People all over the world are connecting with each other through social media. Companies are being told to utilize on this and integrate social media into their marketing strategies. As Brian Solis describes it “As you’ll no doubt read here over and over again, social media is important to your business. If you don’t engage on Twitter, Facebook, or Youtube, you’ll eventually go out of business. At least that’s what the experts will have you believe”. What I refer to as “social media madness” is when companies, in fear of falling behind, try to connect with customers without any strategy or insight. But why do I call this madness?
The keyword here is relevance. Simple exposure to ads and content on Facebook or YouTube doesn’t mean that customers will like you, buy your product or even be aware of your brand. The mind is selective, paying attention to the elements that are relevant to us in the sense that we are motivated to look for it in some way. The following YouTube video demonstrates this:
Bombarding people with things not relevant to them is therefore “madness” and will not significantly increase your click through rates for your ads. Think about how many ads you see on Facebook every day. How many do you really notice or remember? According to my own experience it is close to zero. Some people will say that it still has an unconscious effect just seeing them. Either way I agree with Brian Solis that you need to understand your customers and how they connect, discover and communicate. He talks about a new generation C, who are far more connected than everyone else. They are almost literally born with a Smartphone and a Facebook account. In order to effectively integrate social media in the marketing strategy, I believe companies need to understand what’s relevant to the customers. If they learn what’s relevant to them, companies can try to motivate customers and thereby gain their attention. It is not about being present in social media; it is about knowing where and when to be.
Now a days companies seem to be seeking volume and virality over strategy and purpose. My point is; Don’t get caught up with the shiny object “Social Media”, get the people, objectives and strategy right first. Exposure doesn’t equal meaningful associations!