Editor's Note: Mikal Belicove's recent post Five Lies About Social Media Marketing generated a lively debate among our readers. The following is a guest post written in rebuttal.
Earlier this week, Mikal Belicove published a well-written but misguided article entitled "Five Lies About Social Media Marketing." While several of his suggestions may be useful for marketers in certain limited situations, most of these social media "lies" are, in fact, truths.
- Size matters. It just does. Much like the size of a company's email list has obvious importance to a brand, so does the distribution a brand has on Facebook. Of course, quality of userbase is of utmost importance. Having a large, engaged group of self-identified "fans" or "followers" on Facebook represents a highly valuable distribution channel. Take, for example, American Express. They have over 2 million Facebook fans, or 2 million people to whom they can deliver customer service, notify about new offers and engage with on a recurring basis.
Ultimately, social media is about sharing, and sharing to a vacuum is useless. The more people signing up to view your message, the more likely you'll be able to effectively cultivate and monetize these relationships.
- The medium is the message. The medium is completely tied to the message in social media -- the two are inextricably linked. This isn't an issue of substituting technology in place of relevant brand messaging. Rather, this amazing "new media" (we'll get to that point later) has given brands and marketers an opportunity to position their products and messaging in a unique way. The best brands are doing a phenomenal job of seamlessly integrating the two, and the best and largest platform, Facebook, is working tirelessly to empower brands in every way possible. (Check out facebook.com/marketing, facebook-studio.com, and Facebook communities like Clinique, Starbucks, Audi and American Express.)
- Social media gurus really do exist. They certainly do. I'd qualify many of the talented social-media marketers and Facebook employees I've interacted with as social media gurus. And if you need names, consider Gary Vaynerchuck from Wine Library TV and Nick O'Neill from AllFacebook.com. If you're suggesting that too many people are trying to own the title of social media guru, then I can agree with that. However, there are incredibly bright people innovating within social media. Consider these folks; they're gurus and worth engaging with.
- Social media is 'new' media. Yes, textbook-marketing principles (the 4 P's, Porter's 5 Forces, etc.) are still the backbone of brand marketing, and still hold significant weight today -- as they should. However, the past few years have proven that certain traditional forms of marketing and advertising are yielding way to this wild and crazy "new media" (see the magazine, newspaper and radio industries for more info.) The best social-media marketers are expertly displaying the basics of marketing and their corporate goals within this "new media" -- be it with likes, hashtags or check-ins.
- Social media can be effectively outsourced to a PR firm. If you want to qualify that statement by saying that hiring a PR firm doesn't necessarily equal social-media success, then I would agree. However, there are many PR firms and social-media agencies that consistently make sure they understand a client's values and goals before publishing to the social-media ecosystem on their behalf. We really like what Rockfish Interactive is doing Bicycle Playing Cards, for instance. Rockfish, a digital-marketing agency that's based in Rogers, Ark., recently helped the 143 year-old playing-card maker relaunch its online social presence on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. These firms are doing amazing things to harness the power of social media for their clients.
-- Greg Lieber is the vice president of business development at GraphEffect, a Facebook advertising platform for brands and agencies based in Santa Monica, Calif.
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Comments:
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I know about the social media marketing and how it works, but not aware from these all points that you have posted over here, social media marketing is really best for the increasing our companies market value and visitors. social media marketing for higher education
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Yes it isa great source if used effectively.
Since many people use social networks to online businesses. So they have to take care of some points. Similar products launched in social networks is a quality product and helpful to people. For advertising product that will make a conversation with people at the customer-friendly language. The vendors see the market online customer demand, problems and questions. Organization of companies using social sites to many SEO companies as well. SEO Company India
As there are many people use social sites for online business. So they have to take care about some points. Like product which they launch on social sites is quality product and useful for people. For advertising of product they will make conversation with people so do it in customer friendly language. Marketers observe the online market about customer demand, problems and many issues. Many business organisation use social sites for business as SEO also. seo link building
All in all I think this is a great rebuttal besides your first point. But out of those two million people, how many of them are really actively following them? If I have a problem with American Express, I am not going to solve it by posting a comment on Facebook. To actually get something solved I will call/email their customer support staff. New offers? With the average post only lasting about 30min on Twitter, how many of the 2 million active users actually saw the “New Offers”? I commented on the Five Lies About Social Media Marketing “As a local party promoter I know all to well that just because I have 1,000 people saying that they are attending my Facebook event does not actually mean all 1,000 people will actually show up.” The bigger the number is only important when executing reminder advertising while under a branding strategy. It is a shot gun approach to marketing. If you shoot at everything you are bound to hit something. At chatmeter.com, we think social media is a great way to brand your image and to create your reputation. You just have to monitor your spend the time to actively form your on-line presence
The so called media gurus & media representatives are agents of social networking sites, they are just here as spokesperson of an organization. Often big organizations are required to spend a lot on marketing blitz unlike Google (Google was little different they claimed they are here to make money by selling anything they can sell, others claimed more as social media rather than a business entity but both aims same). Instead doing any social work to uplift the society they started working for GOVT agencies to control the voice of people to manupulate the social movements rather than support the social movements or for big organizatins just to make money as well as to show the private organizations strength & nature (to escape the control of Public Representatives). Till now the marketing platform was "other media tools, TV Networks, Newspapers etc.", now they are trying to sell themselves via so called "Social Network plateform" to capture the market as well as to reach new class of market. But are they really here for society it doesn't look alike. They are here for more means of corrupting the society rather than really any benefit to society & we are using the same more a like addict & this addiction is costing a lot; time, money, unproductivity & social corruption. It's very difficult to realize the same (not really people have started saying so), we understand the things but accepting the same it takes time.
Size Matters? (At the risk of repeating myself...) Are we still counting hits too? It is very possible to have a high number of fans/followers and no one is listening. To equate size to quality and engagement is a myth that needs to be squashed already. I'd also like to add that "Textbook-marketing principles (the 4 P's, Porter's 5 Forces, etc.) are still the backbone of brand marketing" should have gotten its own bullet point. Being comfortable using social media is not the same as understanding marketing. At what point did these two get confused? (At the risk of repeating myself, again...) I know plenty of toddlers who know how to swing a hammer. But that doesn't mean I'd hire them to build me a house. Finally, nothing about measurement and analytics? Certainly, there's more to it than size, eh? Pardon my sarcasm but this is the type of fluff I expect to find on Mashable, not Entrepreneur. Yes, there are social media gurus. Hopefully next time we'll get that level of insight.
Thank you. Great rebuttal, and some well thought out points.
I wrote an opinion on the discussion on my blog at http://biggerthanthewidget.com/2011/07/29/one-truth-social-media-is-real/. It ried to find the trackback address for the site, but could not...sorry. If interested in perhaps a new slant on the discussion...please check out the post...thanks!
I agree with a lot of the comments here. The one thing I have noticed is the examples that many use to make a case. American Express does have a lot of "followers" or "fans", and that fan base is a great audience at your fingertips for many opportunities. The reality is, 99.9% of "regular" companies are not even close. To me, it comes down to this: There are many more people out there in the world "searching" for what I do. A lot more than I can build in some form of a network. I don't care necessarily about fans, I care about distributing content through social media in a strategic way that is going to get me "found" by those searching for what I do. That's it. I think many are missing that point.
Two things about this article 1. Social Media is one of the 3 major evils polluting our world these days. What ever happened to "reach out and touch someone." Takes all of the P out of PR. 2. ANYONE who claims to be any sort of a "guru" needs to go take a long walk off a short bridge while trying to fly a kite with a hole in it. It would be time well spent compared to what you call a career. All Guru's are self proclaimed. What does one need to do in order to qualify as a guru? Additionally, Social media guru's are the worst of the worst. You are a college educated professional and this is the field you decide to go into? You spend 4 years getting a higher education, and you chose to be an expert at "googling?" Complete waste of skin. If you have ever claimed to be a "guru" at any point in your professional career, and you are reading this comment, consider yourself part of the "over population."
Well put. There is a lot of "blah blah blah" out there and this puts the matter in context and perspective.
very informative
Great article! I'm always bothered by the people who claim to be "gurus" - there are far too many who claim the title, but there are most definitely some who are deserving. Small (and large) businesses can definitely benefit from using social media, but it should always be just a part of an integrated marketing plan. At least once a week I have a business owner tell me that they are no longer going to have a website because they're just going to have a Facebook Page. I remind them that they don't "own" their Page - they could log in tomorrow and it's gone, changed, etc. Finally, while I am a proponent of someone doing their own posts (for authenticity) rather than hiring it out, if it means hiring it out or not doing it at all, then hire it out! Good agencies are able to post in a way that truly makes it seem like the business itself is doing the posting.
I think the number of successful campaigns would surprise many of us. There are countless examples of truly small, local businesses that have engaged in a Groupon or livingsocial discount, then redirect to one of the social media platforms, who then saw a near immediate spike in sales and quite possibly now have loyal customers/followers for a very long time. (that's what i've been told by my nephew who is a first year marketing major... and the parents on my kids' soccer team) ; ) Granted, I dont think the guy with the yard sign stating that he can get me 1st page SEO results on google is a Social Media Guru, but what do I care what he calls himself? If the goal of the original article was to debunk certain purported absolutes, then perpetuating other absolutes probably isn't constructive either.
Totally agree. When we try to develop new business at my agency, we often hear something along the lines of "Oh but I already have my nephew doing my social media for me. He's a freshman studying marketing you know."
You take the original, well-written and thoughtful article out of context for most of your commentary. While you make a few decent points, they are not contrary to the tone or content of the original. Give readers some credit. Articles like this are why there's so much snake oil being traded in this space. 1. Size matters to an extent, but so does quality. You can buy/build worthless lists that only feign productivity to your client and their objectives. Quality matters as much as quantity. 2. The message is the message.However, that message should be custom-tailored to the medium that is used, leveraging its strengths. 3. The do exist. But they don't refer to themselves as gurus. The real ones don't have to. 4. I don't understand this argument. The real schism is between people who "build" the tools and those who "use" the tools. Label it what you want though... 5. Both articles are valid here. You just need to be sure the person representing you online is professional and knows what they're doing. Social media is permanent. Rule of thumb: Don't entrust your social engagement to someone you wouldn't allow to draft a press release. Just my two cents... In the end, neither article is "right" or "wrong." All social media plans are relative to the needs and objectives of a given organization. There are "best practices" but there are not formulas.
I agree that many people try to posit themselves as gurus. However, I think that the casualness of social media gives the impression that it is a different form of marketing and doesn't require a PR firm. Unlike television commercials, many employees participate in social media in their personal lives and feel that they are capable of promoting the business through Facebook and such. But, don't let the casualness, the everyman-ness, the easiness fool you into thinking that a social media advertising campaign does not require a professional. For small businesses, social media removes many barriers to entry, but it can still be worthwhile to hire a professional PR firm. This is your business, after all, not your kid's soccer game.
Agreed. I think the key to success for the smaller companies is understanding their goals and and expectations and being clear as to where their customers and constituent groups are before investing in specific online channels. Traditional forms of marketing sometimes are the better investment.
The problem with this rebuttal is only a handful of companies have a successful campaign compared to the amount that don't - American Express has the budget the size of a small countries GDP, so do Dell, Nike and so forth. There is no point quoting them because the average company that isn't multinational with a huge bank roll just doesn't have the success. With regard to Guru's - the Lies article was right there are far too many companies learning on the job and far too few experts. The truth still remains for most companies if you put your social media budget into more traditional forms of marketing your comparable ROI would be much greater.