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.