Social Media’s Dirty Little Secret
Yesterday I had the honor to speak at the Ft. Worth PRSA about planning, implementing and measuring social media (BTW, it is measurable, just ask Katie Payne). For PR professionals, planning is nothing new but the addition of social media to those plans just might be. The reason I preface this post with a little bit of background is because after I spoke, Dan Keeney of DPK Public Relations asked if he could video tape me for his blog.
That video shows up in Dan’s post, “Are We Missing the Next Big Thing Because of Our Twitter Obsession?” A post that states something so basic and true, it’s almost like a cup of ice water in the face:
“…everything I just heard Beth say is fine, but I worry that it’s not pushing us forward. And it’s not just Beth — it seems to be everyone who is out there speaking to PR groups about social media. I don’t hear anyone showing those of us who have a cursory level of involvement in the space anything particularly new. It isn’t new to suggest that we need to plan and have objectives and measure results on the back end. It isn’t new to suggest we need to know who we are engaging and be authentic. Anyone who has been involved in a grassroots effort knows the importance of connecting with influencers in a genuine way.”
I agree with Dan’s assessment (although, I think there are levels of social media understanding & implementation that still need to be addressed be it beginner, intermediate and advanced). The dirty little secret: social media is NOTHING new. If you want to look at social media plain and simple, it’s a bunch of tools that help us to network, share information and build relationships in a different way. The concept of social media from a human relationship aspect is nothing new either. It’s business development, which comes with engagement, professional etiquette, trust and respect.
Perhaps the only other new thing is that we are telling people other than executives, sales and business development people to get with the program and start building relationships with customers. Now that could be a new concept for some.
Today, Twitter and Facebook are being hyped by the media. But what about all the forums and Yahoo! Groups that have been around much, much longer and have healthy, vibrant communities? Oh, that’s right…they aren’t cool.
Kami Huyse suggested on Dan’s post that “We have to think more like journalists and less like messengers.”
I wonder if we approach social media like journalists…will we find that there isn’t anything to uncover that’s newsworthy? Unless, of course, you consider good old-fashion business sense newsworthy.
So, to re-ask Dan’s question, if Twitter goes away tomorrow what’s the next big thing?
I think the next big thing will be stories as simple as businesses actually implementing social media and re-gaining customer respect, trust and increasing profits as a result. Your thoughts?
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Tags: 29 Responses to “Social Media’s Dirty Little Secret”
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Social media is nothing new, indeed, but its use has heretofore been relegated to women or the mentioned grassroots efforts. The stereotype has been that business is brass tacks, and society is everything that is not business. Online social media is forcing the synthesis of business with society.
Nicely said Beth,
As an online PR I love this post.
Educating clients to ‘get with the program’ is an absolute must. We have a lot of education to do to unfreeze the ‘product advertising’ headset.
As for thinking like journalists, well, the core of today’s journalism is in mass media ‘newsworthiness’. That’s not something that necessarily adds value to a customer relationship. It certainly isn’t the key.
How about applying some good old fashioned investigative journalism techniques – listening to customers, asking the right questions, uncovering customer needs. Sounds good to me. Then, crafting great stories – targeted content based on their needs, delivered over our lovely (and sometimes painfully hip) social media channels?
Maybe that’s where thinking like a journalist could really help build customer relationships?
Cheers!
Steve Seager
http://steveseager.typepad.com/
Steve Seager’s last blog post..Feed test
@MaryRuth, socialism in business or socialized business?
@SteveSeager, excellent points about the journalism aspect…and perhaps what Kami meant.
Ha! Not sure I would label it either. Business rooted in compassion, serving real needs, devoted to listening. Business made whole through social graces.
You may be right, just never heard it articulated before. Big schism between pr/marketing/advertising/journalism/SEM – and it’s a combination of these that will make social media (s)tick!
Thanks for writing this Beth, people listen to you
There will always be hype. There always is when people are introduced to something and have that initial “ah ha” moment. The thoughts are like puppies, full of energy and bounce and chasing shadows and their own tails. There are always puppies.
As the puppies start to grow up and mature they settle down and concentrate their energies better, towards more productive endeavours.
Eventually the dogs get old and find it hard to adapt to new tricks, they become annoyed with the antics of the youth.
There are so many overeager puppies out there bursting to be let loose. The energy and momentum carries everyone with it. Those who can step out and view from the sides are able to look at the folly and recognise the mistakes of their youth.
Yet we still learn and if we feel we are too old for new tricks we cease to evolve.
I guess the hype gets in the way if we are stuck inside it chasing our own tails, yet life would be dull if there were no puppies. And when we start to resent the puppies and their new tricks, it is time to change careers.
Alasdair Munn’s last blog post..Start at the Beginning
“Social media is nothing new” has been a focus of all the keynotes and conference speeches I have given over the past several months.
When I got involved in podcasting a few years back, I felt that it’s growth and uptake was being hindered by an unhealthy focus on the TOOLS (mics, mixers, distribution service, etc) and less on the goals that you might be trying to reach.
Fast forward to today, and the same is largely true. I always try and emphasize that Twitter, facebook, LinkedIn, etc. are all just TOOLS to help you network, market, converse- whatever. They fill a basic human urge to communicate and gather. But, by themselves, they are unimportant and transient. Facebook will cease to exist or exist in another form in 5 years (I’m looking at you, Friendster), but the change in communication methods that facebook and others of its ilk have wrought are permanent. We all EXPECT this kind of real time one-to-one or one-to-many interaction and that is a bell that you cannot unring. Slow adopters and naysayers get freaked out because it all seems daunting, technical and maybe even stupid because it’s not the “way things are done.” That is part of the reason why eyes pop open when folks realize that, yes, none of this is new. The tools just make the connecting more efficient. Period.
Here’s your proof: We all call it “social media.” Our kids just call it “life.”
Matthew Chamberlin’s last blog post..What’s the deal with podcasting in 2009?
Good stuff as always.
I think there’s a problem inherent in the “let’s-keep-moving-what’s-the-next-big-thing” mentality. Because honestly, most people still don’t know how to use what we have as effectively as they could.
I’m still getting flacky “blogger outreach emails”, invitations to be a Facebook fan just to inflate the numbers, Twitter DM spam, etc. There might not be a “right” way to use social media tools, but there’s definitely a wrong way. I think that we shouldn’t be so worried about what the next big shiny thing is, and instead focus on perpetuating a better way to do things.
Matt J McDonald’s last blog post..Thoughts On: Live-Tweeting
That’s what we have been noticing for awhile now. Yes social media is cool but give us something else people-I get that we all love social media but now show me what you’re going to do with it. Marketing is cool but not as cool as when people take it and turn it upside down. Twitter is almost like an island we’re all resting on until we have enough energy to figure out what we’re going to do next. Or maybe we’re all waiting for someone else to do it? If that’s the case- get off the island.
Marc Meyer’s last blog post..Intuitive marketing by Honda
Beth, first off thank you again for coming out yesterday for our chapter and sharing your thoughts. I just have a bit to add to this conversation.
To me there is a difference between Social Media as a concept and Social Media tools. The SM tools are just that, tools that can be leveraged for purposes that PR people can and should be using to effectively communicate with various publics.
Social Media as a concept – people having online conversations – is what I took away from your presentations and how to we as PR people need to be better at planning for and addressing business needs. The point being SM should be approached as the mindset of sharing, openness, authenticity needed to successfully engage your community and ultimately benefit the bottom-line. (Btw, I also commented something similar on Dan’s post since it was relevant.)
I might suggest rather than thinking like journalists (who are thinking a lot about keeping their jobs these days), we cut out the middleman and think more like customers.
Don Bartholomew’s last blog post..What Is That Hit In The (insert major publication name here) Worth? Nothing, Unless it Creates Engagement.
You’re absolutely right – much of it is common sense, but it’s kind of like sales. There are two types of salespeople in the world. When a customer walks up and says, ‘I need to buy a new ____’, one salesperson starts making assumptions and suggestions based on whatever he/she wants. The other salesperson starts asking questions. Why do you want this, what do you expect/hope it will do for you, etc.
Both salespeople will likely make sales, but only one will build relationships with their customers.
Ricky Cadden’s last blog post..5 Ways To Use Twitter To Increase Traffic
@AlisdarMunn, love the puppy analogy! I hope I don’t sound like an old dog.
The point I was trying to make is that relationships are just good business sense (and yes, perhaps a secret for some), but the tools will change.
@MatthewChamberlin, it’s so good, we have to say it twice!
Here’s your proof: We all call it “social media.” Our kids just call it “life.”
I wonder if the term frustrates people who were involved before it was given a name… I joined a Yahoo! Group back in 2004 (and am still a member) and I just called it an online group or my friends online. I didn’t call it “social networking.”
@MattJMcD, Yep, that’s why I think we need beginner, intermediate and advanced. And just because someone is talking “beginner” social media, don’t tell them it’s “nothing new” (In case you didn’t notice, that’s why got me on a tear today). For some folks it is a new ‘concept’ because it’s been hyped. When you mention “grandpop’s corner store” they all get the concept of social media pretty quickly.
@MarcMeyer, it’s because you are at the advanced phase of social media. You’re an early adopter, what can we say?!
Maybe social media is like clogs or flared jeans…what’s old is new again (am I showing my age?!).
@RichieEscovedo, yes, social media tools (ever changing) and social media as a concept (the BD I mentioned) are two different things. And different tools can be used to implement the concept. To make sure that the concept is implemented properly it’s a good idea to have internal consensus/approval, facts/research and a plan. The fact is that social media as a concept still needs to be proven to some and the way to do that is to research (i.e. monitor/listen), benchmark, create a plan, implement and measure…and do it all over again.
I am beginning to wish for a different name to differentiate the tools from the concept.
@DonBartholomew, aren’t we all customers of companies? If we expect to be treated a certain way then we should make sure the companies we work for do the same thing.
@RickyCadden, excellent point. Perhaps that’s what trips people up and makes them think all of this is new… “Wait? You mean I have to listen? I can just make my pitch/sale?! That’s craziness…Time is money!” LOL!
You’re right. People get so caught up in the buzzwords and the hype of all this cool “social media” stuff that they forget it’s all just basic humanity.
If Twitter and Facebook and MySpace and Yelp and Flickr and everyone else disappear tomorrow, that’s fine. Those are just tools. That’s not going to suddenly make people not want to share anything anymore with their friends.
Humans have been building shelters for as long as it’s been raining. We’ve used thousands of tools in the process as we’ve learned better ways of building shelters. When our super cool hammer was replaced by a super super cool hammer, did we decide to just sit out in the rain?
I don’t know how important it is to worry about the next big thing. I think that what social media has done is force us to think about our relationships with our customers in a different way. Its transparency and ease of use means that more of us can have conversations. Where the real challenge lies for many companies is the question of who should talk to customers? We’re used to having people assigned to that function. Via social media, everyone can fulfill that function. Having said that, perhaps the next big thing is that everyone within an organization will realize that they all have a responsibility to communicate with customers and become ambassadors of the company/brand/product/service.
Art Aiello’s last blog post..Recipe Books and Social Media
Excellent post. Beyond the comments above, I’d add two points. First, the fixation with social media and new platforms obscures the fact that great marketing is still almost always about understanding what the customer wants and then exceeding those expectations. Social media is only one tool to help do so. Second, we tend to obsess over all the cool new web tools and conveniently forget that most wom is happening off line. It’s not as exciting or sexy, and so few people write about it. But, it’s actually more important to understand the off-line world of everyday conversations than the latest web platform–e.g. what I call the “traditional” social media.
Randall Beard
http://randallbeard.wordpress.com/
Randall Beard’s last blog post..Turn Down the Volume To Improve Your Advertising
Yes. And I too can be accused of praying to the planning god. As all of us who have tracked the marketing buzzwords, from relationship selling (and earlier) to Tweeting, it IS all the same stuff strategically; even the execution hasn’t shifted much. The real change is in the ease of use and temporal; anyone can create a post in their pajamas — right now. But getting people to see it, read it is still the objective, and that’s become more difficult and ephemeral. There’s just so much noise. To make anything stick now, you have to know what you’re doing, be persistent, be on message, and yes, strategic.
After spending some time with Beth the other night, my assumptions of her coolness were confirmed. This is why I firmly believe that people who are actively engaging in this social media world have come to realize, just like Beth, that it all goes back to business.
Social Media gives us another way to conduct business – plain and simple. It’s not re-inventing business nor is it really changing it – it’s helping us bring it back to the one-no-one customer involvment.
It’s a conversation in a new way.
Kinda like when you have The Eagles deliver a ‘new’ acoustic version of ‘Hotel California’ or DEVO performing the Rolling Stones’ song ‘Satisfaction’…still the same song – just tweaked to come out in a different and/or unique way.
Narciso Tovar, Big Noise Communications’s last blog post..Lttle Moments…
[...] Beth Harte’s recent post, “Social Media’s Dirty Little Secret” really resonated with me. If you haven’t read it yet, you should, as well as click through to [...]
I really agree with Matthew Chamberlain’s comment above, and not just on his last point. All of these things are merely tools to accomplish what we’ve been doing all along, or aspire to do — communicate and gather. I don’t know if Facebook will cease to exist in 5 years or not, but our methods of communication have changed so much because of these tools that yes, now we expect this way of communicating, “this kind of real time one-to-one or one-to-many interaction and that is a bell that you cannot unring” (in his words).
To his point “We call it social media, our kids call if life,” (paraphrased) I find myself in an awkward spot because of my age and for being a very early adopter, even among my peers. I have to use the term “social media” among people older than me AND younger than me, though I consider it a way of life.
It does frustrate me, if only because I’m tired of hearing the term, but in the late 1990s I was “online journaling,” which eventually became blogging, and at the same time was involved in IRC, Yahoo Groups, etc., which still exist but evolved into these tools we now call “social media tools,” and to me it all comes down to that old cliché “A rose would smell just as sweet by any other name.”
It’s communicating. Through technology. I don’t care what you call it. Know what else is? The telephone.
To answer the question “what’s next?” I often wonder that myself, because I’m practically married to Twitter, but I’m also so used to it and so unthrilled these days that I’m looking to have an affair.
(I’m actually betting on a revival of old fashioned, handwritten letters.)
Stacy Lukas’s last blog post..Finding comfort in transparency
Well I know I will be talking to some old fashioned Journalists about social media, why it is important and why they should implement a strategy. Why blogging is important.
I am a late adapter to blogging. I just started blogging and Twittering about six months ago. I have been a part of social networks since their inception and I have always been a message board junkie.
I think we need to get a hold of what we have now before we try and find out what is going to be the next big thing.
Jamie Favreau’s last blog post..My NEW Internship and You can Help!
Hi Beth!
Again I am late to the party… but I do agree, Social Media is not new. We have always wanted to communicate and share ideas since the dawn of time.
Your post about the four faces of social media is particularly relevant here. It is important that we who are PR always focus on the user/customer perspective when trying to explain to clients how this social media stuff works.
To many times, clients get caught up on the word “technology”.
Once they see that there really are only two words to social media…. “social” and “media”, a light bulb goes on. That’s how customers behave – they socialize about the people, products, organizations, and businesses they trust.
Again, I wonder why the companies don’t see this right away?
DaveMurr’s last blog post..WeSeed Helped Me Recoup My Losses From Video Games
History has a habit of repeating itself.
When the same people say the same things to the same organizations with the same attendees who attended other events at other organizations listening to other things by other people, nothing new is said and Dan is right.
If Twitter dies tomorrow, you’ll do what people who don’t use Twitter do to communicate: they email, they make phone calls, they write letters, they attend conferences.
But like you commented the other day about the necessity of conference organizers to listen to attendees when planning agendas — http://www.corporatedollar.org/2009/05/oversubscribed/ — that’s where some of the new ideas will need to come from.
When organizers ask the same people to say the same things, history repeats itself. As I peruse through the comments above mine, and see 75% of the names as familiar to me, I question what I’m doing posting a comment where there are too few new names.
You want a glass of ice cold water thrown at you? The next time a conference asks you to speak, or the next time you get an OK to speak somewhere, suggest someone else speak in your stead–with the caveat you choose the person. And, you can choose someone who’s never spoken anywhere before. That will change history. That will provide a new perspective. That person will show the world–if even in a tiny hotel meeting room–how to think about old concepts with new ideas.
Ari Herzog’s last blog post..2 Years, 1 Month, and 10 Days Later
@TimJahn, great analogy! I think the challenge is that some organizations are still using a cool hammer and haven’t even started thinking about the super cool or super super cool hammers because they are afraid of what that hammer might do. I mean, really, who’s afraid to live in a better built shelter?! I don’t get it…
@ArtAiello, I think the challenge isn’t just who should talk, but who is capable of talking to customers…because the fact is not everyone is suited and organizations know this and know that their resources are limited.
@RandallBeard, “the fact that great marketing is still almost always about understanding what the customer wants and then exceeding those expectations.”
Indeed!! Social media isn’t a band-aid on a bruise nor the cure-all for everything that’s wrong in an organization.
@RobbinBlock, I think noise is the challenge for a lot of folks…in either traditional marketing or social media. And the noise is a lot of people saying things not worth listening to (from a customer’s perspective, that is). It’s imperative to plan, but also to be flexible. If a plan is created and organization ignore feedback and don’t adjust the plan…they will be feeding into the noise.
@NarcisoTovar, why thanks for the compliment, I appreciate that…you are pretty cool yourself!
Love the music analogy and a great way to bring your two passions together. Keep up the good work my friend!
@StacyLukas, I often wonder who exactly, which particular person, coined the term “social media.” Was it an analyst firm like Forrester or someone else? Because when I was online chatting…we didn’t call it anything. It was an “online group” or “online friends.” It wasn’t social media. So, I can understand where you are at.
Let me know how that Twitter affair turns out…
@JamieFavreau, I have been saying the same thing… I think we need conversations, blog posts and conferences that have beginner, intermediate and expert levels, because we all aren’t on the same playing field.
@DaveMurr, you are never late!
That’s a great question. It could be a lot of misinformation, fear, overload, etc. I think the issue right now is that the term social media is tied to Facebook, MySpace and Twitter (tools versus the concept). So, companies think they need to hire cool kids to help get them there when really it’s just a business communication issue that might be solved with many different “media” ways.
@AriHerzog, I think we need to remember that it takes people time to get used to reading/commenting on blogs. A lot of folks still fear being “public.” The people who we see posting are those who have embraced social media and who live it… Let’s give others some time and encourage them to participate.
[...] while I was over at Beth Harte’s reading one of her recent posts, where she was discussing social media’s dirty little secret, which is neither dirty nor a secret: “. . . social media is NOTHING new. If you want to look [...]
AAAAHHHHHH! I just now found your blog…well, actually the post about SM leeches a minute ago from a tweet by @markgr. I was actually at the Fort Worth PRSA meeting.
I appreciate your coming to speak. While there are those of us that are more advanced in our knowledge/understanding of social media, planning, implementing, measuring, etc., I think we all need to understand that not everyone is at that level. Our office had several in attendance and it was split down the middle: a couple of us understand and have been using SM for years, a couple others are newbies. BUT we ALL benefited from your session.
I think many assume that SM is a magic bullet that will solve all of our problems rather than realizing it is another tool for our tool belt.
Thanks again!
Susan
“The term “Social media” was used first after LinkedIn created their social network application around 2004.”
source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_media
.-= reactorr online branding´s last blog ..Snake Oil and the Kool Aid =-.
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@Ari Herzog – I loved your point above. “in the beginning”, both with the ability for all people to create websites, as well as with the “new?” social media empowerment, voices and personalities exploded on the scene. It was manna from heaven, the tower of Babel realized, finally! Most people didn’t have a voice to the masses, it was a select circle working in journalism and mass media, and they didn’t adequately reflect all of us, certainly not each of us. But with the success of some on the web, coupled with the seduction of hanging with the PR6+ crowd, the Technorait 100 crowd, etc., a new elite began to form. The same names on on 20 panels a year, the same book endorsements make the rounds. I applaud Ari’s reminder to keep the new voices coming. The same way immigrants have revitalized America for years, new voices are as important to the global conversation. Best practices, and brilliant insightful commentary is still a supreme value, but always guard against elitism, quid-pro-quo incestual success, stagnation, and the good-ol-bloggers mentality.
Otherwise, keep it coming leaders and visionaries. We aren’t doing anything more than an extension of the same principles behind the printing press or television, but there are certainly more of us doing it, and learning together.
As for so many voracious appetites looking for the ‘next big thing’, I’m with Art. I enjoy being in front as much as the next guy, but there are more Nordstroms (quality) and Walmarts/McDonalds (practicality), than there are Sharper Image stores. As a society, we can only absorb so many new things at a time, and frankly some people are just exhausted from keeping up with changes. However, there is virtually no limit on our ability to aborb quality experiences and relationships.