In 1996, Cameron Crowe's Jerry Maguire took the movie industry by storm and became a global success with Tom Cruise earning a Best Actor nomination and Cuba Gooding Jr. winning Best Supporting Actor from the Academy Awards. Today the movie still remains popular because of its memorable quotes. In 2008, the American Film Institute (AFI) named Jerry Maguire the 10th best movie in the sports genre and one of the most quotable films of all-time. You are now probably asking yourself, what does any of this have to do with social media?
Here are 5 lessons we can learn from memorable Jerry Maguire quotes:
Bob Sugar: It's not show friends. Its show business.
The important take away for marketers from this quote is that when evaluating the success of your social media campaign, it is important to determine the level of engagement generated by your followers/connections. In the grand scheme of things, a small following of highly engaged users is more valuable than a large group of disinterested individuals.
Ray: D'you know that the human head weighs 8 pounds?
Jerry Maguire: Did you know that Troy Aikman, in only six years, has passed for 16,303 yards?
Ray: D'you know that bees and dogs can smell fear?
Jerry Maguire: Did you know that the career record for hits is 4,256 by Pete Rose who is NOT in the Hall of Fame?
Ray: D'you know that my next door neighbor has three rabbits?
Jerry Maguire: I... I can't compete with that!
What does this exchange have to do with using Twitter? First, every day millions of users are helping to make Twitter one of the most widely used search engines making it an untapped resource for identifying customers and prospects. You can learn more about finding customers/prospects via Twitter search here. Second, these items are exactly the type of things that you can expect to see tweeted by Guy Kawasaki on a daily basis.
Jerry Maguire: You complete me.
How can you not include this quote, outside of "Show me the Money!" this is the most memorable line in the movie. It is also an important reminder that it takes at least two willing people to have a conversation. The purpose of social media is to use these tools for finding like-minded individuals to share/converse and learn from. If you are going to participate, it is essential that you add value and help "complete" the community.
Marcee Tidwell: What do you stand for?
Dorothy: How about a little piece of integrity in this world that is so full of greed and a lack of honorability.
As mentioned above it is crucial to provide value as you engage with others but it is also imperative to be "real" - individuals want to connect with other people. If you are managing a brand/company profile, be sure to add in the personality of the brand/company and let your connections know that you are there to listen and respond to them. Take a play out of Rod Tidwell's playbook and become an ambassador of "quan" (his word for love, respect and community).
Jerry Maguire: Help me... help you. Help me, help you.
One of the best use cases for social media is to listen/monitor to the conversations about your company and its products and competitors. If done properly, you can gain a better understanding of the pain points of your customers/prospects and how to better serve them.
To conclude, Dicky Fox may have said it best - "Hey, I don't have all the answers. In life, to be honest, I failed as much as I have succeeded. But I love my wife. I love my life. And I wish you my kind of success."