It is rather amazing that as a method for communicating with our target audiences, social media has already moved through an extremely quick adoption cycle.  I remember the days when even bringing the term social media up during a client meeting would get me a mixture of blank stares, rolling eyes, and pangs of panic and fear.

Funny enough, the future is here and many businesses have moved over the hump and are not only willing, but eager to have a conversation about social media.  The funny thing is that I am spending more and more time telling clients the things they SHOULDN’T be doing with their social media programs instead of pushing them to all the possibilities.

Don’t get me wrong, I am still one of Frause’s biggest proponents of utilizing social tools to reach the people our clients want to reach, but I’m all about doing it the right way at the right time.

The problem has now become one of buzz.  Because social media as a business concept has been around long enough to start proving itself as a viable way to deliver business messages, the argument for why an organization should look into creating a program is becoming easier and easier.

What’s not so easy is telling an executive that social media likely is not going to solve all of his or her communications challenges.  And to be completely honest, I don’t believe social media needs to always have a place at the table for every business, strictly from an ROI perspective.

In order to make the most use out of a marketing and communications budget, clients need to do what they have always done and evaluate the merits for implementing any kind of program – whether that be public relations, advertising, grassroots marketing or social.

So what does that mean for the Frause social media philosophy today?  It’s simple; don’t expect them to come just because you built it.  Make sure to truly understand the opportunities that exist to connect with customers/clients and set realistic expectations.  Of course, always be on the lookout for new and innovative ways to deliver your messages, but first focus on making sure the end justifies the means.  Just because it is cool and new doesn’t mean it will meet your communications goals.

Matt Smedley

Normally my posts reference some sort of recent announcement or news in the world of social media, but today I am going to diverge from the norm a bit and write about my view of how the social media landscape is changing.

Facebook is continuing to grow and attract a diverse set of users while updating its advertising platform and continually expanding its base of applications.  Twitter also is continually growing and adding features and tools that allow users to better interact with one another.  However, social media is not simply defined by the platforms.  It is a concept and a very particular way in which people choose to communicate and share information.  If you have ever been to one of my presentations or trainings, you will have undoubtedly heard me hammer this point home.

As I look to the horizon of social media innovation, I wonder how things will change.  Will Facebook or Twitter still have a place at the dinner table?  I’m starting to question whether or not they will.  The more commercialized these platforms become, the overall “voice” of the community will become more disingenuous.  By commercialized, I mean any organization that jumps into the fray and starts shouting messages instead of interacting like a normal human being would: in a conversational, flawed, honest and authentic way.  Some also argue that the revenue model is to blame with many of these social networks (see last week’s social media roundup for more info).  For example, here is a lovely little video of the CEO of the company that owned and ran popular games on Facebook.  Go ahead and watch him boast about how profitable it was to scam users.  I should also note that there is a bit of foul language, so please be aware before you view.

I will personally be on the lookout for new innovation or ideas that start to attract the early adopters.  There is already chatter out there about this very subject and speculation about what will be the next “it” platform.  Some great conversations are taking place right now about the future viability of Skype as a social media platform.  For those of you not familiar, Skype is best known for its free video chatting service.  It has since grown to be a popular way for people to make internet phone calls, video conferencing, instant messaging and more.

I would not be surprised to see something integrating a better use of video or audio in the future, which is why the speculation surrounding Skype is so interesting.  Rest assured, I will be following the news and keeping everyone up-to-date.

Matt Smedley

Ooooooh, aaaaaaah, the future is upon us

Ok, so maybe the technology of the future has not “officially” arrived just yet, but we have been given a glimpse of what several tech geniuses are working on right now.  What might those things be?

Google Wave

This technology is supposed to revolutionize the way we electronically communicate.  It is called Google Wave and it is the brainchild of the guys behind Google Maps.

Right now Google Wave is just in its testing phase, but it is already being hyped as a concept that could radically change the way people electronically communicate.  I’m not going to get into the details in this post (mainly because it is difficult to explain the concept in such a short article), but essentially the idea is all about combining much of the current technology such as email, instant messaging, photo sharing, etc., into one Web-based tool.  Already skeptical and confused?  You can read more about it from this CNN post.  Google also has posted a rather long video of its new concept here.

Social Networks help video go viral

Mashable had an interesting post yesterday regarding the concept of how social networks help videos go viral.  The basic concept is that services like Ustream and Justin.tv allow users to sign into their services with Twitter, Facebook or Myspace credentials.  Once you are in and begin chatting with other users about a particular video, that chat is then broadcast to your social networks in the form of an update.  The concept allows a video to gain faster recognition and potentially go viral.

As it turns out, Ustream recently took this concept a step further and launched a whole platform around multiple social networks to interface with it simultaneously.  In essence, Ustream went ahead and used technology to make our lives easier.  What an amazing concept!  So if a user wanted to broadcast his or her chat to both their Facebook and Twitter page, they now have that ability.  Intrigued and want to learn more?  Here is the full post.

Matt Smedley