Social Media Standing. What To Expect. What To Try.

The social media bubble has ballooned to zeppelin girths spanning the skies above the information super-highway. In the state of things, social media may be bigger than the Internet itself. According to Gary Vaynerchuk, author of “The Thank You Economy”, there is a large global shift in the way we communicate. This change in how we communicate affects how we conduct business, reach out to others and the way we approach our ad campaigns.

For your business, it’s another depth and another dimension. And like new dimensions, the depths of the valleys can be just as dangerous and depressing as they are uplifting and inspiring. You’ve got everyone eyeing the rights to take on the titles without knowing what’s really behind the championship belt. Did they just hit up HighSpots.com and order a $600 World Heavyweight Championship, or did they really slam the 300-pound giant they shared the ring with and keep their shoulders down for a span of three seconds?

Vaynerchuk, in an interview with TechCrunch mentioned that 99.5% of social media experts are just clowns. The reason for this is because so many people are so obsessed with the title alone. People believe that because they can create a Facebook page, get a keyword as a hashtag to trend amidst a social circle, and create a cause or business page that may get around 100 ‘likes’ that they’re suddenly an “expert” of social media. However, in actuality they’re just any ordinary person who knows how run a Facebook account.

The reason why these “clowns”, as Vaynerchuk puts it, rise to prominence is due to the obsession and expectation that social media acts as a return on investment (ROI). Nothing could be further from the truth. If a social media presence guaranteed ROI, then all the ‘likes’ on Facebook pages for humanitarian causes would make for more social action and the word clicktivism wouldn’t exist.

Vaynerchuk believes that 8 out of 10 social media campaigns are hurting business rather than helping. It’s not the extra dimension, it’s what you do with it. It’s not your message or demand, but how you can generate reactions that go beyond ‘likes’ and ‘retweets’ and inspire those to take action. Sometimes that extra dimension doesn’t go all the way, even if the first approach proves to be a success. For example, take a look at the Sonic The Hedgehog franchise. This started off the on the right foot by being released in 3D, but was quickly lost due to irrelevancy. As a result, the franchise had to resort to werewolves, guns and swordplay only to receive poor reviews and dwindling sales. However, after the re-release back to 2D, Sonic has regained the hearts of many.

It isn’t the pitch, it’s what happens over the plate that strikes you out or hits the home run. Traditional advertising, as evidence by AMC’s new show “The Pitch”, isn’t what it used to be. You can’t just throw bales of money at something and expect it to suddenly turn into gold. They may even say that traditional advertising is over. If one thing is true, it’s that in this day and age of evolution in communication, good social standing is no longer something that is manufactured. You’ve got to go out and get it.