“Social media is the future”, screams the (slightly) ignorant parrot. Social media and, specifically, the sharing of information (links) amongst groups of like minded folks (social networks) is as old as the hills.
However, the feeding frenzy around this space is getting ridiculous. Poor old clients are being conned into thinking they must “leverage the social media space, or die” and whilst there is truth hidden in there, it’s not the whole truth.
Sharing opinions, suggestions and favourites underpins the social economy and most folks are able to do that via their own methods – they don’t really need much help from companies.
So one of my pet hates (social sharing buttons) are totally obsolete. They are also, famously, the least requested user function.
Social media, then, is not about automated sharing but about real 1-to-1 engagement, transparency and putting your customers first.
By Martin Dower
(Woken early by the storms lashing the house!)
