The Trick.ly Promotion

I just saw this from Seth Godin about a url shortener called trick.ly:

You can share a URL but hide it behind a question that only insiders can easily answer.

So, for example, you could tweet, “Here’s the source for my world-class chili: http://trick.ly/2L5”. Anyone can go there, but only people who can figure out the clue can discover the site you were pointing to.

But what caught my eye, is I had to scrounge for the answer. I had to goto his website and hunt for the result. I was hooked.

  • Can this be done in a facebook or twitter promo?
  • Can you use it to have people scouring through a clients website for an answer?
  • Can you engage your audience with it?
  • Can the hint have you listen for something at a specific time?

Yup.

I can think of several ways that this particular service can be repurposed to have fun with.

What can you come up with? I’d love to here them.

21 Rules For Engagement. (Period)

  1. Discover all relevant communities of interest and observe the choices, challenges, impressions, and wants of the people within each network.
  2. Don?t just participate solely in your own domains [get off the airwaves]. Participate where your presence is advantageous and mandatory.
  3. Determine the identity, character, and personality of the [stations] and match it to the persona of the individuals representing [the listener].
  4. Establish a point of contact who is ultimately responsible for identifying, trafficking, or responding to all things that can affect [station] perception.
  5. As in customer service, representatives require training to learn how to proactively and reactively respond across multiple scenarios. Don?t just [pass the buck]
  6. Embody the attributes you wish to portray and instill. Operate by a code of conduct.
  7. Observe the behavioral cultures within each network and adjust your outreach accordingly.
  8. Assess pain points, frustrations, and also those of contentment in order to establish meaningful connections.
  9. Become a true participant in each community you wish to activate. Move beyond marketing and sales.
  10. Don?t speak at audiences through canned messages. Introduce value, insight and direction with each engagement.
  11. Empower your representatives to offer rewards and resolutions in times of need.
  12. Don?t just listen and placate ? act. Do something.
  13. Ensure that any external activities are supported by a comprehensive infrastructure to address situations and adapt to market conditions and demands.
  14. Learn from each engagement and provide a path within the company to adapt and improve products and services.
  15. Consistently create, contribute, and reinforce service and value.
  16. Earn connections through collaboration and empower advocacy.
  17. Don?t get lost in translation. Ensure your communication and intent is clear and that your involvement maps to [your] objectives.
  18. Establish and nurture beneficial relationships online and in the real world as long as doing so is important to your business.
  19. ?Un-campaign? and create ongoing programs that keep you connected to day-to-day engagement.
  20. ?Un-market? by becoming a resource to your communities.
  21. Give back, reciprocate, and recognize notable contributions from participants in your communities.

Would it surprise you to know that these were rules created for “social media”? Read the difference.

Nuff said.