Does Business Misunderstand Social Media?
Posted on Friday 19th February 2010 14:18GMT by Nick Trainor
There is a very old adage, 'There is nothing new under the sun'. Whether this is true or not, we are always looking for something new, and can easily become distracted by something shiny and bright. For modern marketing and sales professionals the 'something new' is social media, and the 'shiny and bright' is the mind-boggling numbers attached to social media websites - both in terms of number of members and the daily activity. Some brands have put their fingers into social media websites and come back burnt. Many enterprises can see the promise but find it difficult to see the way in. Here are some thoughts on why and how social media can work for business... but perhaps not in the way it has always been suggested.There is nothing new under the sun because social media is merely another human interaction.
It is a way of communicating with our fellows through delightfully embarrassing photos, whispered asides about our shared moments, and the realisation that we, as individuals, are more alike than different. The thousands of people who have joined the Facebook group confessing their fear in sleeping with their leg outside of the duvet in case the monster under the bed gets them is a wonderful example of this fellow feeling - the delight in common human vulnerability. Unfocused, playful, and pointless, in the best possible sense.
What a world for business to seek to join.
Shiny and bright indeed, but its lack of focus and inherent vulnerability means that those who enter with an agenda are not welcomed. Being a 'fan' of a brand is not the same as wishing to be marketed to.
The inherently vulnerable and personal character of the interactions within social media make the increasing commodisation of relationships found within modern marketing and sales approaches distasteful at best.
So, what are brands and SMEs to do? How can they enter the social media space without raising a stink?
The Power of Context
The first thing to say is that we all need to recognise the power of context. We all need to first play in our own playground.Tools such as LinkedIn provide the perfect context for those who want to engage in business relationships can do so - there is no hidden agenda, no secret desire. We are there to build relationships to help us do business.
Other tools such as the Ice3 Online Collaboration tool provide an even more intimate environment for businesses to build relationship with their clients, suppliers, and other stakeholders in a common, shared, and secure space.
The rules of the game are clear, the context sets it.
The Power of Invitation
The second thing for us all to acknowledge is the changing face of online interactions. When I began building websites many years ago - in the days of Netscape 2.0 - it was difficult enough to put an image on a website in a way that wasn't going to clog the visitor's web connection; now, streaming video comes into my home into several computers at the same time.We all seem to have several email accounts; several instant messager accounts across several services; several twitter accounts; several subscriptions to email newsletters. I use the word 'several' purposively here because we are as much divided by all these different form of connectedness as we are joined. The opportunities for 'connectedness' that the web has opened up for folks is startling - and despite their size, social media websites are only one of these. The problem is the web has changed, but people haven't: we can all be overwhelmed. Seeking to live in several different conversational spaces at once, with different rules of engagement, is incredibly difficult.
And because of this, those of us whose job it is to seek out new relationships - the marketing and sales professional among us - we do well to recognise the power of invitation.
We cannot turn the clock back, but we can make the connectedness more human. We can take people from one context into another by inviting them in - with a drink in one hand, and a tasty morsel in the other. Inviting folks to join us in our space ensures that the rules of the game are clear for all, and that everyone can enjoy the interaction within a context they can accept.
In concrete terms, this means that marketing and sales within the social media millieu (ie. within non-business contexts) can only ever be about painting a picture of your company and then inviting folks to engage with you elsewhere, where they can see and accept that the rules of engagement have changed. By accepting the invitation, they won't be overwhelmed by the difference, and are in a place to accept the interactions that occur.
With both the power of context and the power of invitation at their disposal businesses both large and small will be able to leverage social media to lift folks into a different context of interaction.
Now it is your turn!
Please feel free to leave a comment below.