Social Media Is NOT Advertising

I have seen a few things in this crazy world we call marketing and I've seen a few things - some great and some not-so-great. However, with the advent of social media, I have seen a series of trends that I find truly disturbing: over- or underestimating social media's importance. In the interest of preventing future egregious mistakes, here are some things to keep in mind as you pursue Web 2.0.

Scary Trend #1 - Not Giving Social Media Enough Credit.
While I think it's great that many companies are jumping into the social media fray, there are some who think that social media is "for the kids," so they underestimate its importance as a communication tool. They hand over the social media reigns to an intern in order to give him/her some "busy work," rather than realizing the ramifications of a social media strategy that is not carefully planned. If you're going to incorporate social media into your marketing campaign, do so deliberately. Don't blow it off or do it halfway.

Scary Trend #2 - Giving Social Media Entirely Too Much Credit.
Some companies (and I'm not naming names!) have decided that since social media is so popular, it should take the place of an integrated communications strategy. They eliminate the rest of their marketing plan and hire a social media guru to do what an entire marketing department has not been able to do, thus setting up said guru for failure. Social media is merely one tool in your arsenal, but it does not take the place of an integrated strategy.

Scary Trend #3 - Too Much To Soon
If you're at all active in social media, you know this scenario all too well: you start following a company on a social media site because you like the brand. Next thing you know, you're bombarded with promotional messages, product information, and generic messages, much like getting stuck in the corner at a party, talking to some blowhard who only wants to talk about himself. If you don't want to engage your customers in a dialog, then skip social media and buy some spots, already. Take it slow, okay?

Comments

[James0]

I totally agree. With social media, you've got to give people what they want to see. Bombarding people with promotional messages is hardly what they want. For example, it wouldn't work at all to try to promote your company in an online video by just saying how cool you think you are. A video your business puts on YouTube, AdWido, and Vimeo should be something fun, something people will want to share with others.

[Julie Tyios]

Great info! Social media is important, there's no doubt about that, but I've noticed a lot of companies just don't know how to use it properly. It shouldn't be used like a traditional advertising medium; social media is about outreach and connecting.

Social media opens up a whole new world for companies to connect to and chat with current and potential customers. That kind of feedback could cost companies thousands or even millions in traditional audits, but it's free and easily accessible through social media. I think more and more companies (and people) are picking up on the possibilities - I can't wait to see how the very nature of communication continues to evolve in the future.

[@MeganMcQ]

Hey Sara,

Great post!

I especially agree with you that companies try to implement too much too soon with social media. The most important element of any SM campaign is to listen to their online constituencies and build a comprehensive campaign that most effectively reaches their communication goals and reinforces their messages. We should do everything in our power to help companies build quality communication on SM, not a quantity of communication.