Social Media Experiment Results

Seth Godin recently wrote that you can’t call something an experiment after it fails.  It has to have an experimental intent and measurable results.  I wrote last week that I was conducting a social media experiment.  I wore a T-shirt with a large “QR Code” on the back, and smaller ones on the sleeves and front.  The text on the back said, “Scan Me – Blog for Retail Jewellers, Original content.  You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, it’ll change your life.”

The intent was to see how Smartphone technology would entice people to view my website so that they could connect with me via Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Blogspot or Youtube.  As long as I’m writing for free, I might as well have it reach more retailers.  The results were lower than I had hoped for.  Facebook +11%, Twitter +17%, YouTube +1%, Blogspot +7% and LinkedIn unchanged.  These are small numbers considering that I’m just a “pup” in those venues (most of my reach comes directly from my email list.) 

What was interesting was that I attracted and met people who were like-minded promoters; both retailers and wholesalers.  Rather than scanning and running, the T-shirts that I wore for four days were conversation starters.  I made two strategic connections; one to a marketing partner and another to a retailer proficient in a subject I’m keenly interested in just; both because of those T-shirts.

Take-aways? 

1.     There are very few people running around looking for things to scan with their QR code readers.

2.     If you do something unusual to create curiosity, be prepared to engage and earn the results your looking for by direct contact

3.     There still remains a huge part of any market who just aren’t into social networking, and need to be reached by some other means.

Congratulations to Marie Wade for winning one of my Toddwaz Report QR-Code T-shirts.  It wasn’t really a contest.  She’s a regular participant in The Toddwaz Report… and she told me she wanted one… so I gave her one… so, I didn’t have to take it home and wash it.