Debunking Six Social Media Myths

Business Week has an article entitled “Debunking Six Social Media Myths” which is useful to anyone interested in this space. Here are the myths and my thoughts on them. (http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/feb2009/tc20090218_335887_page_2.htm)

#1: Social Media is cheap, it is not free – I think this is a myth believed by many. The article points out that you still have to pay people to create content and integrate the content into the larger business strategy. Most marketing campaigns in this space cost around $50k for two to three months. This idea of free is most likely a function of it being the internet where we seem to think because you don’t have to make and distribute the CD that there were no costs to the creating the music.

#2: Anyone can do it – Sure there are plenty of self described social media consultants, marketers, strategists and the list goes on, but the article asks the key question: how many of those experts have actually created a success campaign using social media for clients? While the industry is young, that doesn’t mean that there isn’t any true expertise. You shouldn’t settle for just any one.

#3: You can make a big splash in a short time – This myth is probably connected to the idea that it will “go viral.” The article points out that social media is not what drives attention, but it can reach out to your existing network to drive it. So don’t forget to put in the time to build a network or else you’ll just be sitting around waiting for your chance to “go viral.”
#4: You can do it all in house – This point goes back again to the idea that anyone can be successful in a young industry. It ignores what we all know – any marketing tool has experts who have studied it and implemented it from all directions. Don’t reinvent the wheel or underestimate the commitment an in-house team will take, the article cautions, when there is a pool of experience to draw from.

#5: If you do something great, people will find it – Like a few other myths, this one feeds on the idea that the internet and social media are the holy grail and just being associated with them will bring you success. Nope. You have to promote it to break through the noise.

#6: You can’t measure social media results – This may have been true a few years ago, but there are enough services out there now that you shouldn’t be settling for a black box. Plus, if it were really that difficult to measure you can be sure the big players wouldn’t be putting money into this space like they are.

--By Kate Grossman