I just launched a new Flickr page for Fat Katz and it is packed with lot’s of killer photos. The images show the incredible fabrication skill of the Fat Katz crew, along with some awesome product shots.
Looking to capitalize on more social media tools, I’ve also just launched a new Fat Katz blog to provide another touch point to the consumer and provide a place for news posting and syndication.
You don’t become the American motorcycle industry choice for custom tanks and fenders by accident. Some of the biggest names in the bike industry are proud to say that they trust Fat Katz with all their customized sheet metal needs. It’s easy to see why, Fat Katz boasts both a selection and a quality of product that is second to none.
We recently launched a new site for the Fat Katz crew…take a look fatkatz.com
Another popular buzz phrase you have probably heard is the “Long tail”. The long tail refers to a niche based culture replacing the hit driven economy. Products that are in low demand or have low sales volume can collectively make up a market share that rivals or exceeds the relatively few current bestsellers and blockbusters, if the store or distribution channel is large enough. The Long Tail is a potential market and the distribution and sales channel opportunities created by the Internet often enable businesses to tap into that market successfully.
The real long tail impact seems to be coming from the affiliate marketing publishers. Those individual bloggers who are given financial incentives for promoting products on their site. Don’t underestimate the power of niche influence.
Want to see a visual graph of your website or blog? Websites as graphs visual
1. Recognise your antisocial nature … until you fully embrace the fact that your relationship and communication with your consumers has been fundamentally antisocial, you will never be able progress on the road towards becoming a brand that can embrace social media i.e. a socialised brand. Repeat after me, “My name is Brand X and I am antisocial”.
2. Don’t think digital … the answer to becoming a socialised brand does not lie in the digital world even if your relationship with your consumers ends up being based on digital channels. The answer lies in having a credible story, content that brings this alive and channels that help consumers “reach-in” and become engaged. P.S. a credible story is nothing like what you are accustomed to thinking of as a brand proposition. P.P.S. just having a corporate blog, a MySpace page, a podcast, posting stuff on YouTube does not, of itself, make you a socialised brand.
3. Remember – the tools of social media sit best in the hands of consumers (it’s who they were designed for) … use them at your peril, you may end up looking silly. At all costs avoid the My(insert your brand name here)Space syndrome – a lot of digital agencies are getting rich helping clients make this mistake.
4. Stop thinking about reaching out to consumers … that is old media, old media agency planners thinking. Don’t think of the tools of social media as a new channel that allows you to push messages to niche groups. Do the right thing (see point 2) and consumers will use the tools of social media to find you – your audience will select itself. Focus your energy on making your brand a beacon and your brand a host. (I am sure there is a Seth Godin book in there somewhere).
Thanks to Richard Stacy for sending this one in, and gapingvoid:
Today, I post in celebration of yesterday’s xc-ski session #25 (for 2007-08). The reason it is post-worthy, is because each session was started from my back door - requiring zero drive miles. Brilliant!
For those of you who are into the Harley Davidson scene, you will probably recognize the name Fat Katz. They make trick after market gas tanks and fenders. These folks are amazing fabricators, and all of their products are 100% handmade in Grass Valley, California. We are currently working with them on new media strategy, and building them a new corporate website that should be live within the next two weeks.
Surprisingly, this market has been less impacted by on-line viral networking than most, and seem to still rely on traditional media exposure such as T.V. and magazines. This will be a nice experiment as we try to increase Fat Katz web value for better overall brand engagement.
sneak peek
