The Great Debate: How to Treat Social Media

There are big questions about how brands should use social media, that's not new. But there are newer debates that seem to be focusing on whether or not social media should be treated as a broadcast channel like other, more traditional mediums (i.e. TV, print, web). A lot of marketers seem to be up in arms about trying to measure, monetize and analyze what's happening in the social space. The controversy is not only centered around how that analysis can be done, but if it should be done at all.

Three recent Ad Age articles rounded out the debate. The first two articles are based around followers' engagements and what their interactions (or lack there of) really mean to your brand. Matthew Creamer provides facts about the actual number of people interacting with brands they follow, while Simon Dumenco explains his opinion on why low consumer engagement "doesn't matter".

Lastly, an article by Zach Rosenberg details a process of How to Turn Tweets Into Rating Points. While the article is interesting, some readers' comments are even more interesting:

"This is not only unnecessary, it's wrong. Twitter is a dynamic conversation driven by consumers, TRPs are a static estimation of passive commercial delivery."

Since this is my blog, I'm going to give my opinion. Yes, Twitter is a conversation tool, but that doesn't mean it shouldn't be measured. All forms of advertising are a means for brands to communicate with their consumers, that's the whole point of advertising. It's true that social media provides the biggest opportunity for consumers to talk back, but that doesn't mean it's the only conversation.

Markers aren't martyrs. If your brand is engaging audiences on social media, you have an ulterior motive that isn't simply "let's have a conversation". Sure, that is the goal of social media, but that's not your reason for participating. You participate in that conversation to express brand views, try to pinpoint brand advocates, forge more positive opinions, etc. If your brand is using social media, you're using it as broadcast channel that needs to be measured.

A Subliminal Relationship is Not a Relationship

The first instance of subliminal advertising occurred in 1957 when James Vicary supposedly flashed the words "eat popcorn" and "drink Coca-Cola" across the screen at a movie theater. The words were only there long enough for viewers' subconscious' to recognize, and snack and drink sales shot up. Of course, this was all a hoax and Mr. Vicary had made the whole thing up. Since then, subliminal messaging has been a constant and controversial topic not only within the advertising industry, but around the world.

If this subject is so commonly discussed, why beat it to death with another blog? Because a combination of two writings have given me a new perspective on the topic. First is the recently published Advertising Age article, "Ignore the Human Element of Marketing at Your Own Peril". The authors, Bob Garfield and Doug Levy, proclaim 2012 to be the beginning of The Relationship Era; where "the new currency of commerce" is trust.

Second is a book called Buyology: Truth and Lies About Why We Buy, written by Martin Lindstrom, in which a series of experiments utilizing brain scanning technology sheds new light onto how your brain, whether consciously or not, effects the purchasing decisions you make. In the book, Lindstrom claims that people aren't really sure why they buy the products that they buy. He believes that "our unconscious minds are a lot better at interpreting our behavior (including why we buy) than our conscious minds are."

Lindstrom makes a very good case as to why this is true, but here's my problem with that finding: there's no relationship. If you buy a Coca-Cola because the store you're in is red and your subconscious links that color with the brand, it doesn't matter. Sure, it's a sale, but you don't know why. If your brand doesn't have a relationship with that consumer, the next thing you know they'll be in a blue store buying a Pepsi.

So, Corporations, I challenge you with this resolution as you enter into The Relationship Era: make sure every consumer knows why they chose your product.

If you give them a good reason to buy, odds are they'll do it again.