Social Media Hype

I know I'm not the only one struggling to keep up with the "social media-scape" and since I spend literally 90% of my time in, on or around the Internet, I imagine that those who spend less time must have an even greater problem trying to grasp what the hell is going on with social media. (Nice to see that I'm not alone in this feeling of being overwhelmed by it all).

So instead of me rattling on about what I see or don't see, I've decided to let the "experts" that are really immersed in this whole social media-scape have the floor and let you draw your own conclusions. Hype or hope? Conversations or chatter?

There's not much more to add about the upside of social media as it has been touted as the answer for just about everything from consumer empowerment to collaboration to branding and even voter apathy. And lest you think I exaggerate, here are a few of actual "hits" you'll find in Google:

How Social Media Can Help People With Serious Illnesses
How Tweeting Can Cure Your Hunger
Can Social Media Help Cure Cancer?
Can Social Media Cure Depression?
Can Social Media Change Global Consciousness?
Can Social Media Save Healthcare Reform?
Social Networks the Cure for Magazines?
Can social media cure low student engagement?
Social Marketing May Just Cure E-mail Marketers
Is Social Media the Cure for Apathy?

After all of those heady "cures" here are a few conservative views of "social media" from some of the real experts on the subject along with some humorous views on the subject.

Here are a few articles by Aliza Sherman of Gigacom. Aliza is a Web pioneer and founder of the first woman-owned Internet company, Cybergrrl, Inc. and the first global women’s Internet organization, Webgrrls International. She is a strategic social media consultant with Conversify and author of seven books.

The Problem with Social Media
Rethinking the Value of Social Media
You Can Stop the Social Media Hype

The above articles are closly related to an article by Julien Smith entitled “Follower Hyperinflation.” Julien Smith is co-author of the book “Trust Agents: Using the Web to Build Influence.”

And finally here are some more lighthearted views of social media that have that recognizable "ring of truth" to them:

You're NOT a social media expert, you idiot
10 Questions to Evaluate a Social Media 'Expert'
Don't Believe these 10 Social Media Myths
New Site Renders Social Media Experts Obsolete

Social Media and Innovation

While consumers are enjoying their new found "social media" power to dictate the conversations and influence companies as never before, there are real risks lurking in any marketplace that is "out of balance," regardless of whether it's to the company or the consumer side.

Previously, when companies had the upper hand, consumers suffered primarily from the lack of pricing and selection information. Certainly not ideal, but of no permanent harm to consumers.

However, the Internet's unlimited information has shifted the balance of power far to the consumer's side, while "consumer technology cycles" have shortened to the point that companies literally can no longer keep pace, forcing companies into "reacting" instead of "responding." There are so many choices, strategies, and niches - and the variables are changing so rapidly that company responses are out of touch even before they're approved, and as the wise Hollywood screenwriter, William Goldman said, "Nobody knows anything," in this chaotic environment.

As companies dedicate the resources necessary to "listen and react" to the ever shifting consumer "social media-scape," the risk arises of fostering a "listen and react culture" within companies that will eventually erode innovation - the willingness to risk building what the company believes consumers WILL want BEFORE the consumers want it.

Starbucks, iPods, iPhones, Krispy Kreme donuts, YouTube, eBay, and extra chunky spaghetti sauce are just a few examples of what consumers didn't know they wanted until after they existed. As Henry Ford said, "If I'd have asked my customers what they wanted, they would have told me, 'A faster horse.'"

While there is no doubt that there are more consumer conversations and collaborations than ever before, it is the rate of growth and evolution of social media that poses the greatest risk to companies to create the products and services that consumer do not yet know they want.

In the next installment I'll talk about the importance of Information-Marketing™ to companies and consumers, and why it may be the singular most important strategy for companies facing social media today.

Information-Marketing™

This is my first blog on the subject of Information-Marketing™ and it's ironic that it's on the 911 anniversary - never forget.(Original posting date on www.information-marketing.net)

Information-Marketing™, the hyphenated term, that I have been using since 1986, is defined as: "using high-value information in order to accomplish marketing objectives." Instead of using "interruption-based advertising" that consumers resist to deliver your messages, you provide consumers with high-value information that they need or want in order to complete a transaction decision.

In 1986, auto dealers in Southern California used Information-Marketing™ to provide consumers with the invoice prices of vehicles via an independent third-party (Consumer Auto Network), which  would then refer consumers to the dealers that provided the information, with the recommendation that consumers would be treated much better at the dealerships that wanted them to have the invoice cost information compared to the dealers that didn't. The referral rate was over 90%!

Even though the program expanded from Southern California to nationwide and became the de facto model for every Internet automotive site, the use of "high-value" information, regardless of it's success in a very large and important industry, has been lost on most marketing departments.

And today, when you search for "Information Marketing" you get "infomercially-looking" sites that want to teach you how to market information instead of using high-value information to accomplish marketing goals.

Next, the potential risks that social media poses to company innovation.

The Good Deed at the Point of Need™

The concept of a "Good Deed at the Point of Need™" is exactly what it sounds like - a good deed performed at the precise moment that it needed, as opposed to a "random act of kindness," to quote O.

Good deeds delivered at the point of need are powerful and can even be life changing. We all relate to the ultimate "good deed at the point of need" in It's a Wonderful Life, when Jimmy Stewart is given the gift of seeing his life without him in it., and there a countless stories all resembling Aesop's fable of the Lion and the Mouse.

It's no surprise then that marketers found a way to harness the power of "good deeds at the point of need" to influence consumers. Some of the more obvious examples are Tide's Loads of Hope, where semi-trucks full of washing machines are dispatched to disaster areas to provide victims with the most basic necessities of clean clothes and Samsung's Mobile Charging Stations, where airline travelers and now university students can recharge their e-gadgets for free. There is no doubt as to the power of influencing consumers in this manner. The key is finding the unfulfilled consumer need.

While reviewing the above examples it may at first appear that "Good deeds at the point of need" are limited to "special" situations when actually, upon closer examination the operative forces and benefits are identical to the sponsorship model, where sponsors are essentially providing consumers with the "events" (good deeds) when the consumers want them (at their point of need) and receiving the benefits by association with the event. This holds true for sponsoring television and radio shows as well as "live events" such as concerts and golf tournaments. The concept of providing a consumer "benefit" at the consumer's point of need is powerful and a fundamental tool in the marketing toolkit.

iSi's Information-Marketing™ applies this fundamental force to consumer information on the Internet. Where instead of interruption-based, random advertising, Information-Marketing™ provides consumers with "high-value information at their point of need," producing longer exposures, as consumers seek out the information they want, and greater receptivity to marketing messages because the exposure is intentional. Even if the information provided is not directly related to the sponsor's product or service, the consumer is still more powerfully influenced by the sponsor than with any random, interruption-based advertisement.

The take-away on all of this means that marketers should be seeking ways to provide consumers with the information they want, when they want it, preferably from an independent third-party that consumers believe. And it matters little if the information provided is directly, indirectly or not at all related to the marketer's product or service because the benefits will still be greater than any random, interruption-based ad.
A powerful, real-life example of a "good deed at the point of need" and it's effect can be seen here, as it happened to one of the marketing professionals in our company.

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20100417005022/en/Samsung-Mobile-Installs-77-Mobile-Charging-Stations