The UnControlable

One of the biggest challenges for traditional marketing people is to get their hands and minds around the Social Media concept and transform it into a money making machine.

The business and marketing world is built on a model that measures Return On Investment, commonly know as R.O.I.

We used to accept that somethings cannot be accurately measured in the short term, only after the fact, sometimes only on a month, or a quarter, or a year later.

Rarely was heard the question, "What's the R.O.I. of a new sign on the building?" It was just a common practice, that if you are going to have a location, you need a sign.

Many things over the years have changed this thinking to the point people saying we measure everything. But just because you have access to more info, doesn't make the information reliable, accurate or of value by itself.

The internet generally and now Social Media specifically has feed this addiction to wanting to justify work by stats.

I do it, others do it, we judge, we tweak, we might pull the plug on something, all because we are demanding measurable, quantifiable results to justify a commitment of time, energy and dollars.

Coming up Friday at noon on ScLoHo's Social Media Adventure, I have a 20 minute film for you to watch that perhaps will show you why Social Media is more than R.O.I. In the meantime, I have a piece from Seth Godin that continues on today's topic:

The four horsemen of media--here comes tiny media

The first is when you talk about yourself. Directly to people who care to hear you out.

The second is when you pay someone to carry your message. Media for hire, we call it advertising.

The third is when you cajole the 'editorial' side to talk about you, with authority. Publicity is often worth more than advertising, but it's pesky in that it doesn't perform on demand.

The fourth, the fourth is all the rage right now. That's when unanointed kings of tiny media, when bloggers and tweeters and others talk about you.

Why do we persist in believing that these four have much in common? They don't. Being confused about which is which is expensive, or worse.

You know you're in trouble if someone on your team says anything like, "But how do we do this quickly? And at scale? Is there a way interns can churn through names? We have money to spend, hurry!"

There are some that would be delighted if PR and social media would just own up and start playing by the rules of advertising. In other words, you ought to be able to buy this sort of buzz. It's more efficient, more convenient and more predictable.

Of course, it doesn't work that way. Buying your way into the fourth horseman doesn't work. Professionalizing it doesn't work so well either. What works is making something worth talking about.

As it should be.

If you're hoping that this now important form of media is going to sit there and promote your average stuff for average people made in bulk but pretty cheap product merely because you're used to paying media companies to run ads... I think you're wasting a lot of time and money.

This goes deeper than that. You'll need to take that money and change the product and the service instead.