Tue, Dec 13, 2011
The Abstract Art of Social Media Marketing
Posted by William Tincup
What was it like to be an impressionist painter in 1875? Chaotic? Exuberant? Like the world was about to explode with possibilities? Like the world was going to hell and a hand basket? Probably depends on who you were and how you played the art game.
If you were a fan of neoclassical and/or realism… you probably thought impressionist artists were idiots, charlatans, and/or blessed with no skills.
If you loved the idea of tearing down realism ever so softly by “kind of” rendering it or rendering your impression of it… then you probably couldn’t sleep. Short answer – it depends.
Fast forward 136(ish) years. We can’t imagine a world without impressionism. After all, it’s the gateway drug to a much larger love affair with modern art. But back then, impressionist painters were panned at their first art show. Hated. Reviled. Left out of the discussion.
Boy, how time has been unfriendly to those haters. And, probably too kind to those “cutting edge” impressionist painters.
In my twisted mind, social media marketing for corporations is a lot like impressionism. Some people hate it. Some people love it. Most have no ‘effin idea what they are doing.
Lots of noise, tons of chatter, buzz and hype. My head hurts from all the banter and pseudo best practices levied about.
Social media consultants are the worst. As if they really know what they are doing, what is really successful and/or why. Here’s the thing, if someone tells you they are a guru in social media marketing… please do me a personal favor and never talk with them again.
Truth is… they lie.
Painting The Social Media Marketing Picture
I suggest you buy some paint and canvases… go outside or create your own still life inside and discover social for yourself. That said, here are some understandings that have helped me…
- Understand the corporate values. Both what is said and not said. If your company is all about innovation… you might have more rope than others. It’s important that you know the words but far more important that you understand the meaning and application of your company values.
- Understand the tools. Part discovery, part knowledge sharing and part awareness of others. No one application and/or medium will save the world. You have to feel comfortable using the products. A tool is only a tool.
- Understand failure. You’ll get it wrong, you’ll offend, and you’ll fail. You are supposed to. Learn from each failure. Learn from other peoples failures as well. Don’t let failure terrify you… let it enable your success by being aware of the fact that you’ll fail. Moreover, get everyone (360 degrees) on that page. Failure = okay.
- Understand your voice. What are you really trying to say? This is generally hard to do… your voice has to fit within the corporate voice but it is still your voice. And, it has to map against a much larger editorial calendar and/or message strategy. Know thy place.
- Understand your audience. What do they really want? Can you hear them? Are you listening? Will they ever tell you what they want? Do you need to lead them or can you follow them, etc? You can’t know too much about your audience. It’s a game of understanding them better, deeper.
- Understand your environment. What’s your bosses take on social? Don’t do anything that is too far outside of what they would do. Don’t embarrass them or yourself. One of the things I remember from reading Dress for Success years ago… never out dress your boss. Tis true in social as well.
- Understand the relationship between risk and reward. Test some things. What’s the elasticity of your audience? What can’t they handle? What are the boundaries? Should you be using a particular medium or not? Should campaigns contain curse words or not? Should you market on Tuesdays at 8:00 am CT or not? Should you market on religious holidays or not? Test, test, test.
- Understand the end game. The end could be near or far but always be navigating towards something. Use that as a filter for what to do and not do. Everything you do in social should be purposeful even when you are playful. Know why you are doing stuff.
- Understand learning. You’ve got to be aware of yourself, your environment, your competitors and other successful companies simultaneously. In some ways this is like controlled drowning… meaning, you’ll feel like you are drowning all the time but never actually drown. If you don’t have that feeling, then you probably aren’t learning.
Time will tell, history will tell us all what we got right and/or wrong about social in general and more specifically you got right/wrong. Will you be Manet, Monet or Jean Michel Hack? Will history be kind to you or pan you as a fraud or hater? Not sure.
For me, social is a personal journey… I intend to have fun along the way. I also intend to paint many, many canvases. I suggest you all do the same.
About the Author: William Tincup, SPHR is the CEO of HR consultancy Tincup & Company. He is an experienced entrepreneur and senior executive who helps HR teams do great work. He describes himself as a specialist in “user adoption marketing, employee communications, internal branding, HR software marketing, branding strategy, message strategy, and social media strategy.” He’s also one of the country’s leading thinkers on social media application for Human Resources.
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December 13, 2011 at 10:28 AM
What a great article, and long overdue. I am a social media coordinator and I have to agree with you. I do think there a social media people who are way ahead of the average person in understanding its functionality, but are there experts and gurus? Not exactly and I would be wary of those soliciting these, almost prophetic, skills.
I also agree with your recommendation, just like many other marcomm initiatives, you have to know yourselves, make social media work for you and in your own way. This is so important.
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December 13, 2011 at 12:58 PM
are* My apologies
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