“They should just put them all in a field and let them duke it out” was often an English man’s solution to the political problems in Northern Ireland in the ‘90s. “Just kick the Brits out” would have been the rhetoric from a New Yorker when sharing a drink in a Manhattan bar.

The problem was much more complex.  To understand Northern Ireland, you just had to live here and as a native, you knew that the outsiders just didn’t understand the culture and complexity of the solution needed.

There is a sculpture  in Northern Ireland’s second city, Derry.  It is called ‘Hands Across The Divide’ and it illustrates the change in Northern Ireland’s culture.  It symbolises how politics has moved from a shouting monologue to an engaging dialogue.  The sculpture shows the need to reach out and understand the differences in culture.

Deploying an online marketing strategy for an organisation is a lot like ‘The Divide’.  There is a temptation to use monologue techniques and try and advertise your thoughts, opinions and prices. This technique fails as it did in the old politics in Northern Ireland.   There is a temptation to think your message is all that counts and that everyone should listen.  There is a temptation to use traditional marketing speak and convince others that your products or services are worth their attention.  This is not the culture of new marketing.

New marketing, like the statue depicts is about understanding, listening and engaging.  It is about talking to your followers in their language and convincing them that you are worth engaging with, by respecting the culture of online marketing and showing some understanding. This cultural understanding can’t be taught.  To  truly understand the online conversation you need to get immersed in it and live it!

Hands Across the Divide in Derry.