A superb video from Socialnomics pulling together a whole load of facts about social media. It’s starts with the question “Is Social Media a Fad” and then tries to disprove that hypothesis. There’s no new facts there, but pulling them all together does make an impact.
What’s more interesting to me is the comment in the email that went round the office
There is a quote in the video that would spark debate in most agencies.
The quote goes:
‘Successful companies in social media act more like Dale Carnegie and less like David Ogilvy – Listening first, selling second’
My first response is why should it spark debate? The Cluetrain Manifesto came out 10 years ago. Take a look now at the 95 theses and read the book. Here’s some of my favourites:
1. Markets are conversations.
6. The Internet is enabling conversations among human beings that were simply not possible in the era of mass media.
11. People in networked markets have figured out that they get far better information and support from one another than from vendors. So much for corporate rhetoric about adding value to commoditized products.
16. Already, companies that speak in the language of the pitch, the dog-and-pony show, are no longer speaking to anyone.
19. Companies can now communicate with their markets directly. If they blow it, it could be their last chance.
If that quote sparks debate in your agency, you may want to ask where they have been for the last 10 years. But the sad thing is, it does, again and again. Marketing departments and agencies are often focused primarily on the outbound messages, forgetting that the inbound ones, the listening, are just as important.
Social media is not a fad; it takes the human desire to connect and makes it easier and more widespread than ever before. Understand it and what it means to you and a brand, then embrace it!
