Oct 28 in Social Media
Written by: Heather Rast
Common characteristics of a diner:
- Quick seating.
- Lots of menu items (breakfast, lunch, and dinner).
- Fairly typical outcomes. (breads/starches, meats, and token fruit/lite).
- A pretty modest price, in line with these commodity meal types.
You eat in a diner when you’re craving French toast. You eat in a diner when the whole family visits and no one feels like doing dishes. You eat in a diner when you’re staying at a hotel, before a big day of shopping/Disney/etc. You may even eat at a diner late at night with 10 of your new closest friends (you just may not remember it).
But you don’t often choose a diner for its environment, for the ambiance (that pretty much comes from a can of Retro). You don’t choose a diner if you have new folks with you, those you haven’t yet formed a real relationship yet (first impressions are lasting ones!). You don’t select a diner if you hope to have meaningful conversations or make action plans. A diner says “casual,” “easy,” and “simple.” Not messages you want to send to those with whom you’re forging new connections, building bridges.
Assuming you’re on board with me on this, then I have to ask: Why would a marketing communications company offer diner-like social media consulting?
The genesis of online relationships begins with a social media platform/tool (pick one). Sometimes real-life meetings will occur and further cement the online relationship. But many relationships will remain online, with common experiences, interests, and personality serving as the bonding agent between people.
I think the example below strips away all of the human, personal, tangible elements that make online relationships so powerful. Instead this “menu” suggests a production-like capability of online network-building that I just don’t think truly exists. Not in a genuine, lasting fashion.
Take a look:
This image is from the website of a 20+ year-old agency. Under their “Services” tab is a link to a Social Media page. With little forward information, the page offers these outcomes for $1,000 and 48 hours.
Questions that come to mind:
1) How is the flat rate determined?
2) Why the presumption of immediacy?
3) How can goals determined and venues be identified in such a short time?
4) What constitutes ‘custom content,’ and how might audience needs melded with organizational offerings/strengths to deliver valuable content?
5) How can communities be cultivated (including interested followers and friends) so quickly? And the biggie:
6) How can true brand ambassadors be delivered? This suggestion feels akin to “Just Add Hot Water” and voila! a bowl of dry oatmeal flakes becomes warm, creamy, satisfying oatmeal.
Brand ambassadors are a result of careful nurturing, circumstance, superior experience, deep psychological satisfaction, tangible results, and a trillion other factors – none of which bear fruit in 48 hours, I guarantee.
Maybe there’s more to this agency’s plan than the stripped-down representation (above) shown on the page on their site. That said, I think this begs a discussion of three topics:
A) Do agencies/companies pay enough attention to every manner in which they represent themselves, especially online (on their own site!).
B) Perhaps are too many traditional agencies trying too hard, too fast to widen their service offerings in attempt to keep pace with client interest, at the risk of misrepresenting themselves? And to what end – perhaps turning companies off SM for good? An example of one done right (thx, Jason Falls).
C) And assuming this agency (and others) believe this 1-2-3 step recipe makes for Julia Child-like success, how will they come to know what they’re (and their clients) missing?
D) Not to mention that SocMed isn’t right for every occasion, for every company. A fleeting curiosity or abstract notion to to match the competition does not an objective make. And you don’t try it (SM), then send it back to the kitchen.
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27 Comments for: Order Up! I’ll Take Some Fans with a Side of Followers
Thanks for the shoutout Heather, great post. I too am baffled by your example above. Aside from many of the elements that make it disturbing relevant to social media approaches and strategies, every company is different. I believe there are methodologies, but not formulas – every brand and company is different.
.-= Adam Cohen´s last blog ..The Marketing Hot Seat: Aaron Strout =-.
Love it! Number one misconception about social media is that it’s fast. Winning hearts and minds at the individual and small group level is by definition not a speedy process. Thanks for making that key point clear.
.-= Jason Baer´s last blog ..What Facebook and Email Stole from Google’s Playbook =-.
Eric Ungs
Twitter: EricUngs
Reply:
October 29th, 2009 at 3:14 pm
Agreed! Taken from Mitch Joel’s SPOS book, “Social Media is not a one night stand.” it definitely takes time to develop these ‘real’ relationships.
Eric.
.-= Eric Ungs´s last blog ..Look determined and stay focused… on you =-.
heatherrast
Twitter: heatherrast
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November 1st, 2009 at 7:20 pm
Interestingly, any mention of outcomes or uses (purpose) for these “instant” fans/followers/members is absent. Could it be that the agency hasn’t thought that far ahead? They haven’t considered ways to tap into interested groups and channel their energy and interest (aside – I doubt the “48 hour” variety really isn’t interested, but rather along for a ride) into tangible business purposes. Thanks for reading and sharing, Eric. I appreciate it.
heatherrast
Twitter: heatherrast
Reply:
November 1st, 2009 at 7:11 pm
Jay, there are a ton of red flags in this ‘menu’ and mindset. I agree that perhaps one of the more measurable (“did it happen or not”) aspects would be whether or not a company could quantify fans/followers/members as significant numbers and quality contributors within 48 hours, and I’ll go out on a limb here and say definitely not. Moreover, shame on any company that believes they can find (much less cultivate) truly engaged community members at the drop of a hat. If you don’t seek community for the fundamentals – product/service feedback, customer service, inspiration, engagement – then what on earth do you want them for, exactly? It’s not necessarily the quantity that counts, it’s the quality.
Thanks for this post!
I plan to copy a number of my clients as they are being preyed upon by “smores”…social media whores as I discuss in my post : http://nosmokeandmirrors.wordpress.com/2009/10/28/20-top-entrepreneurial-best-practices-to-insure-2010-is-a-profitable-year/ , number 15.
The only protection from smores is knowledge.
Mark Allen Roberts
http://www.outbsoluions.com
There is something to be said for putting a service like this is a nice neat package for the client to easily digest. They know what they are getting and they know how much it will cost. But the 48-hour thing is patently ridiculous.
heatherrast
Twitter: heatherrast
Reply:
November 1st, 2009 at 7:24 pm
Hey, Joe, I’m with you. It’s easy for some to go glassy-eyed when marketing communications discussions begin. I think – assuming the agency really knows what the heck they’re doing – they would have been better served with organizing their content in such a way to first thoroughly explain their approach and potential strategies before stripping away context and outlining tactics alone. And 48 hours is redonkerous under any circumstances, I concur. Thanks tons for stopping by and adding your thoughts!
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Avery Horzewski and Heather Rast, Women in Consulting. Women in Consulting said: Order Up! I'll Take Some Fans with a Side of Followers http://bit.ly/2r65MX [...]
Great piece. Thanks. I believe it is very hard to be very good at everything. And I am totally stealing the “smores” reference from Mark Allen Roberts … hilarious!
heatherrast
Twitter: heatherrast
Reply:
November 1st, 2009 at 7:27 pm
Why do you think it is that some agencies (like this one) feel compelled to “do everything?” In today’s digital world with increasingly complex consumers, the concept of the full-service agency has gone the way of the dinosaurs – even the giants have divested groups to focus in specific practice areas. If their goal was to compete with the shop down the street, dare I say that they come up short. So glad you liked the post, Lisa!
This made my jaw hit the floor…part of me can’t believe a company is doing this, and then another part of me says “Of course a company is doing this.” Obviously, they are trying to capitalize on the organizations who want to rush into social media…maybe they have a crisis situation…maybe it has been mandated by a CEO and the staff has new clue. Whatever the case, this is offering the home shopping network, fast food version of social media. It may deliver something…a “presence” perhaps…but what is the company really getting? This approach could actually end up harming the organization and the PR company that offered the get SM quick scheme. This is not a smart way to build lasting relationships with clients and definitely not the way companies should start in social media.
heatherrast
Twitter: heatherrast
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November 1st, 2009 at 8:53 pm
Several childhood fairytales come to mind…The Emperor’s New Clothes being one of them. Who is the more foolish, the agency for believing they have a viable, well-considered offering, or the client for believing they have made a genuine move to connect with its customers? To say nothing of those quick-to-follow fans who undoubtedly give little to the relationship and block/filter what’s sure to be self-indulgent, self-centered company tweets/updates. Well said, Cara. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us.
[...] Order Up! I’ll Take Some Fans with a Side of Followers [...]
This is a classic example of a gold rush mentality where everyone flocks to set up shop and hoodwink people who don’t know enough to see through it. Anyone who thinks that ANY kind of meaningful strategy can be developed in 48 hours is nuts. But hey – you get what you pay for, right? Thanks for the post Heather.
heatherrast
Twitter: heatherrast
Reply:
November 1st, 2009 at 8:43 pm
Brandon, your nugget here about mutual culpability is coming up a lot, and frankly I hadn’t thought about delving into the ill-advised companies that might buy into this diner menu. It’s a great vein (mutual culpability) I’ll have to explore. Thanks for your visit and contribution!
This is truly from the realm of the bizarre. But its not surprising. As Brandon points out, there’s a bit of a gold rush mentality and everyone’s trying to stake a claim.
I’m in the contact center outsourcing space and, as disturbing as this messaging is, it will resonate with some segments. A fair number of people in customer service are paralyzed by social media and its defiance of the scripted world of the contact center. Some in that category are looking for the false prophet. “Give me the answer in a can”. And, presto, here’s an agency that has it. All your problems solved.
I see the same approach by some vendors in the contact center space, particularly CRM vendors; attempting to capitalize on the hype. So, their throwing together ‘solutions’ to crawl the social web with no clear strategic vision of the value proposition. But, they can say they have a module that ‘aggregates social media from Twitter and Facebook into your CRM contact’. For the same reasons, this vendor message will also find an audience.
Unfortunate, but I’d expect more of this in short order.
Thanks!
.-= Barry Dalton´s last blog ..Who cares about word of mouth? Its my brand! =-.
heatherrast
Twitter: heatherrast
Reply:
November 1st, 2009 at 8:39 pm
Wow, Barry. Thanks so much for the new perspective. I hadn’t given any consideration to how the social media bandwagon would affect b2b service companies like CRM providers. But the scenario you suggest seems siloed to me. Perhaps adding contact nodes that can be addressed on a tactical level to resolve current issues; but where does that leave the bigger opportunity? Real people, real users with your brand on their mind – how can you leverage that beyond the single customer service resolution? A very interesting discussion you’ve started here 
Thank you for your thoughtful comments, I’m grateful you stopped by.
Hello Heather, couldn’t have said it better myself.
I like to say that the people/b2b who sell the menu approach sell the tactics, it’s now wonder we got so much crappy prods and services out there.
All you have to do is head over to elance.com and see the menu mentality in full swing.
Another thing is that the people/biz actually asking for the service are also at fault because sometimes they’ll just say I want to do this because everyone else is doing it, or because they read about it somewhere wrote it down in their notes and so think that’s what they should be doing also.
All I can say is that ‘why’ precedes the ‘how’, biz that take the menu approach sell the HOW without actually understanding the WHY.
.-= Jorge Barba´s last blog ..Social Media is measurable, it’s just not entirely obvious =-.
heatherrast
Twitter: heatherrast
Reply:
November 1st, 2009 at 8:26 pm
Jorge, you’ve nit the nail on the head. The ill-informed client/customer represents the ‘demand’ that the perhaps well-meaning but ill-prepared agency rushes to serve. The result? A lot of folks smiling and congratulating one another on some shallow achievements that have no business under the umbrella of social media. Thanks tons for stopping by and reading the post, I really appreciate your visit!
Wow, mind = blown. I can’t believe a 20 y/o agency would do that, although as Cara Keithley pointed out, maybe it’s not that surprising after all. The idea that you can just magically purhcase brand ambassadors and just get all this traction just like that is crazy. True, meaningful engagement doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time, effort, patience, and passion for those things to develop. Because social media efforts can spread quickly, those who don’t understand it assume that everything does, when in reality it doesn’t. It’s too bad that is lost on both.
.-= Rob Ungar ´s last blog ..Summary of Chris Brogan and the Trust Summit =-.
Great post! While all businesses wants immediate results, there is nothing quick about establishing a meaningful and effective Social Media presence. I say expose this agency for the snake oil salesman that it is.
.-= Benedict Wong´s last blog ..Tip: How to effortlessly mark your social media territory =-.
heatherrast
Twitter: heatherrast
Reply:
November 1st, 2009 at 8:11 pm
“There’s nothing quick…” I’m in complete agreement. Consider traditional tactics for a minute – would the agency similarly promise/commit to 48-hour turn around and results for a print campaign? Outdoor rotation? Doubtful. Of course, the goals for these channels would be different, but the point remains it’s impossible to achieve significant business outcomes in such a short time.
I was posting from my iPhone before and had some trouble so I apologize if this comes up twice.
But, wow- mind = blown. I can’t believe a firm would do that, although maybe as Cara Keithley put it, maybe this shouldn’t surprise me at all. The idea that you can simply purchase brand ambassadors and a community following that is truly engaged around you in 48 hours is nuts. Even though social networking tools have the potential to spread things quickly, that doesn’t mean that a community and following will happen just like that. Those things take time, patience, and passion. It’s not something that develops over night and it shocks me that a 20 y/o agency would make that mistake. And if it’s not a mistake, then they’re seriously misleading their customers and potential customers.
heatherrast
Twitter: heatherrast
Reply:
November 1st, 2009 at 8:19 pm
Rob, my points exactly. But a lot more succinctly! As I replied to others (above), there was no language about engagement or a following (which I’ll argue may be different than followers, particularly when applied to a brand), and I don’t know which is worse – that the agency didn’t qualify the fans/followers to that extent – or that they may not even understand the true import and value of social media.
Very glad you came back to finish your comment, thank you.
[...] and a trillion other factors — none of which bear fruit in 48 hours, I guarantee.” Insights & Ingenuity blog Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)Day [...]
heatherrast
Twitter: heatherrast
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November 1st, 2009 at 7:00 pm
Adam, you touch on an area I likely didn’t qualify very well, and as I intentionally omitted the name of the agency, it’s not self-evident to readers. This agency positions itself as a small group of deep intellectual thinkers, an elite boutique of strategic minds. No where else in their “Services” list is there such an obvious list of tactics. It could be that they’re moving toward more of a punch-list approach for easy reading, but that’s not my sense – which in my opinion further compounds the issue and makes the move seem more desperate to keep up with the Jonses.
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