Digital Design Blog

Talk Is Cheap: Why Do Social Media Advocates Give Advertising Such Bad Rap ?

This week I appeared on a marketing-focused panel, called Marketing S.O.S!, at Supernova ‘08 in San Francisco. Joining me were Kuiumarse Zamanian formerly from Yahoo! and now at Glam Media, Kerry Chrapliwy from Hewlett-Packard, Deborah Schultz formerly from SixApart and Hugh MacLeod, a well-known blogger and pundit. Howard Greenstein moderated.

It was an eclectic group, for sure, and one that encapsulated most elements of the interactive ad and marketing landscape: Kuiumarse represented the publishing and technology side of the business; Kerry represented “the corporation”; I was the “ad guy”; Deb was the social media advocate and Hugh was the wild card.

As with most conferences I’ve been at this year, the focus was undoubtedly on the emergence of social media as a viable ad/marketing platform and how traditional advertising was becoming irrelevant. Perhaps it was the early start time (8:30 a.m.!) or my own conference circuit fatigue, but as were talking I got to thinking that our industry was caught in the grip of a “social media mania.”

The sentiment seemed to be that social media (and social media networks) were completely overthrowing more traditional forms of advertising, both online and off. We were entering a brave new world where “we” as consumers would no longer be marketed to — were we were driving the “conversation.”

There’s an element of truth to this: we as consumers or just plain old “people” have never been able to participate in such a widespread or meaningful way with each other, the media we consume or the companies who make the products we buy.

But, let’s not get too carried away. Social media (or viral marketing, or WOM, etc.) is only one element of a marketing and advertising strategy. Not a wholesale replacement. It’s easy to pick on ad agencies as being too focused on 30-second spots for the SuperBowl, or corporations who are more focused on talking vs. listening, but I think it’s time for a social media sanity check.

1. Companies Create Brands, People React — This is one of the most common misconceptions I see today. Companies, with the help of agencies, build great brands and express them in the marketplace. From Apple to Mini to Nike — these companies put out compelling products (certainly!) but also express their brands in emotional, meaningful ways. Consumers react with great upside if the expression resonates (Apple) and horribly (Dell) if not. After all, if Apple was content to just release great products and let the crowd champion them via WOM, than there would be no need for the kind of breakthrough advertising campaigns (Mac vs. PC, iPod, etc) that they produce. It’s part of a whole spectrum of communication.

2. Content Creates Emotional Connections –The ability to tell stories and create content that works across all mediums (TV, print, online, social media, etc.) is becoming the lifeblood of the industry. Today, great content is advertising. Think “Will It Blend?” by Blendtec, which took the industry by storm with videos like this:

That video alone has been viewed over 4 million times on YouTube. Great content is the key to reaching new audiences in today’s fragmented and distributed digital landscape. Agencies do this about as well as anyone, as Kerry pointed out on the panel. “The Computer Is Personal Again” is a great campaign that utilized celebs like Jay-Z to create a meaningful impression in a commoditized marketplace:

3. The Whole Is Greater Than the Sum of Its Parts – There is way to much siloed thinking about social media today. Social media is part of a whole continuum of advertising and digital marketing programs that attempt reach and engage audiences in meaningful ways. From banners to 30-second spots, from email campaigns to search programs, from Twitter to interactive billboards, each tactic needs to be part of a holistic strategy that attempts to engage audiences in meaningful ways. One of my fellow panelists talked about Zappos.com building audience loyalty through enagement via Twitter — appearently more than 300+ Zappos employees (a third of the company, actually) use Twitter. That’s a great tactic today, but Twittering is not a holistic strategy. Zappos’ superior customer service is the strategy and the way they go about delivering that promise and communicating it to the marketplace is compelling. But no more so than HP which has thrived with a brilliant campaign and stellar executions across a multidude of media/mediums.

Social media is no fad. It is a critical part of any company’s marketing mix today, but it’s not strategy or solution in itself. The future, for advertisers and agencies, is here and it is about reaching and connecting with audiences across a fragmented landscape. That takes a broad, compelling vision — not a tactic.