Social Badges: Not Everyone Has to Wear Them

Recently, I've been immersed in the online world of website development for a range of clients from consumer to business to business, and from the small start ups to large multi-national clients.  Our conversations naturally turn to the topic of social badges--those Facebook, Twitter, Blog, Linked In and You Tube logos--that are becoming pervasive on nearly every website these days. 

While everyone seems to be so urgently trying to roll in the world and lingo of social media, the fact is that not every company, brand or enterprise needs to add every "social badge" to their marketing arsenol.  In some of the meetings I been in lately, folks are so eager to get in the game, but they haven't thought through what in the world they will do with their social media, who will care, and how it will all get done.  Instead, there's this focus on obtaining the social media accounts themselves....as if they were pursuing a scouting merit badge.

But, it's understandable.  The pervasive message these days is that if you aren't using social media marketing, you're out of the game.  But, the real truth is that social media doesn't take the place of brand-right strategies, tactics and approaches...on or offline.  Social media can be powerful stuff but only when it's deployed well and with purpose.

In one of my meetings with a web agency manager, she divulged that she (who lives and breathes social media during the work day) doesn't have any social media accounts at all.  And, in fact, she's onto something--not everyone is tuned into social media.  And, in fact, just like the bell curve for nearly everything in life, about 2% of Twitter users account for the bulk of tweets. 

Similarly, a leading home supply company proclaimed in a meeting, "Suddenly, one day, we realized we jumped on the me too band wagon and that it was rather ridiculous for Facebook fans to passionately 'like' hardware."

As one wise manufacturing based client with whom I recently met acknowledged, "We spent all this time to set up a blog, passed it around the office for tending like a hot potato, and now, we realize we built it and no one has tuned in because it didn't have a reason for being."

So the moral of the story is:  Just because everyone else is doing it, doesn't mean you need to as well. 

Since our conversation, the manufacturing firm has returned to good old fashioned business strategy and planning to focus on viable tactics to develop new business.  While their approach encompasses on and offline, 'old fashioned" methods such as traditional public relations, direct mail or email marketing are rising to the top.  Why?  Because they still work for the right situation.