Social Media continues down a frenetic pace and can do an effective job in engaging people. The market abounds with experts & unfortunately a lot of these 'experts' don't espouse the guiding principles of social media. Rants, raves, & self adulation don't really add much value to social media. Here are some horrific examples of what is being said in social sphere.
A very big corporations, very senior person was asked, 'How are you focusing on Social Media?' His answer, 'To continue to strive, to meet, and to exceed my customer's expectations in a dynamic economy, with a focus on values about our core customer and recognition of evolving demographics.' Deep, profound, and hard to comprehend. This is the vision that has stalled this corporations endeavor into the next step.
Another big corporation showed me their Social Media statement, 'Our focus is to enrich our customers' personal lives and to make them more successful by bringing to market exciting and useful products & services, empowering our employees & shareholders, & stakeholders in the process.' I bobbled my head in awe!
A CEO of an online retail software company made a statement in January 2009, 'Social Media will be gone in 2010!' Of course, he had a bias - his software allowed you to invest in search marketing and he was concerned that he would be cutting into his margins.A learned & esteemed internet consultant made a statement in January 2010, 'Social Media is too expensive, too hard, and almost impossible to justify!' What was his bias? He was a very intelligent guy and explained that by partnering with him he would break down the hard part for you. He still charges a pretty penny and knows how to justify his invoice.
A VP of marketing told her audience that they should hold back their investment in social media. Her rationale was that it was still emerging, still evolving, and left a lot of questions about how it could replace advertising in print or on TV. Of course, her bias was that she was in charge of promoting her Direct Response Marketing company that focused on direct mail & TV advertising.
A large consumer service company uses social media to put out free coupons. Every tweet, every Facebook update, & every blog post is about what you can get for free. It started as a vehicle for new customer acquisition, it is now a retention vehicle. I wonder how they are making any money?
The (self proclaimed) maven of social media at a major B2B corporation has taken the 'reality' thing a little too far. She believes in tweeting work & personal stuff in real time. Tweet 1 - This call from hell will never end. Tweet 2 - Thank God for You Tube. Tweet 3 - Join our Innovation Squad at xxxxx2010 - lots of good learning. Tweet 4 - Where's the Xanax? All tweeted within 10 minutes!
To me, many of these people are an inspiration on what not to do. So keep it coming!
The three guiding principles of social media are engagement, listening, & empathy. In addition to adhering to standards and policy, I wish some of these people used common sense in their approach.