Will A Lack of Vision Sink Social in 2012?

There are only a few weeks left in 2011 the year that Social Media was supposed to become "normal" and yet as a recent report by Booz & Company/Buddy Media shows the majority of companies are fixated on Twitter and Facebook. That really isn't that surprising, especially when the C-Suite are so familiar with status updates that they believe that is all there is to Social Media.

What They See vs What They Want

This graphic describes the problem nicely. Executives and others looking to Social Media only see the tip of the iceberg. They see status updates, but what they really want lies much much deeper. Beyond the Social Marketing layer and into the depths where Digital Marketing lies. The problem is that they can't see the whole iceberg, only the tip. So when they start to talk about Social Media they think they understand what they mean but in reality are often convinced that the tip is all that is needed.

More than one captain has been caught out by not understanding the size of the iceberg he is encountering. As the Booz & Co/BuddyMedia report shows, 79% of respondents are pulling resources from Digital Marketing to pay for Social Media initiatives. This is a worrying trend. It is a strong indicator of the lack of understanding about where Social Marketing fits in the overall toolbox. The danger is that by visualizing Social Marketing as little more than another channel through which to push messages (96% of respondents see Social Marketing as an advertising and promotions channel) organizational leaders are going to run their Social ship aground.

Scratching The Surface

If, as some posit, Social Media/Marketing were the normal way we conduct business would we really still be reading reports like this? In all honesty most companies are still barely scratching the surface and most are still not even managing to do that. Some of the problem can be attributed to the perspective we have on the world as digital marketers – we love Social and Digital, so we believe everyone does and that most are using it. The truth is most are not. We are also guilty of perpetuating the myths that surround Social – it's cheap/free, it's easy, users are just waiting for brands to talk to them.

Will things change in 2012? There is one metric in the report that indicates perhaps things might change – 57% of respondents are planning on hiring headcount to manage Social Media within their organization. Hopefully having individuals or even a few of them in an organization that actually understand Social Marketing is more than just status updates will lead to an overall better understanding within organizations as a whole. I'm hopeful this will lead to change, but I'm also realistic that change, especially at the organizational level is hard and slow.

2012 – The Year of Social?

So will next year be the year Social becomes normal? As much as I want to say yes, I have to say no. I think we are at least 5 years away from seeing the term fall by the wayside in the same way as we rarely see the phrase e-commerce used these days. In the interim we should continue to point out that iceberg in the path of so many organizations who think they are navigating the waters of Social so well with their status updates while missing point.

What do you think, will the lack of vision sink Social in 2012?

 

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