Nielsen recently released their latest report on the state of social media.  Here are a few of the highlights:

    •    Social networks and blogs continue to dominate Americans’ time online, now accounting for nearly a quarter of total time spent on the Internet
    •    At over 53 billion total minutes during May 2011, Americans spend more time on Facebook than they do on any other website
    •    Tumblr is an emerging player in social media, nearly tripling its audience from a year ago
    •    Nearly 40 percent of social media users access social media content from their mobile phone
    •    Internet users over the age of 55 are driving the growth of social networking through the Mobile Internet
    •    70 percent of active online adult social networkers shop online, 12 percent more likely than the average adult Internet user
    •    Across a sample of 10 global markets, social networks and blogs are the top online destination in each country, accounting for the majority of time spent online and reaching at least 60 percent of active Internet users

To view the entire report click here.

The failure rate on new infomercials is estimated at 90%.  Ergo, only one in ten infomercials are commercial successes. 

Is this low success rate because of bad media?  Poor time slots, overpriced airtime, and the like?  Rarely. 

Almost always it’s the show.  The content.  And that can be anything from a product nobody wants, to a value proposition that fails to motivate, to poor scripting, lousy demonstrations, non-genuine testimonials… 

Somebody has a new mindle.  They love it.  They buy the company that makes the mindle.  Every home in America, no… in the world needs this fantastic product.  The marketing commences.  Wal-Mart won’t return calls.  Dozens of other retail channels yawn.  These idiots just can’t see the vision, the massive appeal this mindle would have with the right exposure.

Traditional channels have failed, so the owner and lover of the mindle decides to bypass all the distribution channels and go straight to the consumer.  After all, look how successful George Foreman was.

So 100 mindle lovers descend on television, and 90 limp away with lighter bank accounts.  It looked so easy when George Foreman did it.

There are several parallels in religious television.  Most people think it is simply about getting the right time slot.  But almost universally it’s primary to get the right content.  Make a program that people want to watch.  Speak to the issues that matter to the listener. 

Don’t assume that the same message that glows in the Sunday morning tribal gathering will wow a broader and largely disinterested television audience. 

Play small ball until you get the content right.  Test. Test. Test.  When you find the resonant combination, then go for more media exposure.

Content first.