Marketing (&) Mischief

Reading Scott Berkun’s post on Calling bullshit on Social Media made me think more about my concept of Social Media Ethos. In my original post I was only applying it to brands and companies but after reading Scott’s post I think it actually should apply to everyone who is in some way involved in Social Media. From agencies and experts to us individuals.

So we all should follow the principles of Social Media Ethos
(first crack – send me your thoughts!)

• Be unselfish: “Give love to get love”.
• Be transparent, open and honest.
• Don’t pretend you know best. You don’t and people will call your bluff.
• Respect others: Listen instead of just talking.
• Admit when you are wrong, apologize and make up for your mistakes.
• Follow the Golden Rule (Like Scott said: This one might be impossible as history has shown but let’s at least give it a try)

Following (on Twitter), talking with and reading posts from smart guys in the industry (like @jussipekka, @dagood & @Britopian) has made me think really hard about the new nut we marketers are all trying to crack: marketing in Social Media. And the more I think about it I keep on coming back to the same questions: Is there such a thing? Can you really market in Social Media? Can you really approach something as profoundly revolutionary with just your marketer hat on?

My answer is that you can’t.

Let me explain.

What is Social Media? It’s all about give love to get love. I help you and you’ll help me. We all come together to share experiences and thinking in a way never before possible (thanks to ze Interweb). It’s based on very basic human behaviour and at the same time it is very liberating and empowering. We are no longer reliant on what the powers that be (governments, media, marketers) want to feed us. We are in control of the most powerful media ever created. That changes the game and that’s why brands and marketers are worried. They can’t hide crappy products and services behind great advertising anymore. Like a very special FBI agent once said: The truth is out there.

The result of this change? Clueless and scared marketing managers turn to the equally clueless and scared advertising agencies around the world posing THE question: How do we tackle this new monster messing our well oiled screw the consumer -machine? And the answer that the (at this point scared shitless) agencies have come up with? Social Media Marketing!! Don’t worry guys. It’s just another media we can control. We’ll just create a Facebook app and a brand Twitter-account for you and you are all set. We can then push all the same messages to this new “media” and keep your campaigns nicely integrated. You know, 360.

But it does not work that way. Social Media is not a media in the traditional sense of the word. You can’t control it. It’s an environment where true, transparent and honest interaction and involvement pays off. And if you are not ready for that not just a brand but as a company then don’t bother.

So let’s stop talking about Social Media Marketing and start hammering in the idea of Social Media Ethos. Something that touches everything a company does. A new way of behaving. A set of rules by which a company conducts it’s business in a way that is truly taking into account the needs of their audience. From R&D through Comms to Sales. Everything.

I know it’s scary and I get tired of even thinking about all the headaches and frustration it will cause but THAT is the real challenge we all need to overcome.

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Social Media is THE hot topic for marketers right now. Just like web 2.0 used to be a year ago. No surprise there. Attention follows people. Where the masses are that’s where marketers focus their attention.

What really scares me is the way everyone is pretending to be an expert when it comes to social media. Blogs of so called experts pop up and agencies claim they’ve got the key to Pandora’s box. The behavioural change that social media has triggered is just starting to take shape and will be a moving target for a long time if not forever. So how can anyone claim they’ve got the solution AND more importantly: It seems to me that the core of the change that social media has brought is that there IS NO FIXED SOLUTION. What is needed is a mentality shift. Companies and agencies need to embrace the openness, the transparency, the dialogue: listening and acting based on the feedback. The continuous development. The forever Beta.

I guess it is again natural for the old skool to try and force this new thing into a process and an operational model they can comprehend. It just does not work that way anymore. Just go with the flow and let go of control.

It hit me while listening to the Agency 2.0 -panel discussion at Web 2.0 in San Francisco last week: Advertising agencies are desperately fighting the change. They claim they “get it” but the truth is that they just don’t want to let go of the past. The past where they were the ones who “understood” consumer behavior and knew how to manipulate it to the benefit of the marketers they worked for.

I realised that it wasn’t the ad guys on the panel who you should turn to for help in this new world. It was the audience: The bloggers, the guys with the start-ups and web 2.0 companies, the digital natives who live and drive the change who understand that you no longer can control your brand or trick consumers into buying your shitty product. Talk to them and even if it scares the hell out of you – listen and take action.