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This is a rant that’s been sitting in my drafts for awhile, but since I haven’t posted in a bit, here it goes:
I don’t know about you, but I’m sick of “experts” telling me that Facebook and Twitter are the places to be, MySpace is worthless and everything else doesn’t matter. Ummm, NO.
Facebook and Twitter are for the experts with big egos who are hoping to drive mainstream buzz. To me, mainstream buzz is worthless and unqualified. It’s like the loyal Lexus owner who enters to win a Nissan 370Z. They are not Nissan’s customer and they never will be. The Lexus owner isn’t going to talk about Nissan and they’re never going to buy anything but a Lexus. That mainstream name and email address is worthless to a Nissan Marketer.
Same thing with Twitter. While it’s more easily searchable than blogs and forum threads, is it worth a brand’s time? Don’t you think it’s more worthwhile for a brand to pay attention to the people actually talking about them (positively and negatively), wherever they may be?
That’s where the “work” comes in. That’s where the listening phase should not only be about simply listening, but also about finding where exactly your customers are most active.
Personally, I think brands are scared of going where their “real” advocates are. Going past the mainstream requires more engagement. It requires the persona behind the brand to know, understand and be passionate about the brand vs. just spewing the mission statement that their boss handed them or the line from PR.
Oh yes, Twitter and Facebook are easily accessible. But, it’s not always the right or most qualified place for your brand to be. If you’re putting together a social media strategy as part of your overall marketing plan, I hope to god it includes more than just a Facebook Fan Page and a Twitter stream.
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