Is Social Media the new snake oil?
Posted February 22, 2010 in General | Comments 0
A couple of years ago everyone in the web and ad industry witnessed the Facebook and Twitter explosion. That came on the heels of the LinkedIn revolution, which arrived shortly after Myspace rose to prominence.
Social Media was the new frontier, a great big golden opportunity for every brand. This hot new technology presented an opportunity for marketing professionals to recommend a new media channel for delivering targeted messaging directly to consumers. But much like any emerging media platform, the social media gold rush wasn’t without oversight.
Why the long face?
I don't dislike social media. It's actually quite the contrary. However a few high profile success stories of national brands leveraging social technologies was all that it took for what I am calling "The New Media Snake Oil" to invade the ad industry.
People are communicating on the internet, and advertisers will always look for ways to get in on that conversation (to monetize it and/or to listen in on what consumers are saying about their brands). My concern is that the increased emphasis on having a social web presence for every brand is simply unrealistic.
The band-wagon approach to social media undermines the benefits of a thoughtful media strategy. In other words, it is one thing to plan for an in-bound marketing campaign and it is entirely another to insist a client create a Facebook page "just because." Sadly, the latter is all too common. Without a reasonable evaluation of social media’s function within any brand’s marketing initiatives, we continue to run the risk of devaluing the entire platform.
Who has the keys?
Just because you establish a company presence on a social media channel, doesn’t mean your message is being accurately conveyed. Stakeholders need help identifying who will drive their online social initiatives. Social media is a form of Public Relations. To that end, would you feel confident handing your company's PR duties to an intern or to the account manager of your partner agency? How invested are these individuals in your brand, product or services? If we approach social media in this context we can begin to see how critical the management of this PR device becomes.
When Social Media is like Serving Alcohol at Taco Bell
Social media almost always sounds like a great idea, initially. Let’s consider the Facebook example once again. After a client has been convinced to create a Facebook, some important questions arise:
Who will manage it?
What sort of compelling information will be available on the page?
How do you intend to add value to your Facebook directives?
Where is your audience?
Do you have the infrastructure to provide timely updates?
Is your content worthy of sharing in the first place?
Niche marketing and Social Media are NOT interchangeable
If you have the ability to segment your marketing efforts to a particular sector of your audience, social media can be a great tool to leverage a niche market. But it is not a silver bullet. Your brand needs to identify where its customers are. This might mean deciding against a Twitter account, or opting against creating a YouTube channel (depending on the habits of your audience). If you frame social media as a dialogue between your audience, brand and customer habits you have a better chance of establishing a conversation. But if you aren't prepared to lead this conversation (and continue to foster it) you should reevaluate your motives for leveraging social media in the first place. It is often times better to not have a social media presence, than to have one with no audience at all.
Other Resources
Mashable: Social Media Is Not For Everyone
When Not To Use Social Media
Most Common Social Media Mistakes
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