5 Social Media Myths
While the emergence of Social Media has been amazing, much of the talk surrounding Social Media has become divorced from reality. Social Media is, and will most probably continue to be, a small (albeit important) part of the overall marketing picture.
Unfortunately, the way Social Media is being hyped will probably do more harm than good – a backlash is inevitable.
The root of the problem is that Social Media people don’t seem to know much about the rest of the marketing world. Sometimes, they seem to imply that the world’s premier marketers have been in the grips of some mass hysteria for the last 50 years and they need self proclaimed social messiahs to part waters and show the way to the promised land.
Social Media myths are very easy to dispel with even a modest attempt to look at the facts.
Myth #1 Old Media is dead: Since 1996, Digital Media spend has gone from 0% to 10% of total advertising both in the US and globally (according to ZenithOptimedia). At the same time, newspapers have dropped by roughly the same amount..
The rest of the media world has been flat. TV has dropped a few points, Magazines have gained a few, Outdoor and Radio have been relatively stable. None of the major media will die anytime soon.
Social Media gurus often cite selective anecdotal evidence. They point to a company that went bust, or that a magazine went to a digital format. Undoubtedly, these things have happened. However, the same can be said for social media as well. MySpace and Friendster have certainly seen better days.
As I wrote in an earlier post, despite the hype, there is no demonstrable trend away from traditional media.
Myth #2 Broadcast is dead: Another myth is that people don’t want one-way communication but want a dialogue instead. Socialnomics author Erik Qualman proudly declares that he doesn’t even own a TV.
However, this Nielsen report (pdf) found TV viewership at an all time high in 2008. Another interesting fact is that while nearly 30% of US homes have Digital Video Recorders (DVR), less than 5% of viewing is timeshifted. It turns out that people enjoy being entertained. They even might sometimes prefer to talk to someone they are watching TV next to, rather than online. Moreover, it seems that when they do watch timeshifted TV, they often watch commercials.
Just to put this point in its proper perspective, 5% of viewing is significant. If a TV show can garner 5% of viewing it’s a hit! However, the other 95% remains 19 times more meaningful.
Finally, It’s an open question how much of social media is actually dialogue and how much is broadcast, as Neicole Crepeau points out in her excellent blog post.
Myth #3 Editorial is dead: Digital Technology allows for greater consumer choice. If we don’t like the content that editors choose for us, we can arrange information for ourselves, through RSS readers or other technologies. Social Media gurus assume that because we can arrange information for ourselves, we will always want to.
The factual basis given for this myth is usually the same as for the two previous myths. They point to some failure or give an example why someone would want to choose information for herself. However, there are no facts to support a general trend away from editorial content. As Barry Schwartz points out in The Paradox of Choice, having more options isn’t always better or preferred.
As information multiplies, the editorial role is actually more important. Media fragmentation gives us more control over who we choose to pay attention to, but that just increases the value of those who can gain our trust.
Digital Media allows us to research the facts for ourselves more efficiently, but we certainly can’t do that in every case; nor would we want to. If it was so easy, Social Media gurus would get their facts right more often.
Myth #4 Brand advertising is dead: Businesses advertise for many different reasons. Some campaigns focus solely on stimulating sales, others do not. If direct response was all they cared about, advertisers wouldn’t spend so much time and effort tracking brand perception.
The truth is that consumers respond to brands that they like and trust. Brand advertising makes direct response more effective, salespeople more productive and products stand out on shelves.
For products that have short product cycles, advertising can translate directly into sales. However, durable goods advertise to consumers who are years away from a purchase and business services often depend on retaining clients over a period of years. Many marketers have to deal with consumer behavior that is far more complex than simply counting clicks.
Direct response advertising has been around for decades. It has been, and will always remain an important part of the picture and digital technology makes response much easier to measure. However, as I’ve pointed out before, that doesn’t negate the need for brand advertising.
Myth # 5 There is a trend towards Social Media: Just as evolutionary biologist Stephen Jay Gould pointed out that there is no trend towards “evolutionary progress” but towards diversity, the real trend is towards media fragmentation and it’s been going on for a very long time.
While Social Media is important, it is doubtful that it will ever make up more than a small part of the overall marketing picture. (See more on this topic here).
We can reasonably expect both Social Media and its impact to grow, but eventually that growth will level off. Trees don’t grow to the sky. If Social Media can achieve even a few percent of the enormous global market for marketing services, it will be an enormous business. However, believing that Social Media’s gain will come at great expense to everyone else is just not thinking seriously.
A Future Role for Social Media – Big Seed Marketing
For Social Media to become successful, it will have to integrate successfully with other marketing services. Good marketing unlocks synergies between marketing channels.
Duncan Watts, although a virtual unknown in Social Media circles, was the initial pioneer of Social Network Theory and is someone to be taken seriously. He is also the primary advocate of Big Seed Marketing.
The concept is based on the mathematics of Social Networks, the fact that a substantial effect can be initiated anywhere in the network (e.g. delays at a regional airport can disrupt major hubs) and also on Solomon Asch’s research on how majorities influence minorities. (See How Ideas Spread).
Watts advocates using mass media campaigns, because that is the most efficient way to reach the most people. His research suggests that campaigns can be greatly extended using social media. In effect, that Social Media can multiply the efficacy of conventional campaigns. Major brands such as E*Trade and Miller Beer have adopted the strategy.
Those who have a stake in Social Media would gain much greater benefit thinking seriously about how they can improve and extend existing marketing campaigns rather than casting aspersions on what other media contribute.
– Greg
Greg, your article is brilliant. Thank you so much for nailing it. It’s been my experience that new media rarely replace old media; they merely add to the mix. TV didn’t replace radio as promised, movie rentals didn’t replace going to the theater, and the web is not replacing print (in fact, more paper is used for printing now than ever before). In the past, one could build a brand on a single medium or a single channel. Nowadays, you need a coactive strategy is to weave thin channels together to get the same bang for your buck. But that doesn’t mean the old media are dead. It merely means the mix is more complex – and more powerful, if you manage it well.
Tim,
Thanks for your input. Needless to say, I agree 100%. The true “new media” is integrated media.
– Greg
Greg;
Once again a great post providing interesting and useful insight. Thanks!
Can’t help but agree with your myths. I would add, however, that for b2b marketing, participation in the social media sphere is essential, especially if you want to use Inbound Marketing techniques. For all those contemplating doing this (or who are already), my belief is, as with any time-consuming marketing exercise (sure it may be “free” but your time is valuable), one should ensure that the return on investment is worthwhile.
You wrote an excellent post a while ago on calculating ROI for marketing campaigns in general. It was good enough to inspire us to take a serious look at what’s entailed in calculating the ROI of a social media campaign. We ended up writing about ROI calculations in three posts which provide methods and tools to put them into effect :
How to calculate the ROMI of your website as a whole: http://bit.ly/6bFSvs
A list of the 10 best free ROI calculators on the web: http://bit.ly/7fwBkF, and
how to build your own ROI calculator (perhaps for a social media campaign): http://bit.ly/6IGZQh
Eric,
I would agree. Social Media Marketing is important already and will only get more so. However, there are lots of important things and the right mix needs to be found and integrated effectively.
I’m happy to hear that you found the ROI post useful.
Happy Holidays.
– Greg
Greg;
Yes – totally agree about getting the mix right. No one thing is going to make anyone a successful marketer today, any more than it did before the Internet.
And Happy Holidays to you, too. Thanks.
Great article!
A smart strategy that leverages a blend of marketing tactics will always prove the most successful. Social media is and will be important but it is just one tool. I hope this sheds some light for many who know social media, but need to understand how it fits for a company within its overall marketing and media strategy.
I like it!
Thanks, Patti:-)
– Greg
Greg:
Whenever I feel a need to bring coherence to my otherwise chaotic life, I go online and look for your posts on LinkedIn. You delivered once again with this piece. Thanks for providing a perspective I can share with my starry-eyed colleagues in the direct and database marketing business who appear eager to ride the social media wagon right off the edge of the cliff.
RNT
Richard,
Those are very kind words. Thank you for them.
– Greg
HI Greg ,
Amazing article !
I am interested to know that how online social network companies integrate with traditional media .
Though lately there has been a spate of Tv , films and print publishing companies venturing into online space , do you see the same happening with online cos i.e. they venturing into offline space?
Thanks
Hardik
Hi Greg
Great article, well thought and discussed. Bottom line being marketing fundementals and principles still remain, tools change and social media is another tool to enhance, support marketing.
Best regards and Happy Holidays
Varsha
Hardik,
Sure. Almost all have sharing buttons and they will have to build social components inside their sites as well. We had a big program to do this inside my company but it mostly died after I left. Nytimes.com has launched an internal social network (although they didn’t do a very good job)
What will be the most difficult part for media brands is to let users gain recognition on their site. A great deal of the attraction of social networks is that it allows people to broadcast.
I wrote another post about integrating branded content and social networks: https://digitaltonto.com/2009/how-to-integrate-branded-contentand-social-media/
– Greg
Varsha,
Good points. Thanks.
I wish you Happy Holidays as well.
– Greg
You’ve said “While Social Media is important, it is doubtful that it will ever make up more than a small part of the overall marketing picture” and based on your analysis that may well be true. I don’t know, but you have lots of impressive evidence.
There’s no doubt “social media” will have to become aligned and holistic with other efforts. I think that where your article falls short is that you only discuss social media in the context of marketing.
It’s in its wider context, which you know well, where it will become far more pervasive and influential in the brand experience. That also requires those efforts to be aligned, which I think will be one of the major trends of 2010 when we look back.
Social media is only one of many things to get right in a corporate mix of strategy and actions, but its importance is growing and I think this is going to continue for some time.
Who was it that said that we always overhype the short-term impact of such things and underestimate the long term impact – like the internet on the mobile phone. It’s a decade old as a commercialised (successful) offer, but it is only now about to happen in a massive way.
Walter Adamson @g2m
http://xeesm.com/walter
I wish the article could carry some research findings.
It more in qualitative words than facts and figures.
Will the content be true for Indian Consumers, India is exploding in use of Social Media, with 3G tech introduction , this will revolutionalise the media uses pattern??
Pl any comments.
Garg
Walter,
I think you have it about right. Social Media has already made an impact and that will only grow. However, marketing is an enormous area incorporating lots of very important and powerful things.
– Greg
Garg,
Ok. Here’s some figures for India:
Internet penetration: 7%
Digital Ad share: 2%
I have a hard time believing Social Media is exploding as much as you say it is. Maybe among the people that you know, but not for the country as a whole.
– Greg
Hi Greg,
Again you deliver a great insight on the industry, and you provide a spot-on delivery when it comes to the impact of Social Media. However, I do believe you can only make a statement about impact when we are talking about the impact of Social Media in the long run, say a time span of twenty or thirty years. The impact of Social Media will not only take up (or hit) the marketing industry but it will also, most likely, have an impact on our (social) behaviour. Right now the social paradigm is shifting, from a sphere of managing mostly offline relationships towards an evenly divided online & offline relationship management sphere. This will have consequences that will go beyond marketing, sales and PR. What these consequences will be, are hard to say, and only time will tell us.
I do agree somewhat with Walter Adamson when he compares a technical innovation (like internet and mobile phone) to the technical-social evolution of Social Media. Most people (who are not working in our industry) are still trying or struggling to catch up to the shift online. Most people in the western civilized world are using the Internet and their mobile phone’s to stay connected. With the use of these tools they will get all sorts of impulses and inputs of information. But when looking towards countries like India, something to which Garg refers, we will see an impact that cannot yet be fully measured or anticipated. Will China, India and the African nations going to have a global impact on innovation of the Internet, and/or Social Media? Of course… No doubt about it. But like you said Greg, the impact of technical innovations like 3G will not have immediate effect on a whole country.
The greatest myth remains to be confronted. Will Social Media really change every aspect of our lives forever? It already has some influence on how we shop, where we eat, how we travel, on how get job interviews (or jobs in general), how we manage our friendships, how we look television, which movies we will see, how we express ourselves and it helps us to find kindred spirits. What is going to be next? Are we going to get fed up with it at some point? Or are we going to look back in 50 years and think, wow I was right there, when it all happened. I was one of first to use Social Media in earnest, and look at it now…amazing.
Happy holidays!
Niels,
Thank you for your input.
Happy Holidays to you as well.
– Greg
Great post Greg! I think this entire bit about Social Media is over- hyped. I am not sure if it is a fad that will fade.
I created a blog – then someone suggested that I create a page on a social networking site to promote the blog – I did that and then realised that I had to now post the same stuff that I have posted on my blog, onto this page.
And I hate the duplication of effort – why did I create the blog in the first place? And then there is possibility of users moving on to another interface.
The worrisome part is that every new innovation – forces you to constantly reinvent yourself and upgrade your skills – and one is never sure how long this fad will last.
All in all, I feel that this is all about short term revenue generation – not long term.
Therefore the strategy you adopt has to be robust – and you need to treat the medium like a mere tool that your are using, but are not dependent on.
The social networking tools are a means and not an end. They are the medium – not the message.
I may be wrong – and would love to be corrected if I am.
Dear Greg, Interesting article and interesting discussion. A hype not fundamental? A new marketing offspring? Or a drastic turning point? Ihave not yet found the answer to those questions. Can we compare our discussion with the discussions which was undoubtly going on when specialists discussed the future of supermarkets around 1950? If we claim that social media will not put marketing in a completely new perspective, are we not making the same mistake as the shopowner who saw his business going down but refused to adapt? And if we agree that social media will be the turning point, are we not turning social media into a new holy grail?
I am introducing a new product the Pillkey® on the market. Due to a somewhat conservative attitude and the lack of funds for intensive marketing campaigns, the launch is a puzzling question to me. Meanwhile we have adapted somewhat (you are completely right, it is absolutely stupid to throw overboard the fundamentals of marketing) our marketing strategy. We will focus on experience marketing an co creating. We will communicate with our target group by internet communities, social internet networks, hyves and so on. For me completely new and interesting field to explore, although I feel I have not yet found the optimal business model in social networks yet.
Punch line. Do you not feel that social networking, social media, and so on has changed the purchasing attitude of consumers considerably? And in the end this change in (social) attitude will have a profound affect on marketing and marketing media especially?
Couldn’t agree more, Greg. Your blog is now essential reading for me.
During my final few years at a major publishing company in the UK, a stream of new media gurus were paraded before us to tell us we were all going the way of the dinosaurs. They might yet be right, but they went about it in a really bad way.
My colleagues and I were producing vibrant, interesting magazines, loved by their readers. We were finding our way in the digital world basing our efforts on valuable, carefully-edited, quality content. We’re still doing OK, too.
These digital evangelists were often doom-mongers. Considering they were there to tell us about really exciting new opportunities, they managed to demotivate and antagonise a lot of delegates.
So much of what these consultants did was divisive. The new world they were supposed to represent is collaborative, but as is often the case, they sexed-up their insight into the future by slagging off the traditional skills that complement new media.
Ajoy,
Very good points.
Thanks and have a Happy Holiday.
– Greg
Martyn,
Yeah, that drives me crazy as well. What’s appalling is the completely lack of expertise among many of the self proclaimed “gurus”
Have a nice holiday.
– Greg
Jan,
Good luck with your new business.
– Greg
Do you not feel that social networking, social media, and so on has changed the purchasing attitude of consumers considerably? And in the end this change in (social) attitude will have a profound affect on marketing and marketing media especially?
Garg,
I guess that depends on what you mean by profound. Would I rather have 100 GRP’s this week than a social media campaign? Absolutely!
Do I think that Social Media can be effective? Yes.
How many “profound” marketing campaigns have I seen? Zero.
– Greg
Hi Greg,
Spot on! There is a huge gap between displacement and replacement.
In the pool of media options, Social Networks (I refuse to use the term Social Media when marketers playing in the space create Social Interference) is a small drop.
Paul,
Thanks for your input and thanks for your excellent post about quantum search.
– Greg
As the tools around marketing evolve – and diversify – it is important to see how the trends and behaviors around social media affect the new marketing resources. There are no “myths” rather there are catalysts that affect the tools and way marketing process work. The playground has changed and so will the workplace.
Just as I sigh at those calling social media the silver bullet — which it is not unless you know how to incorporate it right into your channels, strategy and most importantly your workforce’s inherent comfort with the channel and message….I sigh at folks who discuss the “over-hype” without looking at the effect on consumer behavior of social media, real-time search, and mobile / location-based technology, etc….butterfly effect….at least in my mind….what do others think?
Great conversation!
Janet,
Thanks for joining the conversation.
I think the problem comes when people focus on social media to the exclusion of everything else that’s going on. The media world is enormous with lots of innovative people and companies. While Social Media is growing and having an important effect, so are other things like free newspapers (next to digital, this has probably been the fastest growing media over the last decade).
– Greg
Hi Greg,
An excellent article well written with informative links.
To add even more meat to the argument advertising Beer Mats have been in existence for well over 100 Years.
3.2 Billion advertising and marketing beer mats were printed in Europe in 2008 alone.
And here’s the surprising bit 613,000,000 had nothing to do with beer or drinks of any kind.
Every year more and more companies are switching to this form of “social media”
Best regards
Beermatman
Greg, another very informative post. The key is always integration. No marketing initiative as a stand alone is the answer. I think human nature leads many to be extremists – either all or nothing. Social media, if integrated into a total marketing strategy which includes traditional media, will have the most success.
Once again, thanks for the share.
Julie,
Thanks. I agree 100%
– Greg
I completely agree with Julie – one needs to look at an Integrated Approach – and ideally a 360 degree approach at that. Depending on seasonality, nature of the problem, the audience (and mind you audience behavior can be fickle) and the product or service itself – the medium and the message need to change. And one also needs to be open and flexible enough to keep testing and making course corrections where necessary.
Ajoy,
Good advice. Thanks.
– Greg
Thank God, someone who doesn’t think the sun rises and sets by social media!!!!!!! As an umemployed media buyer, social media is something that I’ve been seeing everywhere. It is gratifying to see that there are other people who believe that social media is only a PART of the overall picture. It makes me feel as if I’ve become extinct when all that I see on these job websites are social media directors, social media buyers and digital media buyers, etc. When did social media become the end all and be all of the media world? Who said that there needed to be buyers that specialized in social media, as if it was the only part of media that mattered? Rarely do we see any other medium that requires a specialist, so what makes social media any different? I loved this article and the sense it made in a marketplace where social media has become the new media god. Thank you!
Cindy,
Thanks.
To be honest, I think a big part of the appeal of social media is that it really doesn’t require much expertise. Nobody asks you how a different channel or daypart split will effect your curve, or how to manage the trade off between coverage and affinity.
Just say “old media is dead” and your in!
– Greg
What effect do you think cloud CRM will have on Social Media?
(Please follow us back on Twitter)
Ivan,
I think it will help some of the big players with revenues by giving access to data. I wrote a bit about the potential in a post about consumer targeting, although it has more to do with faster processing in general than cloud CRM.
You can see it here: https://digitaltonto.com/2009/future-of-consumer-targeting/
– Greg
Greg,
I agree that the “dying” off the old ways is a myth. The comments here make some good points, re: the shifts in marketing. Paul mentioned “displacement vs. replacement” and Janet and many others talked about how the tools have changed and diversified over the years.
Whether it’s revolution or evolution, the changes have been developing for a while now. Marketing is changing, but core tenets–such as starting with great products–will remain the same. Marketers will have to learn to adapt to emerging media, while not ignoring the old ones. FWIW.
Davina,
Good points.
Thanks.
– Greg
Interesting read, Greg. Thanks for posting on linkedin.
Just about everything you wrote about and linked to ran counter to the importance that was placed on SMM by a business course I took in the fall. I linked to my group over there to hear some comments today. I’ll share if any responses are well thought out.
I’m still going through some of the blog links and responses here, but I did read enough to think these points are all on the right track. I don’t “tweet” but have been tinkering with the idea of getting on board. My main concern runs along the lines of some points you and others have raised. Much like MySpace and Facebook, people flock to the latest platform and seem to throw up as much info as they can, but the value of the content posted isn’t always there and I rarely go back to the same site more than twice. Keeping current with posts and blogs and tweets can be a time consuming affair. One that, if not managed properly, can actually overtake the business you were trying to run in the first place. Since most businesses fail in one way or another it seems the best use of time is developing an identity for your brand that people can relate to and want to continue associating with.
I’ll post more thoughts once I’ve gone through everything, but thanks for the always valuable insight you provide.
Best,
Ced
Ced,
Thanks. Yet I also think it’s important to realize there is a real value to social media (I’m an enthusiastic tweeter). I’m not denying this value, just pointing out that it’s often overstated.
– Greg
Greg and others,
I am trying really hard to find the value in Twitter. I get some good info from others’ tweets but don’t see any other benefit at this point. Is there somethng I am missing? I am relatively new to this so maybe I am not “getting it”? I find some “followers” to be rather odd in that they are not involved in internet marketing and have absolutely nothing in common with what I am doing. I don’t choose to re-follow those individuals. Then there are those individuals (not big corporations) who have tens of thousands of followers! It is almost like a game to see how many people they can get to follow them. Seems strange to me.
On a separate note, I just finished an interview with WhoHub.com – not sure why I was asked – the email invite said I was referred by “another member” – whatever that means LOL. In any event, Greg, I wanted to draw your attention, in particular, to one of the question and my subsequent response:
“Can you cite brands or well-known products that you admire for marketing brilliance?
http://www.hubspot.com/ and https://digitaltonto.com/ come to mind immediately. They both write extremely creative, valuable and well-written content on their blogs and are willing to freely share their expertise with others in the same market. Digital Tonto, in particular, because Greg Satell personally responds to each and every comment on every one of his blogs – and he has tons of comments. Naturally his blog site has a great ranking. I want to be Greg in my next life :).
So a big thank you to you, Greg, for keeping me entertained while I learn 🙂 If interested, you can read the full interview at http://www.whohub.com/jweishaar.
Greg,
I would like to see the data that backs up your ascertaition that newspaper ads have dropped by 10% and online advertising has improved by only that much.
You can’t just look at percentage decline in a vacuum either. Full page print ads were commanding a much higher price than ROS banner ads are at this point.
I would say print ads are dropping and the revenue isn’t even being replaced online. I think that is a much bigger concern for publishers in general.
Another point that needs to be made is why are advertisers drifting towards social media in the first place and this is important.
Advertisers are finding ways to get their message out cheaply instead of having to pay a publisher the money to do the same thing.
Because of this, social media is only going to grow exponentially. We are in the early stages, Greg, it has not even come close to peaking. Marketers are getting more frugal because they can find ways on their own to drive traffic to their sites.
Greg,
Your post is thought provoking – as usual. The agency I work for specializes in micro-marketing where we depend on a multitude of tactics to get our customers message out there. Social Media is a large component of that and is particularly useful for reaching out to the consumer for a short term guerrilla campaign. It does not however, replace the more traditional components of our campaign. It enhances them. We depend on our professional relationships to make our campaigns translate well. Guerrilla tactics are pointless if you’re not on good terms with your audience. Our CEO wrote a blog post not too long ago. http://wdfamarketing.wordpress.com/2009/08/25/experience-relationships-personal-connection-a-successful-sale/
It’s really all about connecting with the consumer. Social media is just one aspect of that – an increasingly efficient way to impact sales – but that connection between the brand and their audience is really the most important piece to the social media puzzle.
Stacey Maziarz
WDFA Marketing
Julie,
I used to feel the same way about twitter, but now I think it’s genius. It’s basically a user generated newswire. Although, like you, I do find some of the “rules” that people want to make up a bit odd. I see no reason why you should have to follow someone just because they follow you, for instance.
Another point is that twitter is mostly used for broadcast, there is very little “conversation” going on (although its use for customer service does seem to be something genuinely new and different).
Also, thank you very much for what you said in the interview. That was very kind of you.
Happy Holidays!
– Greg
Dave,
Unfortunately, I am not allowed to share that data as it is proprietary. You are free to buy it here: http://www.zenithoptimedia.com/gff/
– Greg