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.)
I see the tools continuing to evolve to meet specific needs of businesses. The truth is, Facebook and Twitter were never designed for businesses. As a result, businesses are turning themselves in to pretzels trying to adapt these consumer tools to business purposes. So a whole new generation of tools are being developed to leverage specific features of consumer tools but with a foundation of features designed for business. We’re in an exciting time where social media innovation is just getting started.
I’ve been doing marketing for quite some time now, and I am currently working with GNBCC.CA. They are a computer-building company made-up for two very young professionals (in their late teens & early twenty’s).
I recommended to this company to reachout to Facebook and Twitter users. Simply because their peers are the most in need of computer repairs and the product itself. Both of the gentlemen really disliked the idea thinking that it would take time to update and keep up with the pages,yet, they don’t realize the importance of being heard. Facebook really gives companies to be heard and known with little time and money investment. This is why Twitter and Facebook are so important: because of the exposure to the people in their area. Moreover, by being recognized on Facebook, the company can really claim that they are an eligible company, not a fraudulent one. Also, by letting the public directly write comments about the firm, it lets the company be more transparent, in my opinion.
Good read, nevertheless!
Marg
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I completely disagree – I can’t think of a single company that shouldn’t at the VERY least be *listening* in social media, even if the actions resulting have to be taken offline. You highlighted later in the post that it might be a challenge, which is definitely true, but to even speculate that it might not be a ‘fit’ for some companies would seem to me to be making excuses for those that just can’t be bothered…!
Henry,
Excellent point about listening, and something I was remiss in pointing out.
cheers, Mark
Social media is a fit for every company. The biggest reason is to validate your company, authenticate your company, and show people that your company is made up of real individuals that care about something other than money. Sure, you can throw a BBB tag on your website for $500 a year, but that still doesn’t help your company build any relationships. When you are working with social media every week, you are putting out organic notes and messages that every consumer can relate to in some way. You can share struggles, achievements, reports, and so much more. Social media for businesses is about sharing what’s going on inside the business.
Hi Mark – I enjoyed the point-of-view and you are completely right – sometimes social media doesn’t make sense. Borrowing the fire of the 90’s new media revolution (or a digital renaissance?), the social media industry (long past a movement now folks) positions itself as a self-fulfilling prophesy. The result, marketers and communicators rushing to reposition/reinvent themselves as the new social media brokers present low budget, often underdeveloped, publically available tools and networks as imperatives for brand survival. Who wins in the end, not the client or their customers.