The 'Social' is holding Social Media back...but should it?

As much as marketers like to throw in marketing terms or complicate their description of exactly what they do through digital channels (“helping businesses make the most of positive brand associations and customer produced content" is Barry Dewar's attempt), ultimately what you do as a business via Facebook etc is currently (and probably always) going to be under the umbrella and title of 'Social Media'.

So what's the problem? Quite simply, and pedantically, it's the word 'social'. In a conversation with @DanielMcLaren from The UK Sports Network here at The Jazz Cafe he made a very good point that got me thinking (and indeed inspired me to create this post) when he said 'everyone sees their kids at home on Facebook looking through photos and talking to their friends etc'. As a result of this, when your boss comes in and sees you on Facebook he will instantly think you're doing the same (perhaps with some basis with a section of professional people!) usually resulting in it being blocked at work. It is 'social' - but it's also a hugely useful and dynamic marketing and customer service tool. The fact that it's 'social' should not subtract from the fact it's becoming vital within the business world (see examples in my post 'Social Media in The Events Industry' of how Social Media has benefited us here at The Jazz Cafe).

But ultimately it does subtract from this in many people's eyes - the term 'Social Media' is  'like a millstone around the neck of modern digital marketing' as Mr Dewar asserts. The modern age in general feels the need to catergorise everything, and the new media platforms (Twitter / LinkedIn / WordPress / Blogger etc) are most definitely now burdened in the business world with being 'Social Media'. Anyone who's tried to convince their boss it's a good way to spend their time and equally anyone who's tried to convince a customer to embark on/pay for a Social Media strategy will be very familiar with the fact that it's a 'such a hard sell'. Much like here at The Jazz Cafe when tasked to promote a non Jazz band I am forced to open with the line 'We're called The Jazz Cafe but it's not always/usually jazz that's played here', when explaining social media I'm sure we've all used something similar to 'Social media is not just about talking to friends on Facebook...'. Before you've even got down to what you should be discussing (business drivers, ways of monitoring, objectives of campaign etc) you've got to initially convince them that you're not wasting their time!

It only affects me when trying to illustrate the benefits of social media to the powers that be at The Jazz Cafe (and also when explaining aspects of my job to my friends, who will without fail do what Mr Dewar refers to in his article as “'stare at you blankly or ask “so, you post stuff on Facebook then?"'). But, I'm reliably informed, it is a big issue facing PR and Marketing companies.

Thanks to Tom Humbarger and his article My Social Media Job Description 

for this image - I thought it was apt!

My argument, and the reason for this post, is does it actually matter that it's social? I've read many blogs and been to a number of seminars where people have done their best to insinuate that social media is not only about being social and it's not just talking to people on Twitter....well, it sort of is isn't it? Don't get me wrong I am savvy to other ways of infiltrating the public both directly and indirectly through digital channels, and I'm also of the firm belief every company using social media should treat it like any other marketing campaign, but the most important part of Twitter is talking to people; the most important part of Facebook is posting interesting updates - the most important part of social media is being social. Companies need to wake up to the fact that this is part of the future of marketing. I've recently been speaking to a very large company who are umming and ahhing (I think i've spelt that right?) about whether to commit to a social media campaign or not. This is going to happen whether you are involved in it or not...I'm just happy that us here at The Jazz Cafe are playing a (very small) part in it!

Marketing, and business in general, is becoming less controllable and more user focussed - it's just the way of the world at the moment and the Big Brother state we are moving towards (thank you Google World). You can no longer prevent bad reviews getting into the public domain, there is no longer a hiding place for mistakes. But Ithink this is a positive shift, a genuine forward step for the way company's approach customer interface. People are scared of what they don't know and of losing power - social media is a large leap forwards. Only the good and honest businesses will prosper within it (hopefully The Jazz being one of them), surely that's how it should be?

We should stop shying away from the 'social' side of social media and definitely stop making excuses for it. I like Jason Pine's in depth analysis of culture within social marketing ("What role does “Culture” have in Social Marketing?") , it's the sort of human face and emotive approach that business is evolving towards. I disagree with Barry Dewar's solution to the 'social media problem' within business of both a) stopping referring to it and b) stopping talking about it. I think we should do the exact opposite - openly embrace it's social nature and shout from the rooftops it's obvious benefits. It's the future, and if people haven't wised up to it already they will soon have to.

See http://www.thejazzcafe.co.uk/ for up-to-date info on what's going on here.
0118 9681442.


Follow Me on Twitter

Social Media Experts - do they actually exist?

In May 2009 B.L.Ochman used Tweepsearch to investigate peoples bios to see what they were describing themselves as - staggeringly there were 15,740 profiles who proclaimed to be some form of a social media 'expert'. Apparently there were over 800 'gurus', 79 'ninjas' and 68 social media 'stars'. Have a look at the list here - well worth a chuckle.

However there is a serious undertone to these findings. Pete Cashmore founder, of 'Mashable' (fast becoming my Bible), noted that social media as a 'growing industry needs trust and reputation' and that 'such stats provide fodder for those who would say that social media is simply hot air'. As Mr Cashmore explains, by 2012 this number will rise to over 30 million if the same increase in self-proclaimed 'experts' continues. With so many people claiming to be experts, it belittles the knowledge of  the select few who genuinely have specific expertise in the field. So why are so many people proclaiming that they are experts, and how can they possibly justify this without any certification available?

Quite frankly, I don't think they can. But they are allowed to claim they are 'experts'  because there is little we can do to prove they're not. Social media is still in its infancy (Twitter is barely 4 years old) and the wider public do not have the sufficient knowledge to question what they are being told. Moreover there are no set guidelines to prevent such claims. We here at The Jazz Cafe joined Twitter just over a year ago and back then I certainly wouldn't be confident in questioning what people were informing me - it took me 3 months to figure out what it was!

As you can see from B.L.Ochman's findings, rarely do people call themselves 'novices' or inexperienced...but they should! There's no shame in it. Social media is brand new for all of us and we're all trying to find our feet. Even those tweeters who are experienced are still learning every day from new tracking tools, new ways of infiltrating conversations etc. As that good old reliable information source Wikipedia will tell you 'by March 2010 Twitter recorded a 1,500% increase in the number of registered users and its staff had grown fivefold' - that is an incredible, phenomenal and unprecedented level of growth. 1500%!! We'd certainly welcome that growth in business here at The Jazz! With new divisions and software being created continuously I feel I can say with some justification that it is virtually impossible to be able to deal with 1500% growth to the extent you could profoundly become an 'expert' in any field at all.

I'm not claiming that those who profess to be 'experts' are not highly knowledgeable - they must have some experience/skills to back up their claims - but I do feel there is a certain level of 'jumping on the bandwagon'. More cynically individuals are being opportunist in taking advantage of people's naivety and businesses lack of patience. If you were to click on a social media 'expert's website it would be a rare occurrence to not discover they are selling a book or an alternate product under the guise of their superior social abilities.

It's this level of opportunism and applying it to self promotion that frustrates me. There are credible individuals and marketing companies out there who can genuinely help social media start-ups but they are, to a certain extent, being undermined by what Rohit Bhargava describes as 'Pretenders'. As 'Affiliate Marketing Tips' fittingly assert to B.L. Ochman's original findings, 'everybody's an expert these days (it) makes you wonder who to turn to for good advice'.

Mr Bhargava presents the first steps to a solution in his blog post 'The 12 Types Of "Social Media Experts"' as he categorises all those who claim to be 'experts'. All forms of commercial marketing have what Mr Bhargava describes (Designers, Strategists, Curators etc) so it's reasonable to apply these labels to it's newest division; Social Media. At The Jazz Cafe we now integrate Social Media into our overall marketing strategy, and we approach it exactly the same as everything else we do with a plan and a way of tracking success.

The only thing I would change about Mr Bhargava's categorisation of 'experts' is the removal of the word 'expert' entirely - I simply don't think it's possible to be a social media expert yet, and it probably never will be. One year on from joining twitter The Jazz Cafe's account has developed from meaningless advertising messages to an implemented strategic plan...and it's continually changing and improving. I firmly believe that social media is only going to get bigger and bigger and with this we will all have to keep learning new aspects and approaches day by day.

As Warren Whitlock tells B.L.Ochman 'if social media has taught us anything.. it's that we can't pretend anymore. Authenticity will prevail'. Hopefully 'experts' take note.

So does a Social Media Expert exist? I'll let Doubledown Tandino have the last word: 'The proof is in the pudding. Always.'


For more of my views on Social Media see my blog post 'Social Media in the Events Industry'.


See http://www.thejazzcafe.co.uk/ for up-to-date info on what's going on here.
0118 9681442.


Follow Me on Twitter