Social Media Perspective From an Adman

Last week, one of the advertising agencies that I do business with sent an email newsletter with links to their blog.

I've wondered about the role of Social Media from an Advertising Agency perspective...

Social media: The other side of Twitter

author: Jerry Youngblutt

These days it seems like you can’t listen to the radio, watch television, surf the net or even check your own inbox without being trampled by social media messages. Not messages from social media users but messages from those promoting its use.

Now before I go too far, let me just say, I think social media (Facebook, Twitter, blogging, etc.) can be a valuable tool. Many companies large and small have proven that it has worth. The one thing I’ve noticed, however, is that folks seem to fall into one of three camps. You’re either head over heels in love with it, you simply don’t like it or you’re intrigued but not quite sure how to use it and what its value is.

This blog is about trying to take an impartial view of social media. As an advertising agency owner, I want to embrace anything that can ethically be used as a tool to help my clients reach their objectives. So, when it comes to investigating new tools, I try to take a “Switzerland like” position. I also try to pace myself. In other words, I want to feel comfortable beyond a reasonable doubt that it’s good for my clients.

In the case of social media, it’s been very difficult. There are so many people promoting it in a do-or-die way that it makes it tough to determine its true worth. Also, as an agency owner (my reputation is all I have), I have to be concerned with return on investment for any expenditures or recommendations I make on behalf of my clients. Social media, because it’s so new, hasn’t been able to prove itself mathematically. Anecdotally, yes. And thus, my dilemma.

As I started my research, I got caught up in all the positive news and potential of this new medium. I read blogs, white papers, talked to experts, discussed it with colleagues, monitored and participated in social networks (yep, I’ve Tweeted), interviewed friends and family, investigated advertising industry organizations for insight and read countless case studies. At one point, I finally took a break and stepped back to get a clearer view of what I had just taken in.

I realized three things: first, most of the more enthusiastic support was coming from people who are or hope to be making their living from social media. Now, I’m not saying that these people are bad or trying to mislead anyone. They are simply head over heels in love with the idea and the power of social media. They are early adopters and truly believe in the tool.

The second thing I learned is that, other than pointing out that social media ROI has not been substantiated, there really hasn’t been much negative documentation against the medium. That says something. I’m just not sure, yet, what.

And the last thing I realized was that social media appears to work the best for polar brands. And by that I mean your super large, mega brands (Ford) and your smaller, destination brands (a much sought-after product or service).

That’s not to say that it couldn’t be used or shouldn’t be used for everything in the middle. However, I personally haven’t witnessed enough “middle” brand case studies that show success. Again, social media is in its infancy, so maybe those stories are yet to come. Or maybe it’s because those are the people sitting on the fence and they haven’t embraced it yet.

A couple of observations

One thing that does bother me is that there seems to be a sense of too much urgency to get a social media program up and running. Especially (and some would disagree for the exact reason I’m about to state) because of the economic challenges we’re all facing. Every dollar spent on marketing has to be accounted for. These dollars have to generate something measurable and positive for the brand. In tough economic times, branding seems to give way to “pushing product.” Companies simply have to make money to maintain their employees and their position. I haven’t seen anything (or much) that discusses the investment it will take for a client to establish and maintain a proper social media effort. That concerns me.

It reminds me of the days when Web first came on the horizon. Many clients didn’t realize that they were in fact creating a living, breathing tool that was going to need nurturing to be useful. They found out, very quickly, that it took dedicated resources to keep their site useful and desirable to target groups. And that took financial resources. The same is true with social media efforts.

On top of that, social media requires a firm to be more of a giver than a taker. This is counterintuitive to what most brands are used to doing. That is a complete mindset change and a difficult one for most brands to get their heads around.

Another similarity between social media and the development of the Web is that just because you are an early adopter doesn’t mean you’re going to maintain your market superiority over your competitors. There’s something to be said for learning from others’ mistakes. The Japanese have proven that they can take someone else’s innovation, improve upon it and command market share. They don’t worry about always being the innovator.

Some brands appear to be trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. They read about company XYZ having success in social media and think that they should be able to emulate that. These firms even have a tendency to ignore the fact that some of the case studies they are reading are in industries completely foreign to their own. The rules of marketing to your target audiences still apply. You’re trying to engage the audience with your product or service. Not every medium is appropriate for every offering. Having said that, the way in which you utilize a medium can determine its viability for your brand. Don’t be too quick to write off a tool because it didn’t work the first time. It may have failed for any number of reasons. So the point here is that social media is yet another tool that marketers can use. It isn’t necessarily the only tool you’ll need, and you’ll need to work with it a bit (have success and failure) to see if it is right for you.

The bottom line

So bottom line, I would urge you to move at a pace that is comfortable to you and your management team when it comes to entering the social media space. Do it right or as close to right as you can. Don’t get panicky that you’re going to miss the boat. If history is any indicator, there is plenty of time to do the proper planning before taking the leap into new messaging vehicles.

I’d also urge you to get a good handle on the type of mindset required to be successful in social media. If you can do that and dedicate the resources and patience required, chances are, your journey will be a fruitful one.

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