Boo! What Is Your Scariest Thought About Social Media?
10/31/2011
The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown. ~ H. P. Lovecraft, Author
How are you learing about social media? Perhaps through books, conferences or workshops. Just as valuable is the way knowledge was transferred when blogs hit the business scene .. from peer-to-peer in online discussions.
Just Once Crowd Sourced Question is a Diva Marketing series where the community shares their insights on a specific social media issue. In doing that, we can help alleviate some of the scary fears. In celebration of Halloween ..
Just One Crowd Sourced Question
- What is your scariest thought on how brands or agencies are using any aspect of social media/social networks?
One of the scariest things I see is too many "brand" witches around the social media kettle. Each with a different opinion and no common, customer-centric vision to unite them.
So they disagree and waste time and money chasing warts, I mean likes, fans friends and followers instead business outcomes. In the confusion, the "social media expert" gets paid to maintain the status quo. Now that's scary. Muahahahaha ~ Lee Odden, Top Ranking Blog @LeeOdden
Businesses should focus on the model and how they trade: What do they need to start doing more, and what do they need to stop doing? Conversation is a way to draw out the model and build the promise architecture to trade. The scariest thought, therefore, is that businesses are asking precisely the *wrong* question.
Technology needs to be viewed in light of the business model. Entire industries are being disrupted and organizations are still hiring people to be in charge of Twitter and Facebook -- this is what is truly scary. ~ Valeria Maltoni, Principal, Conversation Agent LLC @ConversationAge
Biggest scare: when brands or orgs jump into social media because they "should" an without a coherent strategy for connecting existing goals to their social media efforts. ~ Hillary Boucher, BirthSwell @hillaryboucher
Scariest thought is how so many PR practitioners use social media in impersonal and ineffective ways yet believing they're doing it well. That is worse that those who just don't get it at all.~ Neville Hobson, NevilleHobson.com @jangles
I've heard of people who have been involved in cases of mistaken identity as a result of social search. In other words, they had "digital doppelgangers" -- people who share their name. Doesn't sound too dangerous, until one of those people is a murderer or was charged with fraud.
Organizations need to be careful not to assume a simple Google search always results in learning the correct information about the person in question! On the flip side, individuals need to seize control of their names online by creating profiles and digital presences to overcome negative digital doppelganger results! ~ Miriam Salpeter, Keppie Careers,@Keppie_Careers
Scariets thought is having content stolen and being misrepresented. ~ Toby Neal, TobyNeal.net @tobywneal
YouTube - advertising there is getting more and more cluttered and scary. ~ Jake Aull, Zen of Digital Brand @JackAull
My scariest thought: brands assuming social is just another direct response channel and missing out on the opportunity to create a relationship with some of the brand's most valuable customers. My second scariest thought: assuming everyone who has liked or followed the brand is a valuable customer and thus offering richer discounts than those who have raised their hand and shared their information.
Don't forget to connect the dots back to the customer database, so while you are creating great relationships you can also make sound business decisions around discounting and rewards. ~ Teresa Caro, [r]Dialogue @teresacaro
Toby, I think my scariest thought is that brands start developing content in social media, without having a backup plan and the people to support and respond to any crisis that will happen. ~ Anon
Mass Following on Twitter -I get scared when a company skips the process of vetting and actually reading the profiles of the people they follow and opt to use tools that let them follow massive numbers of people. Your followers are about quality not quantity people! ~ Natalie MacNeil, She Takes on the World @NatalieMacNeil
Scariest thought? That they're not listening. And that they think how they did business in 2005 is the same as 2011. ~ Anon
My scariest thought is that brands (and agencies) are jumping into social media with no forethought, planning or strategy. Because so many of the tools are free -- they are not giving them the "respect" they would offer traditional marketing tools/efforts. The outcome of that is, of course, their efforts fall flat and then they declare that social media is not right for their business.
This is particularly worrisome for the small business owner who could reap all the benefits if they just took the time to learn/think it through before jumping in. ~Drew McLellan Drew's Marketing Minute @DrewMcLellan
Toss of a pink boa to the people who generously shared their thoughts.
It's your turn! Let's continue the learnings. What is your scariest thought about social media?
Read More Just One Crowd Sourced Questions
How Do You Build B2B Relationships Using Social Media?
How Do You Take The Fear Factor Out of Social Media?
How Do You Put Soul Into A Blog Post?
Why Don't People Get Social Media Is Not A Private Conversation?
