Marketer's Lab

The Guru Glut

My unofficial estimates indicate there are now only three marketing people on Earth who are not claiming to be social media experts.  Surprised?  Shocked?  Think the number might be lower?  This scale of expertise explosion hasn't been seen since the 90's when everyone went "interactive" overnight.

Why get all spun up about marketers, well... marketing?  Social media (however you define it) is clearly the hot domain in the world of marketing, what's wrong with tapping into that energy?  A good marketer would be crazy to see what's going on in social media and not want to be part of it. 

One big concern is potential for "hucksterism".  The early days of search were notorious for a surplus of sketchy search specialists promising impossible results and commanding premium rates.  As things played out over time it created backlash for legitimate search firms and tarnished the search industry for a time.  Maybe the land grab mentality and subsequent winnowing is inevitable, but for those of us committed to social media for the long-haul, we should remember the lessons learned from search.  

Another side-effect of the expertise surplus is what I like to call Master-Of-The-Obvious-Syndrome.  You know what I'm talking about, "experts" sharing common knowledge basics as groundbreaking thought leadership.  Don't get me wrong, I understand there's a continuum of understanding about social media, many are just getting started or need to revisit social media essentials, but much of the content I see is short in value-add department.       

Of course the very nature of social media is the value of the collective conversation.  Even with everyone jockeying to out-guru everyone else, some rehashing basic ideas and syndicating, aggregating and propagating, there is an astoundingly rich body of material to draw upon.  I learn something new every day and am continually amazed by some of the brilliant minds at work in this space.   

The cream does rise to the top in social media and there's certainly no shame in aspiring to claim a piece of the social media thought leadership pie, but we should all try to keep the content bar as high as we can manage. 

Lastly, speaking of keeping the intellectual bar high, this profound piece of wisdom from The Incredibles came to mind.  When everyone is a social media expert, no one is.

Do As I Say...

Is your doctor fat?  Is that same doctor espousing the virtues and benefits of a healthy lifestyle?  Is your agency pitching the values of social media but not actively utilizing social media to build their own businesses?  Apparently, that's exactly what's going on according to a recent RSW/US survey referenced in this AdWeek piece.  It seems agencies are in the same mode as many other businesses, falling into the common pattern of setting up presence on key social media platforms, but not actively participating on a consistent basis.

Social media is relentless, an always-on, 24/7/365 campaign.  It requires a steady stream of content and a level of participation that demonstrates you're an active part of the community.  Given all that, it's not surprising almost every business is struggling to figure out exactly how to tap into the benefits of social media without getting pulled into a resource-sucking social media black hole.  What was surprising to me was how many agencies are still struggling to fully embrace social media channels and tactics. 

"RSW/US (sponsors of the survey) president Mark Sneider attributed the respondents' limited engagement in social media to laziness and a lack of time."  I think Mark is probably right on the money with his assessment, which I would venture can also be applied to most businesses beyond the agency world.  If the ROI for use of social media was obviously equal to or greater than other channels, social media would be much more actively used by agencies.  At this point it seems clear even the "experts" are still tinkering with social media and working to figure out how to make it work. 

This research drives home a couple key points for me.  First, whether they've figured it out or not, agencies offering any social media services themselves need to be leading by example.  Like the fat doctor, I'm a little suspect of anyone who doesn't take their own advice.  Lastly, the exciting part of all this is it demonstrates social media is still a new, vibrant and emerging space.  Who wants to work in a medium where every tactic is known and everything has been broken down into a formula?  Social media is where the action is, personally I'm glad we all still have a lot to figure out. 

It's Not About Engagement

Engagement.  I can barely hear the word engagement spoken by any marketing/PR/agency type without rolling my eyes.  "It's all about engagement, dialog, interacting in new ways with consumers."  (generic composite quote from Social Media experts, stated with a slightly condescending tone).  We all "get" what the gurus are saying, of course Social Media provides new opportunities to engage interact with clients, prospects and peers.  The thing is, engagement isn't the end-game, it's the raw material from which meaningful business outcomes can be developed.

One of the most useful little nuggets of wisdom that has stuck in my mind over the years is the phrase "Begin with the end in mind". This idea is especially helpful when it comes to developing a concise Social Media strategy.  Social Media (SM) is capable of generating leads, improving customer experiences, enhancing brand visibility and creating or deepening relationships.  Certainly not an all-inclusive list of what SM can be used for, but a handful of the major categories most organizations are focused on. 

While all the above mentioned items are equally worthy, and not mutually exclusive BTW, they each require a different array of tools, resources and approaches.  What I see frequently is marketers who have thrown their hat into the SM ring, but are not focused on specific outcomes or clearly defined priorities.  I need to be careful not to speak in absolutes here, there are plenty of Social Media-savvy marketers out there doing wonderful and amazing things.  That said, my thoughts are validated by the recent Social Media Benchmark Report from Business.com which confirms many marketers are "dabbling" in Social Media, in the game but still working to figure things out.

I am a huge fan of dabbling, but dabbling with purpose.  Think of engagement as fire, it can be used for heat, light or internal combustion to propel your SUV, but without any forethought on purpose you're likely to end up with nothing more than smoke.      

 

Twitter-scape, Twitter-sphere, Twitter-verse, Twitter-iffic

My last post, quite a while ago (ahem), covered my entree to the world of Twitter.  I was, and continue to be, appropriately suspect of the hype around Twitter and all the Social Media "stuff" out there promising great and wonderful things for marketers.  Overall, I'm much more of a believer in Twitter now.  I thought it might be helpful to share some of my early thoughts and experiences.   

Practice "monogamiscuity" - No, this is not a Bush-ism for a youth health program, but a word that captures the essence of what has worked well so far for me in the Twitter-sphere.  (Stephen Colbert, you're free to run with this one).  The idea is to follow selectively, but follow many.  By casting a wider, but still discerning net, you access a lot of valuable information without having to wade through a ton of junk. 

Relax and lurk - Content shortages are yet to be an issue in the world of Twitter, so don't feel pressured to contribute for the sake of contributing.  Making quality contributions clearly makes you more attractive to potential followers, so it's important at some level, but I know a lot of marketers stressed out about fueling the Twitter machine.  Active listening through Twitter can be super-valuable.

Contributions = value to followers - Not flying in the face of the previous point, but if building a following is important you do need to provide value to your followers.  Seems obvious enough, a pretty basic Social Media principle, but worth mentioning if you intend to develop a meaningful audience.  There's a bit of snobbery out there on the value of re-tweeting and simply aggregating the content of others, I say if you find resources you like and think would be of value by all means share them. Make your followers happy and they'll spread the word.

Urchins are everywhere - While I'm not currently being followed, that I know of, by any deposed Nigerian royalty, it's clear many of the email SPAM contingent have moved over to Twitter.  It's too bad, but I suppose inevitable that these folks would find their way to Twitter.

Twitter as a marketing amplifier - In addition to being a great stand-alone platform, I see Twitter as an amazing marketing amplifier.  Used as an extension of other core marketing programs, Twitter can extend the reach and engagement of virtually any initiative.  I feel like this integration will evolve to be the sweet spot for Twitter. 

Still lots to learn about Twitter, I'm actively searching for good Twitter marketing resources which I will of course share here.  For now it's safe to say I've moved from skeptic to skeptical fan of Twitter.

The Twitter Experiment

I've been less than wildly enthusiastic about the practical marketing applications for Twitter. In marketing circles this might come off as "unenlightened" or "old-school", I like to think of it more as appropriately skeptical.  In truth, while I've done a ton of reading and exploration on Twitter, I hadn't taken the plunge and signed up for an account.  Finally I've taken the two minutes to sign up for an account and I'm off and tweeting.

Without question, time is my most valuable resource.  I have little patience for anything that consumes time and doesn't really provide value of some sort.  Don't get me wrong, I don't have every moment of my day scheduled and aligned with a project, but I am without question stingy with my time.  My biggest concern entering into Twitterland is the amount of time I'll need to spend to realize any value.  I fully understand the social media dynamic of contributing to the collective to ultimately get something back, this is where I anticipate the greatest time commitment, even 140 characters at a time.

I like to "begin with the end in mind" on any project, I think I'll be more successful with Twitter if I stay focused on just a couple simple goals:

- Finding like-minded marketers - The work we're doing at Upshot Institute and the topics I'm focused on with Marketer's Lab, both rely on an ongoing interaction with tech-interested marketers.  I'd like to use Twitter to find other marketers interested in these same topics. 

- Learn more about marketing technology - There's an amazing universe of brilliant people out there, I'd like to tap into some of that genius and use Twitter to connect with the people shaping the marketing technology space. 

I feel compelled to say "yes, I know I must contribute to the dialogue and I know it's not just what I'll get out of it".  You're welcome Social Media militants.  I have to say I'm excited about some of the early interactions and optimistic about what might be possible.  As a close, if anyone reading has suggestions for good resources on best practices for marketing via Twitter, would love to see them.  Keep you posted, follow me if you like...