Whilst perusing NMA’s website today I came across an article written by Nigel Walley about the social media bandwagon that everyone is desperately trying to hop on to, entitled “brands really need to calm down about social media”
I think Nigel was being purposely provocative in order to stir up a few so-called social media experts, which he seems to have done very effectively. I also agree with Nigel that the Facebook hysteria going around is getting a little tiresome (how many meetings have you been in lately that start with “so, what can we do on Facebook/Foursquare/Twitter…”?) Never one to shirk from a debate, I still thought his article was worth responding to, so here goes…
Nigel, it sounds like you’re missing the point a bit here. It’s not that brands must simply learn how to advertise or ‘engage’ with their customers through social media but that businesses need to fundamentally change the way they operate in order to remain relevant. I’m afraid to say that this social media thing isn’t just going to come and go (like some of the sites that you mentioned) so that we can all go back to the good old days. Social media represents a gigantic shift in the balance of power between customers and brands.
If a few years ago a couple students had phoned up HSBC to complain about their student overdraft interest rates, rather than starting a group on Facebook, do you think HSBC would have lowered their rate?
Social media is not an ad platform for media agencies to work out how best to advertise on. People gather on blogs, forums and social networks and will talk about brands whether a business likes it or not. These reviews can have a serious impact on huge organisations and can make or break small businesses.
Big businesses such as ASDA, Next and Renault get this. They understand what social media represents rather than thinking it’s just another big website. They’re putting their customers, who communicate through social media, right at the centre of their operations and respond and adapt as they go. As a result they’re standing out amongst the crowd rather than being left in the past like Second Life.
This post was initially featured on the engine blog
Alex Miller is the MD of Jam
Posted: June 24th, 2010 | Author: Alex Miller | Filed under: social media | Tags: alex miller, madness, social media | 1 Comment »
Today the Social Media World Forum kicked off at the Olympia in London:
Consumers are fed up of seeing brands fan sites pop up all over the web, with little or no thought to the value they can offer that community. They’re tired of hanging out in their favourite virtual world only to be interrupted by companies who have nothing to say. Consumers are savvy and are not prepared to be marketed to in the traditional way any longer. Social Media has all the power of an adult but is behaving like a teenager.
Jam are returning to the Social Media World Forum to look at the increased value that Social Media can offer if only it would grow up.
You will find us at stand 16 so come down to have a chat! You should of course also follow our live tweets from the forum on twitter.com/spreadingjam.
You will also be able to listen to presentations from Alex, Head of Jam, and Oli, Head of Emerging Platforms at i-level, at the following times:
Monday 15th, 2.50: “Social Media is out of control”
Alex Miller & Oli Newton
Tuesday 16th, 10.30: “Benchmarking Advertising on Social Networks”
Alex Miller
See you there!
Posted: March 15th, 2010 | Author: Christian Lindman | Filed under: social media | Tags: alex miller, Jam, oli newton, social media world forum | No Comments »
Consumers are fed up of seeing brands fan sites pop up all over the web, with little or no thought to the value they can offer that community. They’re tired of hanging out in their favourite virtual world only to be interrupted by companies who have nothing to say. Consumers are savvy and are not prepared to be marketed to in the traditional way any longer. Social Media has all the power of an adult but is behaving like a teenager.
Jam are returning to the Social Media World Forum to look at the value that Social Media can offer if only it would grow up.
Come and chat to us on stand 16, or see what Alex and Oli have to say at the conference.
Monday 15th, 2.50: “Social Media is out of control”
Alex Miller & Oli Newton
Tuesday 16th, 10.30: “Benchmarking Advertising on Social Networks”
Alex Miller
Posted: February 22nd, 2010 | Author: Tom Hyde | Filed under: social media | Tags: alex miller, Jam, oli newton, social media world forum | 1 Comment »
