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The Social Media Honeymoon is Over

I’ve been wanting to write this post for some time now. So here goes…

Like you, I’ve seen a number of blogs and article criticizing social media “experts”, “gurus” and the like – and they are well deserved. Social is hardly new – and though it is still new to some, that’s ok. Some people are new to driving, oysters or gardening. This hardly makes these practices and interests unimportant. We’re simply seeing the demise of the 1st wave of social media as the answer, and all the excitement and opportunity within the social space that must inevitably stare ROI right back in the eye (pun completely intended).

Some humorous examples of these criticisms here, here and here.

It didn’t help that (some of) this 1st wave of social media types took to calling themselves rock stars. It made some sense at the time – remember when Facebook had “Fans”? And with the dizzying rates of new users, various social start-ups and “game changing” events – who can blame them.

But this time is long gone now. Trending is great. Lots of Followers and Likes are fantastic. But it’s hardly enough to be remotely noteworthy any longer. Social media is a marketing channel – like any other. Its digital. It can be really cool. But it needs to factor in some ROI. Big time.

Those of you who’ve read me for a while know this – I’ve spoken on my position previously, once or twice.

I’m a little weary of brands that position social so close to the core of their digital assets – I’ve seen a number of TV ads that give a Facebook page as the digital destination. There are an increasing amount of articles featuring stories of Facebook plateaus and user rates that are dropping.

Social is hardly “done for” – but the role it plays and the impact it has, is having and can have is changing. Social is what we make it, every post, tweet or status update.

Social is a place – a dynamic place. But it’s not the only place. Use it wisely…