Two views on social media and getting the word out

While it is true that nearly all commerce has some presence or does some of their marketing online, this tiny article touches on something very true and something so incomplete as to be false... The article from Business Week [ below it ] tells different story. Yet, I do think the call for accountability in the BW is interesting.


"Online" marketing = "Color" TV 2009-12-08 © Derek Sivers

You can't help but smile when you pass an old motel that still has the sign advertising “Color TV!”

In 1960, it was important to mention that you weren't talking about ordinary
black and white TV. No, this is the new special color TV! Oooh! But now that all TVs are color,
it's funny to hear someone (even a sign) refer to it as “color” TV. It really dates them.

Now I can't help but smile when I hear people talk about “online marketing.”
In 1995, it was important to mention that you weren't talking about ordinary print-paper marketing.

No, this is the new special online marketing! Oooh!

But now that all marketing is online, it's funny to hear someone
(especially a business person) refer to it as “online” marketing.
It really dates them.

---

Excerpt from DEC 3 Business Week:

Beware Social Media Snake Oil

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/09_50/b4159048693735.htm

"...Over the past five years, an entire industry of consultants has arisen to help companies navigate the world of social networks, blogs, and wikis. The self-proclaimed experts range from legions of wannabes, many of them refugees from the real estate bust, to industry superstars such as Chris Brogan and Gary Vaynerchuk. They produce best-selling books and dole out advice or lead workshops at companies for thousands of dollars a day. The consultants evangelize the transformative power of social media and often cast themselves as triumphant case studies of successful networking and self-branding.

The problem, according to a growing chorus of critics, is that many would-be guides are leading clients astray. Consultants often use buzz as their dominant currency, and success is defined more often by numbers of Twitter followers, blog mentions, or YouTube (GOOG) hits than by traditional measures, such as return on investment. This approach could sour companies on social media and the rich opportunities it represents. "It's a bit of a Wild West scenario," blogs David Armano, a consultant with the Dachis Group of Austin, Tex. Without naming names, he compares some consultants to "snake oil salesmen."... http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/09_50/b4159048693735.htm