelling and on-topic — and its also the best way to keep from getting laid off when someone thinks that all you're doing is "goofing around on Facebook."

"When I have nothing to say, my lips are sealed."

Sometimes it's OK to stay out of a conversation. Thanks to Twitter Search and even more powerful social monitoring tools like Radian6, it's easy to find out when people are talking about you or your brand. The question is, what's worth responding to?

In an ideal world, we'd respond to every mention on the Web, right? But the truth is that large companies really don't have that luxury, and there is a substantial chance of actually doing harm if you decide to intervene at the wrong times.

The solution lies in Mr. Byrne's first tip, the one about starting a conversation you know you can finish. If you don't think you can suitably resolve someone's complaint about your company's labor practices or ingredients or legal battles, then you're probably best to just let it go. That said, I'd always advise a company to err on the side of conversation if it sounds like there's any hope at reconciliation.

"Say something once, why say it again?"

Don't get carried away with "retweeting" yourself or otherwise spamming your newfound friends.

We've all been there: You post something interesting, then you want to share it with the world on Twitter, Facebook or just through one good-old-fashioned e-mail blast. That's all fine and good. But when the response is tepid, companies seem prone to rebroadcasting it ad nauseum until people love it. The problem, of course, is that people don't love it.

Quantity is not the solution to mediocre content. When you have trouble gaining traction on a blog post or e-mail to potential clients, take a hard look at what went wrong. Was it the time of day? Was it the wording? The audience? The tone?

Be scientific (to a resonable extent), and treat every post as an experiment. And when there's not much buzz, don't worry, you'll have plenty more good content to blast out there.

If it makes you feel any better, "Psycho Killer" only topped out at No. 92 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Photo of David Byrne by tromasbronot on Flickr.

Comments

[Amber Naslund]

David,

Loving this creative take on this. :) Particularly liked this comment:

"Quantity is not the solution to mediocre content."

Put simply, more doesn't make it better. That's why we're so passionate about listening and observing; knowing not only what to say but how and when to say it is made so much easier by paying close attention to the conversations happening around your company. It's the foundation for all things social.

Thanks for sharing your fun and sharp insights, as always, and for including us in the discussion.

Cheers,
Amber Naslund
Director of Community, Radian6

[FireSpy]

"Say something once, why say it again?"

Because sometimes it's nice to hear again: "David, Thanks for the originality and useful information of your posts."

That's it. My lips are sealed.

[Michelle, Synthesio]

David,
So cool the way you broke this down line by line to get your point across. How many times have we all heard executives say, “we should get on that Facebook/Twitter/LinkedIn/…that sounds like a good idea…” without actually knowing what they were going to do once they got there. Like you said, “you have to be ready to actually have a conversation”. Chances are, internet users already are having conversations about your company/brand, and your first concern should be to listen to what they are saying and then become a participant. Not all products are going to be able to see as much buzz about them on the Internet as, say, baby strollers (moms out there are certainly aware of the plethora of information available!), but specialized monitoring tools like the ones we have at Synthesio can gather and analyze real-time comments, reviews, posts, articles, etc. that let companies big and small follow their buzz online. When companies have this type of information available, they can make strategic decisions about which types of conversations they want to engage in or begin with consumers, and how they want to go about it. Company messages won’t sound anymore like they’re coming from someone shouting out of a megaphone; they’ll sound like they’re coming from a friend of yours.

Best,
Michelle
Synthesio
@Synthesio