05 Jul Social Media Marketing and Bright Shiny Objects

Once upon a time there was a king. And the king had an astrologer. The king wanted diamonds and asked the astrologer to ask the stars where to find lots and lots of diamonds. The astrologer first tried to explain to the king that finding diamonds wasn’t really something the stars could do. But the king cut off the astrologer as he was speaking and said, “We won the last war and you told me the stars told you we would win. If the stars can tell us if we’ll win a war, they can find me diamonds. Or should I cut off your head and find another astrologer?”
This motivated the astrologer to ask the stars where to find lots and lots of diamonds. But the stars were silent. So the astrologer told the king that he would have to wait a year for the stars to disclose the location of the diamonds. The king reluctantly agreed, and for a year the astrologer collected his paycheck and kept out of the way of the king. The year past and the king asked, “Well, where are my diamonds?” The astrologer told the king he had to climb the height of the highest mountain at night in order to hear what the stars had to say. Stars only whisper about diamonds. So one very dark night the astrologer tells the king he is going to go the peak of the highest mountain in the kingdom and ask the stars where to find the diamonds. The king said that was a good idea. The astrologer left in the dark of night, and didn’t go to the mountain. He made his way to the airport and took a plane to Los Angeles where he works today as a social media marketer. No one wants to lose their head.
So Was It The King’s Fault?
By the way, the astrologer is having about as tough a time working in social media as he had back at the kingdom. Executives know they need social media marketing done. They need Facebook, Twitter, G+ and Pinterest. But for the most part these things are just a check on a box of must-haves to the executive’s understanding. When they want their social media people to explain what its all about, more than a few times those conversations end with vague threats to roll heads.
Ever feel like that astrologer? I thought so. But instead of trying to put the king off for year, here is a very insightful article about how to handle the king, and keep the conversation away from beheading anyone.