Last night I had the pleasure of entertaining one of my favorite folks from the Seattle social media scene – Kevin Urie. Kevin, the president of Seattle Social Media Club (at least for the next month) is one of those rare finds in the marketing industry. He’s driven by passion, and it’s clear that he loves what he does. Conversations with him are always refreshing and inspiring, thoughtful and rich.
So over drinks I couldn’t help but bring up some industry frustrations to get his thoughts.
Me: I’ve been thinking a lot about our industry direction, and I have to tell you, I’m really tired of haphazardly slapping social media lipstick all over antiquated campaigns.
Kevin: Yeah, I think that’s something we’re all struggling with in marketing. What do you think is going to be the next phase of the industry?
Me: I am just waiting for people to stop selling themselves as ‘social media experts’ and ‘social media agencies’. I want to get to place where the industry thinks about communications plans holistically and their social impact both on and offline.
And after much back and forth, we landed in similar place.
Kevin: I think we’re going to be forced to become more full-shop agencies offering up all services. And only the super niche/boutiquey agencies will continue to live on.
…relieving to hear, as I just recently joined a niche/boutique.
But to his point, I agree. I’ve been saying it for years – why can’t social strategy be a horizontal that is naturally woven in to campaigns and not a vertical offering? Isn’t social media just a marketing tool?
I think it’s time we challenge ourselves to be MORE than just ‘social experts’. It’s time to push ourselves to become GREAT marketers and with that, it naturally means we understand online channels.
What are your thoughts? Is social media still different enough to earn the name as a separate practice?
Jessica,
The novelty of “social media” as a marketing buzz word is starting to wear off. Your assertion that the “survivors” are those who view social media as a means, not an end, is spot on.
More, “social experts” (in my experience) refer to themselves as such primarily because they understand HOW to use social media – that is, they know how to log in, create an account, post content, use appropriate acronyms, etc.
Unfortunately, what many seem to lack is having mastered the WHY of social media. To be a true expert, I believe you need to know the answer to “WHY?”
HOW simply isn’t good enough.
I enjoyed the post and hope you are well.
It’s great to hear someone from the industry finally take a stand on this.
It’s usually the hard core social media “experts” who are gasping with their last breath saying things like “stop trying to do everything, you can’t offer everything…pick one thing.”…
These “experts” only say that because they only know how to use social media. They don’t know how to develop the other 90% of the full circle.
At the same time, social has matured A LOT over the last two-three years…it may have needed more attention to assist in it’s acceleration.
Because of the social experts we can now confidently rely on social as a tool. Its now a reliable form of communication…like the telephone. Learn it, add it to your toolbox and move on.
Good stuff. The one thing I would add is that “Social” is in many ways a catchall for many different things. It was Frank Elison using Twitter to discover and put out fires, while letting Comcast skeptics know that the company was listening and willing to respond. It’s discovering and utilizing alternative influencers who can be wooed, inspired or paid to support your brand, products and campaigns. It’s creating new processes and using new channels that allow marketers, organizations politicians and enthusiast to engage in real-time in ways that are conversational, authentic and provide value to their constituencies. Finally, it’s a way for those constituencies to share their thoughts and passions while learning from the passions of others.
Essentially social for marketing is about the reinvention of the discipline. Moving from a process that’s lumbering and unresponsive, to one that is niche-ready, adaptable and able to be part of a natural conversation rather than shouting as loudly as possible. Should this be called Social, Advertising 2.0, New Marketing or some other buzzworthy term? In the long run, what it’s called doesn’t matter as long as it happens.
On a related topic, check out ‘Deep Focus Presents: An Evening of “Connectedness”’ Ian Schafer, Shiv Singh and folks from Google, Meetup, Buzzfeed and Personal Democracy Media discuss how connectedness http://new.livestream.com/smwnymedia/AnEveningofConnectedness
Yes, reminds me of the concept in *The Groundswell* — first understand your people, then your objectives, and only then focus on technology.
It requires more than capital to swing business. You have got to hold the A. I. D. degree to make do – Advertising, Initiative, and Dynamics.
The man which will use his skill and constructive imagination to view the amount they can give for the dollar, as an alternative to how little he is able to give for any dollar, is likely to succeed.
There will always be a need for niche communicators — we hire crisis experts, media trainers, designers, etc. — and in the future we will need specialists to help with social media. I’ve advocated for years that as communicators we need to add “social skills” to what we do on a daily basis. We’re getting there. I think the challenge we’re facing, unlike other areas of communications, is that new technology encroaches on our job. Media trainers, for instance, haven’t had to change what they do for years, yet, when we look at social media there is something new happening all the time. In my opinion, it’s the pace of change that is keeping social media from becoming integrated into the profession. This is a good topic and glad you brought it up.