Selling Social Media Isn't Hard; Implementing It Is

You Can't Understand It Without Experiencing It Firsthand

Posted by Phil Johnson on 05.11.09 @ 12:37 PM

Phil Johnson

The biggest news for agencies about social media is that clients are starting to buy. If you thought selling social media was hard, wait until you start to deliver it. In the past three months, we've seen a handful of clients commit hard dollars, and after a couple of years of talking theoretically, we're discovering that implementation has its own challenges. I've been reminded several times in my career that a passion for craftsmanship makes great agencies. Social media requires no less craft than creating an effective print piece or website. Something as simple as creating a corporate Facebook page comes with its own set of complexities and requires an understanding of the platform and its capabilities. Who in your agency has those skills?

I bet that our social-media trajectory is not that different from those of a lot of agencies with roots in traditional and interactive advertising. We're likely to have a very different perspective than a pure social-media play like The Advance Guard. Most of us have invested in production systems and processes to produce digital advertising, websites, print and video. Don't expect social media to plug and play neatly into those models. On the other hand, don't dismiss the ability of smart agencies to implement social-media strategies.

This has been a watershed year when it comes to corporate enthusiasm for social media. Two years ago, we first started making presentations to our clients. There was polite interest and a lot of resistance for reasons of privacy and control. A lot of people just didn't believe it was relevant to their customers, or they couldn't see a clear link to their existing sales process.

That changed big time six months ago. With major brands increasing their presence, and with the surge of interest in Twitter, more clients began to call and ask us to come in and talk to them about specific social-media initiatives. From my own experience, I became convinced that, unlike every other form of marketing, it was impossible to understand social media if you didn't experience it firsthand. You need a guide who has explored the territory. You don't want one who has just read the travel book or seen the slide show.

I decided that the best way to engage our clients was to make our own agency a proof of concept. While a bunch of us were enthusiasts who dabbled with various technologies, we got serious and developed a companywide strategy that now includes four different blogs, a commitment to Twitter, a company Facebook page, the development of agency channels on YouTube and Flickr, and a PJA LinkedIn group. A small team led this effort, including our VP of business development, a digital art director, our digital director and myself. This approach helped us to distribute knowledge throughout the agency and forced us to understand the challenges of implementation. To give one example, we discovered it was hard to create consistent usernames and URLs across all of these channels. That taught us about some of the small branding issues our clients would face.

We're hardly trailblazers. There are some fantastic and innovative case studies in the market, but now we're in a position to give clients a real-time social-media experience in a context that they can relate to. A lot of people still look to newspapers and magazines to learn about social media, when everything they need to know can be experienced firsthand on Twitter, the social-media gateway drug. When we sit down with people now, we spend less time presenting and more time exploring how they can make their brand interesting by searching for relevant conversation threads on Twitter. Often, the first time they see people talking about their company in 140 characters or less, the light comes on.

The biggest challenge that I see is getting people who have practiced traditional marketing for their entire careers to adopt a new set of values. The first instinct is to treat any form of social media as a channel that you use to drive a corporate message. It's relatively easy to grasp the tools but more challenging to understand how new technologies have changed communication behaviors and patterns. You're essentially asking people to stop pushing a highly packaged image of their brand and begin to talk with people in communities and social networks. It's the difference between buying your way into a new culture as a tourist and earning your way in as a participating citizen. Like traveling in a foreign country, you get high marks for trying to speak the language, no matter how badly.

~ ~ ~
You can follow Phil Johnson on Twitter: @philjohnson.

47 Comments

By Dan | Boca Raton, FL May 11, 2009 03:23:57 pm:

Phil,

Beyond changing the mindset about social media (it's about having a conversation with an audience and not advertising to them), another challenge is that far too many are intent on finding THE social media tactic that is right for their brand. That can be incredibly limiting. I enjoy using Twitter as much as anyone, but 5% of people with a computer are on Twitter right now. And while that particular tool is growing rapidly, this doesn't change the fact that brands need to diversify and use different tactics for different purposes (blogging, podcasting, Twittering, Facebook, LinkedIn and so much more). Choosing which tactics those brands can achieve with consistency is obviously where experts like us come in, but it won't be enough to tell them to get into social media. We have to show them how certain social media tactics relate to their brand's audience -- without forgoing other parts of the media mix.

Dan Gershenson
Twitter: http://twitter.com/DanOnBranding
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/dangershenson

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By drrient | Chicago, IL May 11, 2009 04:04:18 pm:

Phil,

I couldn't agree with you more. Practice what you preach...you have to walk the walk before you can talk the talk.

Dirk R. Rients
Twitter: http://twitter.com/DRients
Linkedin: http://linkedin.com/in/dirkrients

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By gunther | Los Angeles, CA May 11, 2009 04:09:00 pm:

Phil - to build off of your points and Dan's, clients (and agencies) are certainly getting more geeked on what social media can represent to them in terms of possibilities, but they're also wasting a lot of time trying to shoehorn SM tactics into so-called "integrated" strategies that may or may not have any impact. I've also found in a few situations lately that clients have asked for an SM strategy but were really needing something a lot more holistic than building social network pages or developing killer apps...including a need for traditional media to help generate awareness. That said, I think it's important to help these folks think beyond medium and think in terms of experiences that are not necessarily designated to "online" or "offline", but anything that inspires an ongoing dialogue and builds community - whether the elements are experiential, mobile, digital or otherwise. For larger agencies, this is difficult and unfamiliar territory, given that the various disciplines are typically compartmentalized. In my humble opinion, within any agency I don't think there should be a group of SM designees - ideally, everyone should be proficient in using these communication channels and should be competent in understanding how different media can work in concert.

Gunther Sonnenfeld
Twitter: @goonth
Blogger: http://www.welcometonow.blogspot.com

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By CC | MILFORD, MA May 11, 2009 04:09:56 pm:

You know I agree with you Phil and thank you for including my company The Advance Guard in your article. Always appreciated when someone realizes the hard work we are doing. Social media isn't a free pass from doing lots of hard smart work. Way to many people seem to forget this.

- C.C. Chapman

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By nycvilla | NY, NY May 11, 2009 04:30:00 pm:

Thanks Phil, great piece. Implementation of SM is the challenge and nobody has cracked the code yet. There is an ocean of consumer fish but nobody has the correct fishing equipment just yet. And every conference, seminar, blog, etc. is preaching that SM is where brands need to be, but rarely with ideas as to HOW they should be there. How can brands effectively integrate SM into their media mix, when sites like Twitter have not even figured out how to monetize their own site? SM is still learning how to work with brands, and vice versa. And this will take time. In my to-be-challenged oppinion, brands will eventually crack the code of how to best utilize Twitter and Facebook, which will result in a flooding of brands to these sites, and the consumer will go elsewhere. On both sites, the consumer chooses with who and how to engage, but only for now.

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By stevehi | Seattle, WA May 11, 2009 04:36:03 pm:

It's amazing to me how many people talk about social media and how few people get it. I'm amazed that there are not more agencies launching with a sole focus on social media.

In fact, I've been looking for social media agencies to place on my agency lead generation site for months. There are not enough of them, particularly those who can walk the walk. Practically all agencies say they are good at everything, but I think relatively few really grasp social media.

I don't see how an agency can say it handles social media if it doesn't have it's own blog, and hasn't implemented strategies for it's clients to have rich, interesting, and productive blogs of their own.

I'm interested in hearing about some more social media agencies.

Steve Hirsch
Founder
http://www.alladvertisingagencies.com

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By bkaeppner | Cincinnati, OH May 11, 2009 05:14:05 pm:

Having a brand-presence in this space will always be secondary to what the brand can learn about its consumers. It is not the other way around.

I'm concerned with marketers & agencies that first ask "how can we use social media", instead of "what can we learn from it". It seems here we are asking "how can we learn to use social media" with regard to the technical challenges and nuances involved across the variety of platforms. For sure, selling the SM concept is easier than learning all the new tricks & tools that will change every 6-12 months.

The real trick is identifying exactly what and how you will learn from your consumer. Doing that first will make the other tasks infinitely easier.

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By MATSNL65 | LOS ANGELES, CA May 11, 2009 05:44:39 pm:

Phil gives a great perspective of the warming social networking receptivity from clients. It probably driven as much from the shifting sand of marketing budgets and prudent spending of those marketing budgets than it is from the inherent opportunities that digital marketing is affording brands.

I see the biggest shift will be occur two types of agencies: from what I call the "digital savvy" who will tout solutions based off heavy technology and interaction design and the "digital newbies" who come from the evaporating oceans of traditional media who are looking to push heavy story telling experiences online. Of course there are many who do a bit of both. Whatever a brand manager and their agencies agree on, the right strategies for engagement will tend to look less like the big over arching campaign and more of a sustained interaction between brands and consumers that enriches the experience of both.

This is easier said than done because the nature of the corporate structure and how it communicates is the antithesis of the way social networking sites and actual conversations work. Agencies themselves are corporate structures and can come off very much the opposite of genuine when trying to become experts in the conversation.

Langston Richardson, Executive Creative Director, infuz
Twitter: @MATSNL65 @infuz
URL: langstonrichardson.com

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By ptwombly | BOSTON, MA May 11, 2009 06:52:39 pm:

Agree with Phil - I have seen a tremendous shift from clients and prospects simply talking about a social media strategy - to looking into execution specifics. As we all know, today's consumer demands a 360degree perspective, and the rapid, well adopted onset of social media amplifies the need to participate.

To echo the other comments found here: A major caveat for agencies & clients: make sure you have a team that not only understands the language of social media - but - also understands that the metrics of "new digital" (ROI especially) are still evolving. Have a solid grasp - or better yet, a solid team - that understands / monitors cultural trends which change rapidly.

Still, this an exciting time to be in marketing, and to be an informed consumer.

Peter Twombly
Chief Marketing Officer
MMB Advertising
@PeterTwombly

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By JT | BONDI JUNCTION May 11, 2009 07:16:20 pm:

Phil,

great article. I am pleased to hear "the big boys" are waking up to creating engagement on social media platforms. We established www.storyz.com exactly for the purpose of being able to run campaigns across social networks - and with a creative that can change but with a platform that can be reused. We are just waiting for the industry to catch up... :)

JT

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By willywa | Culver City, CA May 11, 2009 09:18:35 pm:

Nice intro for the agency folks.

It will be difficult to convince the AdMan to put down his bull horn and pick up the walkie-talkie.

WW

Quick Plug: www.clearspring.com :)

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By Lyndon | Truro May 12, 2009 05:25:18 am:

I've been utilising social media for myself and clients for years now, those who know me know what I do and know what I get done, but you wont see me in the pages of this website.

And there lies the problem. It's all about tribes, social media does not warm to the tribe who succeeds in the agency system. But they absolutely love the tribe I'm a member of ;)

I know the people who make social media work, I work with them, they work for me, I work for them.

Brands cracking the code of Facebook, gimme a break. There is no code, only people.

It's not about cracking the code, it's about adopting the mindset.

It's about hiring people who are weird, who do not yearn for a Mark 7 BMW, but are more interested in getting a level 80 Death Knight.

Put down your Lexus keys and get to the SMX London conference to hear me speak.

Don't think this a plug, as I am not taking applications for clients right now. Although that could change if you air freight me some micro-brewed root beer. It's really hard to get in the UK.

Lyndon Antcliff
http://twitter.com/lyndoman

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By pashby | Weston-s-Mare May 12, 2009 08:48:35 am:

It still amazes me that the people pontificating on the "New" media are, already, begining to sound similar to those who pontificated on the "Old" media. None of you appear to address the root of the problem, that is a total lack of knowledge as to the meaning of the word "communication"

Commerce is a natural part of human life but it has become increasingly unnatural over the intervening centuries, gradually divorcing itself from the very people on whom it depends, whether workers or customers. The result has been to create a huge chasm between buyers and sellers.

Advertising's failure!

Conventional advertising has failed the natural human need for social interaction. We have created a media society during the last 30 or 40 years where there is an extraordinary reduction in interaction because of the one-way and more passive form of information that exists. People desire to be taken account of, to affect change, learn and personalise their relationships with their environment. These psychological and sociological factors are part of the incentive to interact with advertising.
Social Media, the Internet...whatever...will not work untill you understand the meaning of the word "communication"
We have & we've done it, read my book "Television Killed Advertising" @ Amazon Books UK, it's all there, where we have gone wrong in the past, and where we will go wrong in the (very near) future. paul.ashby@yahoo.com

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By jbernoff | ARLINGTON, MA May 12, 2009 08:50:42 am:

The projects we see succeed are those where the discussion at the start is about objectives and there are real metrics in place.

Anything else is dabbling. Which is fine, but then when you go to implement people aren't in agreement about what to expect. And sure, that makes it hard to succeed, because success isn't the same in your heads and in theirs.

Oh, and one more thing. Maybe expectations would be easier to meet if you didn't call it social *MEDIA* .

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By hugoguzman | Hoboken, NJ May 12, 2009 09:59:25 am:

Thanks for the article, Phil. I definitely agree with the idea of creating an internal proof of concept. We do the same thing (blog presence, twitter presence, youtube presence, etc...).

And remember that eventually, all media will be social media:
http://blog.zetainteractive.com/?p=408

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By spaprocki | Granville, OH May 12, 2009 10:03:26 am:

Phil -- You are right on target. Flexibility will be key in the future as current and emerging social media contributes more tools to the cache available to advertising and communications executives. Practioners must be willing to adopt these tools, try them and become a part of figuring out what works for the future. We are in an exciting era.

Sherry Beck Paprocki
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Branding Yourself (Penguin/Alpha, May 2009)
www.yourbrandingstory.com

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By joshmccormack | Allen, TX May 12, 2009 10:09:42 am:

We focus on technical implementation of social networking, and we partner primarily with design and strategy oriented agencies. We're seeing a much deeper level of build out of social networking than just a presence on Twitter & Facebook. Increasingly brands are deciding to incorporate conversations with their broadcasting, and they're doing this in the form of social networking on their sites. Blogs, forums, buddy lists, send to a friend, rating, commenting, sharing and user generated content. It's truly a different model than most ad agencies are set up for. It's not 90% design. It's not built to never change. It's alive, and it's a tough concept for a lot of people to sell, spec and deliver.

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By GEORGE | MT LEBANON, PA May 12, 2009 10:15:02 am:

You are dead-on here Phil, particularly your "proof of concept" approach and "earn" vs. "buy" comparison. We have approached social media a similar way here at Brunner.

For bkaeppner, of course you have to listen first before acting; this is a basic marketing principle regardless of the communication medium. In our experience in working with our clients and social media, monitoring the Groundswell is always the first step.

For Steve Hirsch, I don't think you'll see a host of social media pure-plays come into being. First, I argue that "traditional" agencies have a shorter learning curve these days. They went through the Web 1.0 revolution of the mid- and late-nineties and I honestly believe they get it. They won't lag as they might have before. Secondly and more importantly, traditional agencies are probably best positioned to leverage social media on behalf of their clients. Given the many facets of social media - social networks, blogs & microblogs, social bookmarking sites, forums, video/audio/photo sharing sites and wikis - coupled with fact that you can use them to:

• conduct research and product development,
• monitor and manage conversations to address negative perceptions and leverage positives,
• engage your best customers to tell others,
• provide customer service and support,
• and tell others about your brand/products

requires expertise and resources from many disciplines within marketing and advertising. These include business intelligence/market research, strategy & account planning, creative, digital production, public relations, etc. As Phil stated, "Social media requires no less craft than creating an effective print piece or website." In fact, I believe it requires more. Engaging social media is more like an integrated campaign than a single deliverable. It requires the many resources a traditional agency can bring to bear than a social media pure-play may have on hand.

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By Jocelyn | Austin, TX May 12, 2009 10:15:07 am:

Brands must become human.

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By GEORGE | MT LEBANON, PA May 12, 2009 10:18:03 am:

Oh yeah, forgot my signature.

George Potts
Management Supervisor
Twitter: @GeorgePotts
Brunner

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By paynetaylor | ANDOVER, MA May 12, 2009 11:00:11 am:

Unfortunately for marketeers, social media was created in part as a means of circumventing traditional media advertising and promotion. Virtually every communications space, from movies and stock racers to e-newsletters and baseball backstops, has become inundated with brand marketing.

As a result, people no longer want to be treated like, or seen as, consumers, incessantly pitched by companies that produce things they neither need or want without said companies convincing them that they do.

Therefore, it's not enough to just know how any social media channel (Facebook, Twitter, blogs, etc.) works. It is necessary to know the culture of the social world you are infiltrating inside out. It's not enough to speak Japanese; you have to have a keen and in-depth knowledge of culture, customs and courtesies. Without that, you are, and will always be, gaijin (an impolite term for outsider).

Of course, social media cultures are extremely diverse. That's the main appeal to those involved. If you love anime, you don't want your social environment to be polluted by SpiderMan. So, long story short, agencies should expend less effort familiarizing themselves with technologies and procedures, and more time becoming immersed in the cultures with which they wish to engage.

But wait ... if you don't know and appreciate the culture, customs and courtesies of a market, it's hard to effectively communicate the value, position and characteristics of a particular product to others. Isn't that true for traditional advertising? Oh, yeah. Doh!

So, Homer Simpsons of the agency world, avoid hyperventillated whizbangisms like "adopt a new set of values" with social media. There are no new sets of values, just the ability to move what you've always done well into new and different neighborhoods. And hey, what do you do first when you move in, especially if you're planning on stay there a while? Get to know the neighbors.

Christopher Payne-Taylor | Andover, MA

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By vpena87 | Chicago, IL May 12, 2009 11:04:06 am:

Well written article and good insight. As a twenty-two year old, I view social media as two faced. I grew up with it. Before Myspace or Facebook, chat rooms/forums where almost the same thing. A profile and places to talk to friends. Many of my friends who are graduating or have recently deleted their facebook. I took a poll in my class the other day, and only about three people thought branding through social networks is useful. The rest dislike it and feel violated that a place to meet friends, has become a tool for marketers.

There are places where brands should be present online. Yet, a profile on every single social-network is not useful. It dilutes the brand. Twitter is being used by an older generation than mine. It is simpler to use. It lacks substance. It is place that will soon become spam territory.

Marketers need to realize creating a ideavirus or raising awareness should not focus on the internet. The people who live on the internet do not visit Facebook all day. They do research and learn. Those social-network activities are rare and have become tedious because of advertising.
Utilizing the internet correctly is incredibly difficult. Even Apple does not do correctly. The people that do are the small companies or brands that have focus. They did not hire and agency to do this work for them. These guys have done a swell job.http://hardgraft.com/
I bought a Kindle, to free myself from having to read on the web.

Im ranting without a point.

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By JASON | FLAGSTAFF, AZ May 12, 2009 11:36:49 am:

Great stuff, Phil.

As a social media consultant that specializes in working with agencies, I applaud your decision to eat your own dog food in the social media realm. It's hard to advise clients when you're not doing it yourselves, especially given the major shifts in social media on a near-weekly basis.

Interested though, in the outcome of your efforts. In addition to education, what other benefits did the agency accrue through this effort? I ask because many agencies are (wisely, IMHO) embracing social media and content creation as a major business development lever. Utilizing smart content to give away a bit of what they know, and generating meaningful inbound leads as a byproduct.

Did you see that benefit? I know my friend Michael Gass of the Fuellines blog certainly espouses that inbound marketing philosophy. Interested if you saw results from it.

Keep up the great work. I always enjoy reading your work.

All the best,

Jason Baer
Convinceandconvert.com
@jaybaer

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By PHILIP | CAMBRIDGE, MA May 12, 2009 12:13:30 pm:

I wish I could respond to a lot of these comments, but I'm trying to make a living.

Josh McCormack makes some great points, especially that social networking doesn't just take place on Facebook and Twitter, and that it's a hard concept for agencies because it's not 90% design. I agree.

Jason Baer asks some great questions about our agency efforts, especially results. Through our agency Twitter account, we have connected and begun conversations with several Director level marketing people. Unlike pitching for new business, we really are sharing content and conversing. It's a lot more civilized than cold calling, although none of those discussions have led to new business. We did participate in a LinkedIn group that led to a request for a presentation and eventually an assignment. We have filled several agency positions that might normally have gone to a recruiter. Most importantly, we've been able to model social media behaviors to our own organization. No amount of talking can help people understand that communication patterns between people are changing. Many of our clients are genuinely engaged. They follow our activities and ask for help getting started. It's wonderful to work with clients that are excited and curious. Finally, all of these activities have put me in touch with hundreds of smart agency people, competitors and otherwise, that have made my job infinitely more interesting.

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By Rust | Cincinnati, OH May 12, 2009 12:15:14 pm:

I am thrilled that as an industry, we have another shot at this "social media" thing, since we all completely missed the boat by failing to capitalize on the original social media technology: the CB radio.

Long live the 70's!

(apologies for not having something to hype, pimp, sell, hawk, peddle or puff up my chest about in my signature --I'll work on that, along with a newfangled word to differentiate the concept. Maybe something like.... Techno-social-brand-a-licious-media-sphere-a-nomics(TM).

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By PHILIP | CAMBRIDGE, MA May 12, 2009 12:15:14 pm:

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By Olive22 | New York, NY May 12, 2009 01:04:31 pm:

The idea of finding a way to JOIN the conversation with your brand's consumers is key. This means not only commenting on other blogs and having a twitter feed, but creating your own content (with a very relevant and interesting blog) which will add a sincere, authentic voice to the always evolving online conversation.

Everyday, people are fastidiously searching the web for great stories, writing and photos that will remind them of the importance of the values they hold dear. A good blog can do this, and yes, in this blog it is absolutely necessary to steer clear of "driving a corporate message" (seriously, get over it!). This tactic is repulsive to readers, and if they find themselves consuming it on the internet, they will feel like it almost insults their intellect and their ability to discern their own values in the brand. This kind of interactive media is about allowing the consumers to be smart, interesting people, and complimenting them by offering them challenging blog content to consume.

In making the values of the brand (not the actual product) dictate the content, you will find your brand's online tribe, you will connect with them, you will listen to what they are saying, who shows up, and you will keep the dialog rich, current, and always speaking to the intelligence of you customers. They will be complimented and continue talking to you. Your brand must be a real person with a voice and point of view as much as each valuable customer is also a real person with a real point of view.

This is a very powerful consumer engagement, and I agree with Lyndon's comment above - in order to achieve this, the people working at the Agency need to be of the mind set of brand's values - weird, quirky people who can engage in the conversation without looking like they're "trying". The agency's best strategy for making social media work is easy – it's about working with passionate thinkers and believers who are of the "mindset" of the brand, and trusting these people can speak and move fluidly in social media without a list of corporate tenets and managers to guide their every move.

Check out our case study on a campaign we created for a leading natural food brand this last year:
http://www.olivemedia.com/grass-fed-party-case-study/

- A.C.
Olive
Director of Social Media
http://twitter.com/olivemedia

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By Rust | Cincinnati, OH May 12, 2009 04:00:56 pm:

Olive sez: "weird, quirky people who can engage in the conversation without looking like they're "trying"."

Those are known as *actors* and are de-masked very quickly online. The current crop of technorati youth has super sensitive radar when it comes to astroturfing. We are developing a generation of skeptics who will, in their older years, comprise the largest group of cynics ever assembled.

...and Bill Cosby eats chocolate pudding every day, right? He did those commercials because he liked pudding --not for the money, right?

Enthusiastic consumers are your ally, not shills. Spend some time at AppleInsider.com.

paynetaylor sez: "It is necessary to know the culture of the social world you are infiltrating inside out. It's not enough to speak Japanese; you have to have a keen and in-depth knowledge of culture, customs and courtesies."

*infiltrating* ...hmmm... interesting choice of words. There are still many places in the USA where living there for a generation is not considered enough time to have an in depth knowledge of culture, customs and courtesies. So how long does it take you to become one with the world of pre-teen girls... or in more typical terms: how many focus groups do you need.

Now re-read the post by "vpena87." Then talk to some technorati youth. They HATE that the "adults" have "infiltrated" FaceBook. They're appalled that a web app that was once for college kids only is now cluttered with 10 year olds and everyone's parents. Ask them if they really care about Twitter. Forget the focus groups. Just spend a few days in coffee shops eavesdropping and you'll know everything you need to know about what they *really* think.

Though everyone is adding "lion tamer" to their business card, the beast cannot be controlled. You have much less influence over the turn of events than you think. No change really for the ad industry.

(apologies for not having something to hype, pimp, sell, hawk, peddle or puff up my chest about in my signature --I'll work on that, along with a newfangled word to differentiate the concept. Maybe something like.... Techno-social-brand-a-licious-media-sphere-a-nomics(TM).

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By Rust | Cincinnati, OH May 12, 2009 04:54:39 pm:

You have to read this:

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/43456

EXCERPT

"Like you, I'm bombarded every minute of every day with advertising. And having been misled more than a few times in my life, I'm immediately skeptical of any product I see on the side of a bus. That's why I was so surprised by the new Mountain Dew True Blue."

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By Victor | Huntsville, AL May 12, 2009 05:00:54 pm:

I agree with Rust. The word is "infiltrating" and if you do talk to users of social media, they'll tell you that they don't want to be "infiltrated". Social Media is a fast moving target and as with Tivo which lets the viewer "run" from the commercials, social media users will run to the next SM outlet until that gets "infiltrated".

Unless your message or product is relevant and the target "asked" for your "business card", they will consider you an "infiltrator" and "block" you out just as they have in the e-commerce industry through blocking your email address.

So, it's too easy to get in, but it's not hard to knock you out. And figuring how to get in, stay in, and build a trusting, long-lasting relationship is the challenge.

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By jkantor1 | St. Petersburg, FL May 12, 2009 06:12:58 pm:

The last point was the most important - if a company sees "social media" as just another tool in the Us-vs-Them sales process, it's doomed from the start.

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By mohasseb | irvine, CA May 12, 2009 07:47:54 pm:

Great post, I have found that people are highly confused about what social media is to begin with, does it mean a blog? Twitter? Message boarding? Facebook , etc. I have also heard people indicate that they have a web site and are active in the social media marketing or measure the clicks on their site and therefore have a measurement program. Here is a link to a presentation about the social media landscape and measurement that may be of value to folks interested in the topic -- It is called Power of Social Media: http://essencewise.com/environment.html

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By KRISTA | PARK CITY, UT May 12, 2009 08:09:32 pm:

Great post. From a client's perspective who has been engagine in social media for some time, I cannot tell you frustrating it is to have my agency try to be social media experts because they've done "research". As you so eloquently stated, the only research that is proven for your clients is to jump in and start being a part of the conversations. How can an agency give any advice if they themselves are not actively engaging online.

I applaud your efforts and hope other agencies will follow.

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By scottmonty | Dearborn, MI May 12, 2009 10:24:45 pm:

Yay Phil and @agencypja! I'm so glad to see how well you've adopted and integrated social media into your practice.

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By pshoulahan | SAN DIEGO, CA May 13, 2009 12:38:01 am:

Phil,

Nice article. Your points are well made and very insightful. I also agree with bkaeppner's comments about listening to your consumers.

If a company or agency views social media as nothing more than a place to have another billboard on the side of the road, then they are destined to fail. I can't tell you how many times I frantically search for the close button on a pop-up or simply ignore the person dancing in the corner of my screen talking about "whatever".

One of the major benefits we have at www.Adjack.tv is how we engage our users and the information we are allowed to collect on their habits and interactions. Outside of a simple rating system for an advertiser's commercial, there is a running comment box of what the users think of the ad. Behind the scenes, we analyze age, gender, demographic data, and abandonment rate of a particular ad. Perhaps the greatest benefit is that all of this information is easily assessable by the advertiser and is displayed instantly for their consumption. We are "actively and passively" listening and conversing with our users.

Is it working? I believe so. Currently, AdJack users spend over an average of 7 minutes watching ads, making comments, and clicking through to the products that interest them the most. The best part is that it is permission based and the user can come and go as they see fit.

vepena87 mentioned that many of his or her friends feel violated by the intrusion of marketing efforts into social media. I can not agree more. The reason for this is that Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, and YouTube were built initially to get the users and then tried to plug in the advertisers. That's putting the cart before the horse. A better idea would have been to build a cart that actually fits the horse.

Thanks again for the article and stop by AdJack.tv sometime.

Patrick Houlahan
VP, Business Development
www.AdJack.tv

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By vpena87 | Chicago, IL May 13, 2009 09:19:27 am:

I have read most of the comments on this post. Everyone is one a similar page. Phil Houlahan states it best, "build a cart that actually fits the horse." Hulu for instance, might not be social networking;however, many people use it. They are aware that advertisements will be shown and do not mind. Blogs (gizmodo.com) sell products without having the reader/participant feel as if they were being sold to. Most of the products on the site have their benefits, date of availability, price, and reviews.

I have read all many of the social marketing books out there. The internet definitely changes at a lighting speed. The younger group in my generation visits sites that I do not what so ever. This is a big change from how most marketers see the web. There are very niche age segments. Every year a multitude of new websites and services explode on the internet and for every large one. Hundreds of others create small success marketers ignore. (longtail) It is as if every year has its own internet generation. For instance (4chan.org) is used by people five to eight years younger than I. I find the site useless for the most part. Although, the site is place marketers will avoid, it shows how that websites are very powerful without being a brand name such as Twitter.

I do not have a solution other than creating brand ambassadors and letting the consumer do the blunt of the work. I will go to sites and comment about how much I enjoy the Kindle and describe its benefits. Amazon never paid me. I paid Amazon for it. What did it take? My Kindle arrived, the product package was sucked me in. When I turned it on, Jeff Bezos thanked me for being and early adopter and placed a link to email Amazon with feedback. That was it. It might not be genuine, but it was good enough for me. Know I praise the product on social networking sites and blogs.

Any tips for a graduating marketing senior. Looking for a job.

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By ANA | SAO PAULO - SP May 13, 2009 09:53:07 am:

Yes, yes, yes!!!! Totally and deeply agree!!!!!

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By Neil | Winston-Salem, NC May 13, 2009 10:00:03 am:

B2B clients especially have a difficult time seeing the benefit of social media. Several obstacles include:

1. Time. Their prospects/customers struggle to respond to their phones calls, emails and text messages -- much less keep up wit FB pages, follow tweets, and answer LinkedIn requests.

2. Value. How much added value can they get in a 140 character tweet? How often are you going to return to the Tide FaceBook page to read, "I just love this detergent. Can't wait to do another load."

3. Sales. While I've seen LinkedIn become more influential in the sales process, most B2B customers do not see how FB, Twitter and other social media networks can aid in the sales process.

4. Money. In order to build, update and keep these social media sites fresh, companies are finally realizing they need to dedicate both internal and external resources. With budgets already slashed or dashed for 2009, many clients are opting out until they can afford to be a player.

5. Measurement. Yes, you can measure 'the number of FB friends' or 'twitter followers' or 'LinkedIn connections' but in the end, what measurable effect did social media have on sales. Get a grasp on that and then we'll start pulling in our B2B friends.

Neil Myers
Neil@myersjonespartners.com

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By noahbw | Chicago, IL May 13, 2009 12:51:26 pm:

Great stuff, Phil.

It seems that for companies to fully make use of Social Media they must be willing to actively use it. It has certainly become easier to "sell," but the doing takes more than a company simply paying some money and measuring ROI off of that.

The beautiful nature of Social Media engaging users in dialogue can not be skipped. Companies must buy into the value of getting engaged beyond answering customer service phone calls and e-mails.

Noah Weiner
www.webnewpoint0.com
www.twitter.com/noahbw

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By helvatter | Munich May 14, 2009 06:09:15 am:

Hey Phil,
This is an excellent idea to show clients how social media works with the own agency as an example. I totally agree that social media cannot be explained or presented, it has to be experienced. There is definitely a lot to do in order to educate our clients about what social media is and what it can do for them.
But as much work needs to be done on the agency side - I work in a renowned online marketing agency and there is a loose grouping concerned with social media - but far away from having decent campaign processes or sellable social media packages for clients. But whats even more disturbing is that the other account management, creative and media collegues regard us as some kind of small grouping concerned with strange things :)
Maybe this is different in the US, but in Germany social media is yet to claim its rightful place with agencies as well as clients.

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By betweeted | Indianapolis, IN May 15, 2009 02:17:20 pm:

What I've found interesting is the rise in managed services where agencies manage an advertiser's twitter account for them. Is that genuine? Can you really be using Twitter if it's not you (or your company) who's really doing the networking?

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By betweeted | Indianapolis, IN May 15, 2009 04:31:54 pm:

Should an agency charge for their hours on set-up (or a project fee) and let the client go from there, or an ongoing retainer? I've also heard of charging for performance (per click). Thoughts?

Nick Carter
Betweeted - Advertise on Twitter

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By betweeted | Indianapolis, IN May 15, 2009 04:33:47 pm:

OR... just thought of this, what about simple training, hands off delivery. I just like to think that if it's truly social media, the client needs to be doing it.

Nick
http://www.betweeted.com

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By Rust | Cincinnati, OH May 16, 2009 09:58:20 am:

DING, DING, DING, DING, DING!!!!

"betweeted" has stumbled upon the ultimate conundrum of advertising.

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By Rebecca | Waltham, MA May 27, 2009 02:53:16 pm:

Phil,

Working at Digital Influence Group, where we do nothing but social media, has made a few things clear.

The genie is out of the bottle. Consumers understand that they have a right to share their opinions and the power to shape the products they will consume.

Marketing – traditional or social – that tells people what to think and buy is passe. Marketing that makes an honest effort to engage consumers in a real dialogue and find out what they actually want and will use – that's the future.

At DIG, we work with major consumer and B2B brands to help them create an appropriate social media strategy. Most importantly, we do all we can to help them become a more social brand.

rr

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By andreasduess | Toronto, ON May 28, 2009 10:50:02 am:

We had a client commenting on a, successful, campaign that he would have never gone ahead with it, had he known "how much work this would be".

With traditional advertising, when the work is done, the work is done. With social media, the work never stops and that's one of the hardest things for many clients to wrap their heads around.

Like Phil, we made an early decision to walk our talk. It allows us to find pitfalls and make mistakes on our own time, not our clients.

@andreasduess
Connection Architect
fisheyecorp.com

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By gmiddleton | Indiana, PA September 1, 2009 09:12:36 pm:

Great post Phil :) You pretty much hit the nail on the head with this one!

Best,

Gaston
http://www.Ultimate-Resell-Rights.com

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