What do you do when one of your heroes says something that makes you stop and think, wait a minute, what did he just say?
If you’re like me, you make a face like this monkey. Then you blog about it.
I did both after watching one of my heroes, Seth Godin, slam social media as a marketing tool for business.
Watch the video on the Open Forum site. Go ahead, I’ll wait. (Sorry, no embed option).
Welcome back. Here’s a summary of what you saw. A member of the audience asks, “is social networking valuable for business?” Mr. Godin’s answer lasts several minutes, but it’s basically summed up by these two quotes:
“…What the Internet has allowed is an enormous amount of fake networking to take place. And it’s so easy to be seduced by it because there’s a dashboard, and a scoreboard, and look how popular I am. And it’s nonsense…. It doesn’t translate.”
So far, so good. That’s certainly been my experience. He goes on…
What translates is, are there people out there I would go out of my way for and who would go out of their way for me? That’s what you need to keep track of. And the way you get there is by going out of your way for them. And by earning the privilege of one day having that connection be worthwhile.
Did you get that? The implication, if I’m listening right: real connections can’t be made online through social networking sites, only “fake” ones.
I watched it several times to be sure I understood him. I encourage you to watch it again, too.
Look, we all know that Facebook, twitter, MySpace, et al. can be hugely annoying and, yes, fake. I’ve uttered plenty of epithets about them myself (stupid !#$@ing Facebook!).
Outside my circle of real friends, my social networking “friends” don’t mean much to me. So, on a personal level, yes, the whole thing is a bit silly–a fun time waster at best.
But the question was about social networking and business. And that’s a different story, I think. One on which many people, myself included, differ from Mr. Godin.
While it’s likely that half of all social media marketing campaigns will flop, there’s no denying that social media can be an effective part of a marketing program, fake friends or not. It’s not easy, but it’s possible.
It all comes down to relevancy. Is twitter the right marketing tool for a brick mason? Probably not. A brick mason’s customers (general contractors) likely aren’t looking for him on twitter.
I could be wrong about that. I don’t know. Just a guess.
On the other hand, if I were a retailer of hip urban wear, you bet your ass I’d be on twitter, linking to items of interest and posting the occasional exclusive coupons for my hipster twitter followers. Much like Amazon and Apple do now.
Then there’s Gary Vaynerchuk of Wine Library fame. He built his family wine shop into a $50 million dollar monster through tireless and often brilliant use of social media. That’s about as real as it gets in my book.
While I agree that collecting social networking “friends” may not do much for your business, it’s what you do with those “friends”–or potential and current customers–that matters. Not all of them will convert into real-world sales, but many could with the right touch. Again, it’s not easy, but it’s possible.
I’m surprised by what Mr. Godin is saying in this video. Rather, by what I think he’s saying. He seems to be writing off the entire social networking phenomenon with a sweeping generalization that it’s all “fake” and not right for business.
Admittedly, most of it is fake, but there is some “real” in there too, and you can find it if you’re willing to experiment like Apple, Amazon, and Gary Vayerchuk.
Maybe I’m the one who is wrong. I don’t know. I’m just a little guy in the marketing world. He’s a giant. But the whole thing blew me away.
Watch it for yourself. Did I misinterpret what he said? Is Seth Godin wrong about social networking and business?
What do you think? Share your thoughts about social networking and business in the comments.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Coming from the world of pastoral ministry, I think the ability to connect & allow for viral marketing makes the whole question of “real” and “fake” relationships irrelevant. I watched a mom parent via texting last night at a party – if we aren’t present in these worlds, we miss the chance to be part of the conversation.
Well said, Keith.
Not sure I agree with Seth on this one either. And interesting enough, just ran across this Yahoo article about how social networks are good for business, more along the lines of how being social is good for the culture: http://snurl.com/4tg74
As for marketing, I think that as these technologies become more and more a part of our personal lives that it will be crazy for companies to ignore those channels. You need to be where your customers are and social networks are merging our business and personal relationships in an unprecedented way.
Speaking for myself, I have been able to foster new relationships through Facebook after having met people at networking events. I found my last job through LinkedIn and Twitter gives me multitudes of knowledge about my industry, competitors and the PR world while enabling me to push my own news out to people who may be interested.
Great article, Crystal. Thanks for pointing it out.
Great comment also. You make an interesting point about social media more and more becoming a part of our lives. It seems to me that businesses that experiment with it now, in its early stages, will be light years ahead of competitors once services like twitter become widely used.
Also impressed to hear how you are using LinkedIn and twitter.
Thanks for the comment!