A Magical View of Social Media

The tooth fairy is great. Give her a tooth and she leaves you money. 

It is that simple.

Perhaps we can place partial blame on her for proliferating the concept that there is easy way to achieve a return on investment. This is especially true for marketers who believe the magic of social media will lead to fantastic ROI. In a keynote presentation at the 2014 European AdvertisingWeek Conference, Bob Hoffman said it’s time to end this supernatural thinking.

Mr. Hoffman has 40 years of experience in directing advertising campaigns for some of the biggest companies in the world. His work, as well as his reputation for provocative thinking, has made him a popular speaker at advertising and marketing conferences. Remarks from his keynote address at the European event have made quite a splash.  Here’s why: Bob believes self-proclaimed marketing experts have perfected the art of bulls**t and are using it widely when it comes to discussions about the power of the Internet and new technologies.

Intrigued by his thinking, I viewed Hoffman’s keynote speech, “The Golden Age of Bullshit”.  Here’s my summary of the “myths” (his word choice was much bolder) that many in the marketing trade are trying to sell you:

·         Myth One: Interactive is making other methods for reaching your targets obsolete.

Pepsi lost big time on this theory. In 2010 the company cancelled all of its television advertising to bet on the power of social media. This effort got the company 3.5 million Facebook likes. Sounds impressive, but that was also the year the company actually lost 5% in market share.

·         Myth Two: If you harness the power of social media you won’t need to pay to advertise your brand.  

According to Hoffman, the theory that people want to engage in online conversations with brands is an “infantile fantasy.” In reality, the hundreds of millions of social media users are interested in interacting with each other—not with your brand or mine. And about those “hundreds of millions of users”….Hoffman cites this data: 62% of traffic on the Internet is spammers, bots and other impersonators—not human beings. That means that only 38% of traffic on your website or social media platforms comes from a living, breathing human who may be interested in your product or service.

·         Myth Three: The fact that more people are using digital media is de facto proof that digital is great for advertising.

Hoffman asks us to think back to the old-fashioned telephone. It was a revolutionary piece of technology; but just because people flocked to it in droves to communicate with each other didn’t make it a good advertising medium. Contrary to the hype you hear, the idea that your business or organization’s social media friends are going to open up a whole new world of customers or clients for your service or product via social media is merely your ego talking. Research continues to show that much like the way we use(d) the telephone, people use the Internet to share information about themselves with others. 

During a lively question and answer session after his keynote, Mr. Hoffman said he is not down on social media.  Quite the contrary. Social media has its place, it just doesn’t belong on a pedestal.

I agree.  In a recent blog post, Jeff Fromm, president of FutureCast and a contributor to Forbes, says that “awareness and regard alone will not correlate in any way to extra-ordinary and sustainable financial performance.”  Social media marketing isn’t a strategy. It is a tool. And whether you are selling widgets or providing services, integrated marketing strategies that may or may not include social media will drive performance.

While they may seem magical, new technologies and related social media are like shiny objects. Random acts of chasing them won’t get you much. Not even a dollar bill under your pillow.

Reigning in Your Social Media Strategy

Benjamin Franklin penned the phrase “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes." He obviously could not foresee the spawning of social media platforms. Regardless of what day you are reading this post, I’m certain that at least one company announced today the build of a new tool to “revolutionize” social media.

Although I hesitate to bite the hand that feeds me, at times I feel the hype of social media outpaces common sense. Do we really need more ways to connect socially?

Historically (albeit the history is brief) our social media experiences have been chained to bloated updates and photos from people, products and things we follow. This first generation of social media fed on the concept of blasting messages to anyone who will listen. The result: content oversaturation and deterioration of meaningful interactions.

As we evolve into the next generation of online use, we’re thankfully starting to see a migration toward what the social world calls reducing fragmentation and increasing engagement. While the terminology may be relatively novel in the digital sense, the strategy isn’t.  Some of the latest platforms and measurement tools are based on the notion that effective and efficient networking isn’t about shaking every digital hand possible. The best new applications are being judged on the quality of the engagement experience rather than the size of the network.  This is a familiar refrain for old-school marketers.

Here are a few more concepts that will stand the test of time within the fast-changing social media ecosystem:

1. Stay focused on social media outlets where the people you want to reach hang out.

2. Resist the time-sapping urge to show up in places just because your competition is there.

2. Listen first. Engage second.

3. Quit counting how many “likes” or “views” you get. Instead, find measures for lasting relationships.

4. Don’t push the same content to all of your social media platforms.  Much like your friends, each is unique.

5. Adopt social media policies that fit your corporate culture.
6. Do your best to add value to the lives of others.

Is Your Messaging Worthy of an Academy Award?

One of my mantras is about the leverage of a three point message. The "rule of three" is that messages are most effective when structured around three narrative points. Thanks to the 2014 Academy Awards telecast, I can now demonstrate both the viability and the power of this logic.

When relatively unknown Lupita Nyongo’o walked on stage to accept the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role in the movie 12 Years a Slave, she blew people away with a motivating and memorable speech. In just two minutes she connected with her audience and left us wanting more. How did she accomplish this? By carefully crafting the three most important thoughts she wanted us to hear. 

The poignant points of her message were:
1. It doesn’t escape me for one moment that so much joy in my life is thanks to so much pain in someone else's.

2.  I’m certain that the dead are standing about and watching, and they’re grateful and so am I.

3.  When I look down at this golden statue, may it remind me and every little child that no matter where you’re from, your dreams are valid. 

A copywriter couldn't have asked for more. Rather than starting her speech with a description of how it feels to be her and then rattling off a list of people she wanted to thank, Lupita first captured our attention with a sentence about her relationship to a world much bigger than herself. In her second point, she kept that picture alive as she moved into to the “business” of her talk which was to convey her gratitude. Third, she left us with an uplifting call to action. This three point message was all we needed in order to relate to her trade.

What is your “acceptance” speech when people ask about your organization or your role? Do you start by sharing a list of services or job responsibilities? Or perhaps you talk about the importance of your organization or business. While it might be quite polished, the message probably isn't enough to hold your audience's attention.

Whether it is the home page of your organization’s website or your so-called "elevator speech," resist the temptation to start with facts. Instead, follow Lupita’s lead. Spark your audience’s attention by painting a picture that is bigger than you or your organization.  That leads into the second of your three points, which is the “business” of what you want to say. Finally, leave your audience with a motivator. 

I promise your three point message will stand out from the crowd. But do it in two minutes or less, or the orchestra just might strike up a chord and whisk you off the stage.