What if Social Media Isn’t a Fit?

By Mark Evans in Social Media 8 Comments Tags: , , ,

Everyone’s jumping on the social media bandwagon. Just as a Web site quickly became a must-have for nearly every company, the same corporate rules now apply to Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, blogs, Flickr, etc.

Or do they?

As someone immersed professional and personally in social media, it’s somewhat sacrilege to suggest that social media may not be for everyone. But it’s a question that should be explored because the reality is that social media isn’t a good fit for some companies.

What if having public conversations with your customers isn’t a good thing? What if these conversations should be kept behind closed doors? What if relationships with customers are driven by personal relationships, newsletters, or word of mouth as opposed to public dialog? What if a company has nothing of value to offer within the social media landscape, or lacks a corporate culture that lends itself to being open and transparent?

For some companies, social media doesn’t make sense so trying to get them to embrace social media is like trying to put a square peg into a round hole. While I’ve yet to work with a client that has completely rejected social media, there have been some companies in which the adoption of a social media service has been a challenging process.

What I see as the biggest obstacle to social media is a company’s ability to change how it operates so social media can thrive and provide strategic benefits. While many companies are enthusiastic about the idea of social media, the reality of using social media on a day-in-day-out basis can be an impossible concept to execute on.

The barriers include the lack of a champion who can successfully bring social media into the fold, the lack of the right people to tactically operate social media programs after the tools have set up, and the inability to capitalize on social media by quickly integrating it into a company’s communications, marketing and sales activities.

There is no doubt that some of these obstacles will disappear as social media becomes more prevalent and more executives become social media savvy.

At the same time, social media will hopefully start to lose its hype and shininess, which makes it so fascinating and irresistible right now. When that happens, companies will be able to look at social media more pragmatically so they can determine whether it meets their strategic and tactical needs.

And it may be that social media isn’t a good fit for many companies, which are better off using other tools (even old-fashioned ones such as newsletters and traditional media advertising) to reach consumers.

More: For more thoughts on how social media is evolving, Brian Solis’ “We Are the Champions” post is a good read.

(If you’re looking for strategic and tactical advice on how to embrace and use social media, ME Consulting offers a variety of services.)

Social Media is Not About Being Wildly Successful

By Mark Evans in Social Media 13 Comments Tags: , , ,

I gave a presentation yesterday at the Visability conference yesterday, which naturally included examples of companies that have been very successful using social media. In thinking about the companies to highlight, I tried to stay away from the usual suspects – Comcast, Starbucks, Dell, IBM, etc.

It’s not that these companies aren’t good example, it’s that they are used time and time again to demonstrate the potential of social media, and why companies should be enthusiastically embracing it.

One of the problems is these examples provide a skewed view of how social media works. It gives companies the impression that if they get into social media, they too also enjoy wild success and a surge in popularity. If the old, if they can do it, you can do it too.

The reality is Starbucks, et al are anomalies. Through a combination of luck, timing and smart creative, they’ve hit the social media jackpot. Like a lottery, lots of companies are buying social media “tickets” but few of them win.

Perhaps a better approach in selling the benefits of social media is talking about companies that are enjoying solid success – however you want to define “success” – as opposed to extraordinary success. Maybe we should be talking about companies that have embraced social media, and made it an important part of their business operations.

A good example is Digitcom.ca, a telecom equipment reseller. A year ago, the owner, Jeff Wiener, approach me about starting a blog. I put together a strategic and tactical plan, and helped him set up The Telecom Blog.

Since then, Jeff has really worked it, and made it one of the most popular telecom blogs in Canada. It may not attract a huge number of visitors but the blog has helped bolster the profile for Digitcom and Jeff. It has opened doors for Jeff that may not have presented themselves otherwise, and it’s given Digitcom a bigger digital presence.

In many respects, Digitcom is a social media success story that is a lot more relevant and realistic for companies looking at social media. It provides a better idea of what social media can deliver without setting expectations that are far too ambitious or high.

What do you think? Are we guilty of over-hyping the mega-success stories in social media?

Does Facebook Need a Leadership Change?

By Mark Evans in Social Media 7 Comments Tags: , , ,

It should not come as any surprise that Facebook has made some changes to how its privacy policies given the backlash to its everything-is-now-public announcement at the F8 conference.

In response, Facebook has introduced "simpler and more powerful controls for sharing personal information." The idea is that Facebook's confusing and ever-changing private setting are now easier to use, which should appease the politicians and critics who caused such a fuss.
 
Before anyone gets too excited, it is important to keep in mind that Facebook's philosophical approach to making more information public as opposed to private still seems to be intact. To boost traffic and generate more traffic, Facebook needs more of its content to be public as opposed to hidden for friends and family only. 
 
By extending an olive branch – easier, user-friendly privacy settings – Facebook has only conceded that the previous privacy settings weren't easy or user-friendly.
 
It's a smart public relations gesture but it's also important to recognize Facebook is counting on the fact most people don't think too much of their privacy, or don't bother tweaking their privacy settings.
 
The other interesting issue is why Facebook has a history of making aggressive strategic moves, and then having to take a step back after the proverbial crap hits the fan.
 
The controversy about the much-criticized Beacon should have given Facebook a playbook what not to do, yet the latest privacy fiasco seems to suggest it didn't learn anything. 
 
This may have to do with Facebook's strategic brilliance of taking two steps forward and one step back, or an organization that despite its size is still immature.
 
The problems with the new privacy policy raise the idea about whether there's a senior leadership issue. As much as Mark Zuckerberg has overseen tremendous growth, it may be time for Facebook to consider some senior management changes.
 
For more, check out Zuckerberg's post on the Facebook blog.

Facebook’s Zuckerberg: “Sorry, My Bad”

By Mark Evans in Social Media 1 Comment Tags: , , ,

Like anyone should be surprised but Facebook is sorry – really, really sorry – that it caused such a fuss by changing its privacy policies so dramatically recently.

But after “listening to recent concerns”, Facebook is “responding” with plans to add “privacy controls that are much simpler”, as well as making it easy to turn off all third-party services. And Facebook has published the “principles” under which it operates.

Zuckerberg cleared the air in an op-ed in the Washington Post. It’s a public “my bad”, which demonstrates that Facebook took notice of the critics raging against its plan to make pretty much everything public on Facebook.

And although Facebook is still the monster of social networks with more than 450 million users, it also had to acknowledge that there was growing interest and media coverage in other social networks such as Diadora and even Facebook.

But make no mistake: what Facebook has pulled off is a classic two steps forward, one step back move. In appearing as if it’s backing away from its new policies, Facebook is hoping to stave off the privacy critics. The reality, however, is Facebook’s still making more of your information public as it attempts to generate more revenue and traffic.

It is also important to remember that Facebook isn’t backing away from its new public approach at all. Instead, it’s making it less confusing to change your privacy settings if, in fact, you go to the trouble of changing them. The sad reality is many people aren’t that concerned about their privacy on Facebook even though they should be.

For more, check out the wave of coverage on Techmeme, including this story in The Atlantic.

Why I Don’t Want an iPad….Yet

By Mark Evans in Apple/iPod 6 Comments Tags: , , , ,

After dismissing the idea of wanting an iPad, the past week has been an exercise in new gadget temptation. At the meshU and mesh conferences, and during a weekend getaway to Chicago, the iPad seemed to be everywhere.

At meshU and mesh, there were dozens of iPads even though it’s not officially available in Canada until May 28. In Chicago, there were billboards for the iPad everywhere. Then there was the large Apple Store in Michigan Ave. (the major shopping district) that was teeming with people.

In the end, however, the iPad isn’t a must-have or even a nice to have right now. For me, the biggest hurdle is figuring out where it fits in the scheme of things given I have an MacBook Pro and a MacBook, an iPhone and a SlingBox. If I want to work, do social media or watch TV, I have a device for that.

There is no doubt the iPad is compelling and sexy but it seems difficult to justify alongside a MacBook. The iPad strikes me as a great consumption device but it’s not a production device to be used to do work, or create social media such as blog posts.

For me, it making buying an iPad a challenge because I have a device that does what the iPad does and more. As the Wall St. Journal declared when the iPad was launched, it’s a nice to have device but not a need to have.

So for now, the iPad remains a sexy gadget that tempts but doesn’t seduce. Until there’s a compelling need or reason to have one, I’m content to remain on the sidelines.

More: One more thought about the iPad. At mesh last week, Jason Fry mentioned that the iPad could see people use fewer apps. The iPad’s Web browser, he said, is so good that’s not necessary to download apps such as eBay or LinkedIn. On a related note, the New York Times’ Sunday Magazine had an interesting story on the rise of the “Walled Garden”.

TVO’s The Agenda @ mesh

By Mark Evans in Media No Comments Tags: , , ,

One of the most exciting parts of mesh ’10 was having Steve Paikin and TVO’s The Agenda do a live show at the conference. For those of you who missed it, here’s the show, which focused on privacy:

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