Is Social Media A Conversation Hoax?
04/07/2010
On April 1st I had the pleasure of speaking at the American Marketing Association Charleston Chapter's luncheon about social media marketing. (Wow say that fast .. American Marketing Association Charleston Chapter's luncheon!)
I've been writing Diva Marketing for almost 6 years, and must admit I've taken a sip .. well maybe 3 or 4, of the social media kool aid. So when Kara Neureuther, the AMA/Charleston program chair, asked me me to approach the topic from the view of building trust and relationships it seemed like a great idea. However, since it was April Fool's Day I thought it would be fun to take an opposing position and began with a quote from the Godfather.
- This is business not personal.
Then I'd bring it back with a 'gotcha' .. explain that the Godfather was wrong .. dead wrong .. business is personal and social media helps build those relationships.
However, the more I thought about this social media thing, the more I began to realized that so much of social media is Never about the personal but about the messaging. For many marketers the social web is nothing more but a new channel to reach more eye balls.
And oh by the way, there is this highly coveted thing called buzz. What is buzz? It's a way for you to use your brand fans, your best customers, your brand champions to bring your carefully crafted messages to their friends. So wrong .. the blather of marketing messages posted on social networks like Facebook or Twitter are conversational hoaxes.
Conversation Hoax 1: People don't pass along messages to their friends. They talk about what is important to them. They talk about feelings. They talk about how your brand brings value (or frustration) to their lives. They talk about cool and relevant.
Conversation Hoax 2: Buzz alone does not make the cash register ring. If the product/service is off target the conversation is a hoax. I was talking with a smart women with great traditional marketing credentials. She was confused why a campaign, that pulled a huge number of social media 'impressions', was lack lusher in conversions. Wrong offer? Wrong 'influencers?' Wrong timing? More analysis needed.
Conversational Hoax 3: What do you see as social media conversational hoaxes?
Thanks to AMA/Charleston for their gracious hospitality .. as promised here's the April Fools Day deck!
