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August 25, 2009

Fundamental Flaw in Social Media

There is a certain amount of ‘irrational exuberance’ around the introduction and maturing of social media. It has been widely and rapidly adopted as a means of both personal and commercial communications. It has spawned numerous platforms including Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, Digg, MySpace, etc., prompting the question of how much intelligence and value have we lost in all this communication? Arguably, much of the content is re-purposed and subtly changed to fit the seemingly slight differences in platform and audience. And, in the case of Twitter, its very existence is questioned entirely.

It just seems to be a “land-grab” of sorts with the real estate actually being a relatively small group of online/digital influencers. And that is where the fundamental flaw exists in social media. Even though the medium and its technology promise the ability to reach a specific person or group (e.g., close friends or brand advocates), most users (individuals and companies/brands) are using it to gain a large audience. This is because most marketers are wielding social media as they have historically done with traditional advertising and communications. These extremely nifty tools exist yet most brands employ them like a television campaign masterminded by 1960’s Sterling Cooper of Mad Men fame.

Think about your own Facebook and Linkedin accounts. Do more connections really equal more? Or are you beginning to sort your more valuable contacts in these platforms from all the others? The goal is not to have a huge network, it is to have a deeper, more meaningful one (think how we mature through life and come to value fewer, closer relationships). We learned this with blogs. They proliferated like wildfire when the technology was made available. Now most people follow a handful of bloggers because they are trusted, valuable and consistent. The same is happening with Twitter as roughly two-thirds of accounts go dormant in three months.

And this is supported by recent research from Nielsen based on a survey of 25,000 people (Trust, Value and Engagement in Advertising). It probed respondents on their trusted sources in various forms of advertising. “Recommendations from people known” is by far the most trusted. This is a radical behavioral change, laying out the fact that people treasure belonging to different groups as a means of personal identity and expression but at the end of the day we only really trust a small group of friends and influencers. Why? Because we know them. We have come to rely on them and them on us. They represent authenticity, honesty, and reliability because of shared values. This connection to influencers and peers is driving consumer behavior and the technology exists to leverage it but only if marketers adopt a very different mindset in how they conduct business.

It is like the old business school adage, “I would rather have one customer who represents $1,000 in revenue than 10 who represent $100 each”. Social media can reach millions and that is exciting and interesting but how many actually purchase the associated brand? Social media’s promise and proof will not be in mass connection it is in meaningful connection.

Jeff Swystun, Chief Communications Officer, DDB Worldwide

Posted on August 25, 2009 1:57 PM | Permalink

Comments (11)

John Guildcrest

Finally a large agency that gets it. This is exactly what is going on with social media and marketing. Now lets see DDB do something about it.

Posted by John Guildcrest | August 26, 2009 1:57 PM

T. Walker

I agree with John - this is one of the best insights I have seen from big agencies on social media. I do my own mental sorts on my contacts in Linkedin and Facebook. I want them to provide tools that allows me to tier or segment my contacts and ensure that only certain information gets to each. Every one of these social media businesses has to understand that individuals are always establishing fresh screens in our minds and practices.

Posted by T. Walker | August 26, 2009 3:51 PM

Warren Tsen

I don't see this as a "flaw" per se. It is more an evolution of how we use social media. I agree it should be more about targetting than blanket communications. Right now social media success stories in advertising are ads shown on tv that get put on youtube and get a bunch of hits - there is way more to it than that.

Posted by Warren Tsen | August 26, 2009 5:15 PM

Oleg K. Temple

Personally, I think that social media has a very predictable tendency to result in naught. Despite the gigantic advancements in technology, our mantra is "there are not enough hours in the day". We're always in a rush; how then can we justify wasting 30 minutes per day talking to the wall on Twitter? There is no interaction, just a monologue sent to strangers who rarely bother to even read the first word. I tried it and found that I would benefit more if I spent that time doing Yoga. Everyone on Twitter seems to be serving their own interest, trying to push their own product, what's the point when they never engage in conversation - it's like everyone shouting at once. Nothing of value can be born of this chaos.
When I signed up, I also fell for the follower exchange and swapped "links" with some 8 people, but then I sat back, read their "Tweets" and realised that indeed, we have nothing in common... What is the DIFFERENCE if I have 10 Followers who do not sign up to my site or if I have 10 000 such followers? These are useless links that just clutter up my account and bring in zero value.
Another thing I find irritating is that they take advantage of your account and use it to SPAM the community with "RT" messages offering 100s of Twitter Followers in your name. I actually became so frustrated that I tried to delete my account (impossible it seems) so I check in every now and again to delete the robot messages. Of course 75% of accounts go dead within 3 months - I figured it out in less than a week- the site has no point, just to waste one's time. All in all, a useless and pointless fad, but they are predicted to rake in 4m in the next quarter. This seems terribly unfair as I have been working hard for nearly 8 years on an Elite International Business Directory with a real purpose to promote the travel industry and help active SMEs with editable, sustained, high-value advertising and our turnover is nowhere near what these people get for meaningless drivel! You wrote about embarrassing predictions before, I wish people would learn to discern projects with value and content quicker, rather than just follow the current fad of the herd. People seem to prefer to tell the world what they had for lunch or parrot some cliche rather than report the latest developments within their company - no wonder we hit a recession...

Posted by Oleg K. Temple | September 4, 2009 1:48 PM

Sheryl Hemmler

Jeff, I heard you speak recently and was very impressed by both your style and your substance. It would be great if you would pursue your "promise" of putting a book out on human insights and how they drive marketing strategy. If you remember, I was the one who asked about the lifespan of a good positioning. I appreciated your responses on Nike, Supernatural British Columbia, and Absolut Vodka. Please keep writing and speaking!

Posted by Sheryl Hemmler | September 16, 2009 2:27 PM

T Kirkland

It is the immediacy of social media that is a concern. Many organizations now understand that anything that can and will be said about them on the internet will be. The good, the bad, the ugly. And this includes content produced not only from the general public, but also from internal constituents such as employees. Organizations will not only need to begin actively listening so that they are in the know, but they will need rules of engagement for how they deal with multiple types of scenarios from responding to a compliment to dealing with a detractor to following up with an employee who just posted something inappropriate or sensitive. This relates to your point about authenticity - how can a company be authentic if it is censoring its employees?

Posted by T Kirkland | September 18, 2009 1:48 PM

Sebastian Hassel

I recently heard you speak at a conference and was much pleased with your own honest and authentic style. I find it difficult to listen and read so called experts work only to discover it is a thinly veiled sales pitch. You are one of the very few I speakers I would want to hear more from as you share nothing but honest and valuable help. I am also impressed with DDB and the work you do. Many thanks.

Posted by Sebastian Hassel | September 30, 2009 2:25 PM

Simon Clancy

I totally concur Jeff. I think a lot of these companies are simply following the trend and are not considering if they require these types of direct communication tools at all. Not every company/brand requires them.

I insist that solid brands should always employ a doctrine of singularity. That is, speak to those who want to listen to you. Forget the white noise.

Posted by Simon Clancy | October 4, 2009 1:48 AM

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This page contains a single entry from the blog posted on August 25, 2009 1:57 PM.

The previous post in this blog was Through the crisis with more courage.

The next post in this blog is Realizing Opportunities in Challenging Times, Part 2.

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