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Social media simplicity

October 12th, 2008 by mhjones

Amid all the economic commentary, there’s a quiet murmur among digital media and social networking people. Will the bad times hit the marketing and tech industry’s brightest light and snuff it out?

What’s clear to me is that the return to economic fundamentals will rub off on everything else. In tech, media and marketing circles, that means a flight to quality companies, quality products, and the radical pursuit of simplicity.

So it’s incumbent on the digital media industry to clearly articulate the social media value proposition. I think we need less talk about social media theory, less industry obsession with jargon and the wow factor, and more focus on real results achieved by companies using social media.

I’ve been conducting some research for more speaking engagements coming up, such as this one at the Financial Planners Conference. And I found myself getting lost in a thousand different theories about where it was all going. After clearing my head, I realised we need to get back to basics.

Social media, or whatever you want to call it, represents a fundamental shift in how we understand and use digital media to communicate.

In the same way the world faces a new economic reality, most of the corporate world still needs to discover the new communications reality. Yes, it’s so-called two-way model of communications and conversation. Most of us get that. What we need now are more success stories that prove the theory.

So I smiled when I stumbled across this video from Microsoft (of all companies!). If you still don’t “get it,” try watching this for a funny insight into a profound disconnect I hope many companies will avoid in the months ahead.

Tagged: Marketing, Social media
Comments: 9 Comments »

9 Responses to “Social media simplicity”

  1. Gavin Costello Says:
    October 13th, 2008 at 8:15 pm

    Hi Mark
    Insightful article – as usual. I agree with your point about talk. I use the term ‘filling a vacuum’ to describe the harebrained ideas I’ve heard about Products over the years when there is no defined strategy or Product Plan with defined delivery dates. I’m guessing some of this talk is filling the vacuum about Social Media Strategies as well as Advertising.
    I’ve experienced in the past that when there is money floating around, there is always plenty for the conferences and the forums with the requirement for achievable outcomes not followed up on. Perhaps now that things are about to get VERY tight, some of that money will – even when spent on those conferences – be better targetted to get results. I hope that means that you and your peers (many of whom I follow on the social net) will be hired to assist those outcomes, though I suspect in many cases, those outcomes will need to determined ‘internally’.
    I spent a year listening and participating in fluff about strategies in a specific space – actually the one referred to in the ad – with no guiding light in place, it is a very frustrating place to be. Again I hope the current economic climate focuses people on the guiding light and the outcome includes a more positive customer experience for all.
    Regards
    @franksting

  2. franksting.com » Blog Archive » A comment on the Filtered Media Site Says:
    October 13th, 2008 at 8:35 pm

    [...] very interesting Blog Post about Social Media and all the chatter which appears to go on around it here. He made a very good comment about focusing on actual results rather than jargon and [...]

  3. Kate Carruthers Says:
    October 14th, 2008 at 7:28 pm

    Very true – seems like social media will actually have to grown up and start to care about stuff like revenue & profit instead of just rabbiting on about engagement, etc (which reminds me of the ‘eyeballs’ talked about in the dot com era).

  4. MaryAnne Fisher Says:
    October 16th, 2008 at 3:45 am

    Your insightful “show me the money” point is well-taken, well-made and well-illustrated in the video. :-D

    Savvy marketers understand that the only way to determine the value of social media marketing is by testing, tracking and gauging the outcome of their efforts. In the end, it’s only the results that matter as defined by both increased profitability AND consumer loyalty.

  5. Katie Harris Says:
    October 16th, 2008 at 8:38 pm

    “In the same way the world faces a new economic reality, most of the corporate world still needs to discover the new communications reality. ”

    Yes, yes, yes. And actually, I think it’s even more than that. I think the new communications reality (and in many cases, the shift of power to the people/customer) is going to shake down to the very core of how businesses behave. It’ll change the way business in done in a radical ways.

  6. Iggy Pintado Says:
    October 20th, 2008 at 11:21 am

    Insightful thinking. I strongly believe that we’re missing the point of social media if we keep referring to it as “..communication and conversation” – it’s much, much more than that. My view is that future business will be less about a “process” of constant communication and more about the degree and types of RELATIONAL INTERACTION between vendor and supplier. I firmly believe that more human factors which we have known to be part of the “relationship” mix will come into play as we move to greater business “connectedness”. Businesses MUST find a way to CONNECT with their prospects/customers through a mutually acceptable two-way interaction platform. My view is that future successful businesses will be more about the business finding a way to relate to the prospect via some kind of social, business and/or human connection.

    My simple example is if I want to sell or market a product or service to you, Mark Jones, I need to do my research on Mark Jones – not the market segment some research company profiled you in. How? It can be as simple as googling you and finding out who you are, where you work, what’s your expertise, what are your interests and what do you talk about – all of which is contained on your company website. I can then hunt down more facts about you on Linkedin (facts because YOU wrote them) and some social stuff on Facebook. Once I meet and “befriend” you – as you’ll be my customer – I can then invite you to connect with me via an online network. I can stay connected to you and your visible connections where I can learn more about you through them and, potentially even sell or market my products and services to them.

    The cynics argue that this isn’t feasible in big markets due to volume of customers. I argue that if every business knew their top 100 customers in this way, they stand a better chance of retaining them longer.

    Finally, I think the best salesman in the world today is Barack Obama. As at today, he is the 19th most Linkedin individual (out of 26 million senior business professionals globally), has just shy of 2.2 million Facebook friends and over 105,000 Twitter followers. Bear in mind that all these connections opted in. The results? He’s 11 points ahead of his competitor in the latest polls two weeks before decision date.

    His campaign team know that the web provides the unique opportunity to interact with their constituents in the way they choose to do so. Similarly, businesses who have a tight social/business/human relationship with their customers will be best positioned to acquire, winback and retain those customers over a longer period of time.

  7. Gavin Heaton Says:
    October 23rd, 2008 at 12:46 pm

    I agree with Iggy. Social media is the future of how our brand interactions will take place. In fact, the distinctions between the on and offline world will no longer be relevant … with businesses needing to focus more on the inherent trust and reputation networks that social media enables. Without understanding that this is a change in human behaviour, brands, advertisers and marketers will find themselves irrelevant in this new age of conversation.

  8. Kimota Says:
    February 2nd, 2009 at 1:04 pm

    I agree wholeheartedly. Social media needs to stop playing and start actually achieving results.

    We all love talking up the benefits of twitter and blogging and facebook as we justify our hours spent on these activities in the name of ‘marketing’, but how many people have measured an ROI from Twitter? (I think Dell has, but that’s it). How many businesses have cracked Facebook marketing in a way that CEOs and Directors can appreciate?

    Like it or not, 2009 will see some marketing budgets contract and as often happens when economies shrink, creativity and risk-taking disappears.

    This means businesses will be more hesitant about online strategies that are not directly measurable, low in risk and strongly linked to conversions and sales. And that makes it harder for social media evangelists.

    I agree that in the future, social media will be everything; the TVC will be consigned to dust and one-way marketing conversations will be considered rude. But I don’t think 2009 will be the year this happens unless, as Mark suggests, we strip everything back and can provide a simple, black and white ROI formula for social media success.

  9. Seo Melbourne Says:
    October 8th, 2009 at 8:15 pm

    I have has serveral SMO consultants approach me over the past few months for referral work. Most have come from advertising agencies and branched out into social media. At the moment clients are holding back investing in social media camapigns as the roi is far from guaranteed. I think over the next few years, that there will be some proven strategies will be in place that will help create strategies that work.

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