Social Media Session at Affiliate Summit
The social media session at Affiliate Summit was probably the worst session I have ever attended at any conference. The panel:
- Sam Harrelson, VP of Business Development, OnCard Marketing (Moderator)
- Stephanie Agresta, Partner, The Conversation Group
- Chris Brogan, Vice President Strategy & Technology, CrossTechMedia
- Justine Ezarik, iJustine
- Tris Hussey, Training Manager, b5media
- Deborah Schultz, Principal/Chief Strategist, DeborahSchultz.com
strongly believed that social media marketing or social networking was simply blogging and twitter.
One panelist, who will remain nameless, even commented that Twitter is the next big thing! I almost fell out of my seat. Now I am not a fan of Twitter. I don’t care that someone on my list is stuck in traffic. My ego is not so large that I think that people care what I am doing at this particular moment in time. As for it being the next best thing, in order for that to happen, Twitter would need to get broad acceptance by the Internet community. Can you imagine your mother or grandmother using Twitter? I didn’t think so and that is why Twitter is not the next big thing.
One of panelists also remarked that they use Delcious, Twitter and Facebook to drive traffic back to their web site (blog). Did they not read the definition of social media optimization? It is about making your content portable so that people can read and interact with it on one of these different social networks across the net. If you are only engaging in conversation on your blog you are missing out on a lot of opportunities to interact with your target audience.
I had high hopes for this session, and was really disappointed that the panel had such a limited viewpoint on social networking. Yes, blogging is part of social media marketing, but it is a component, not the only tactic.
Note: I have since added a second post on this topic called What the Affiliate Summit Session on Social Media Should Have Contained.
Filed under Social Media Marketing, Social Media Optimization : Comments (11) : Feb 28th, 2008
February 28th, 2008 at 11:22 am
[…] Social Media Session at Affiliate Summit David @ Social Media Optimization […]
February 28th, 2008 at 11:54 am
Hi David-
Don’t limit Twitter to just an ego feed or a stream of people talking about their cats, just as you point out that social media shouldn’t be limited to Twitter and blogging. My grandmother actually is using Twitter, but that’s anecdotal evidence (even though that seems to be what your points rely on here).
Good luck and thanks for the feedback-
Sam
February 28th, 2008 at 12:09 pm
Hi Sam
Thank for visiting. My observations about Twitter are not anecdotal. This blog has covered social media marketing and optimization for the last year and a half. In that time I have only seen one example where someone actually incorporated Twitter into a social media campaign and that was to help to remove negative posts from the search engine results. I have not seen, heard, or spoken to anyone who is using Twitter as part of their social media marketing efforts. Until I see Twitter appear as part of more campaigns I cannot see how it is the next big thing.
February 28th, 2008 at 12:22 pm
I wouldn’t have found out about this blog post and your blog if I had not been using Twitter. Granted the person on Twitter was on the panel but they still drove traffic to your blog just my mentioning this.
My grandmother couldn’t use it now because she is in a nursing home and has suffered from a severe stroke for over 10 years but when she was active and if blogging and Twitter has been around in “her day” she would have used those tools. My grandmother used to sell Avon and even sold it to a telemarketer who called her because she said, “I listened to your pitch now let me tell you about Avon!” The telemarketer actually bought stuff from her!
To this say that example she set for seeking out any opportunity and going where the people are is what has encouraged me to be involved in the Internet, social networking, blogging, etc. In the beginning I thought Twitter was silly, the same with blogging but I am learning more and more the importance of having a presence in these venues and going where the people are. Today it’s Twitter, Facebook and the community of blogging. Who know’s what it will be then but I am glad I am plugged into these things and try them out. I’m not exactly the youngest guy in the world either.
February 28th, 2008 at 1:10 pm
David, unless you have done a rigorous and scientific study, your observations are anecdotal. That does not mean that they are not true or ill-thought-out, but that they are observations.
In my travels through the internet, I have seen Twitter used numerous times in social media campaigns. That does not mean that it is the next big thing or that it will ever escape severe niche-dom, but it is being used. I use it myself in one campaign and it does not talk about Lost (sorry, Sam!), but instead keeps my members informed about the site that they belong to and has helped several members remember to come back.
Just my anecdotal observations…
February 28th, 2008 at 2:15 pm
I didn’t catch this session, but I would have hoped for some talk about leveraging Facebook and OpenSocial apps. Or maybe even something about Google’s upcoming Android OS for cell phones. Imagine the possibilities with that, who needs Twitter. IMO Social Media isn’t blogging. It’s social networking and leveraging real life relationships for the benefit of all of those involved.
February 28th, 2008 at 3:12 pm
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February 28th, 2008 at 3:14 pm
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February 28th, 2008 at 3:15 pm
I agree Scott. I actually made a follow-up post on this
http://social-media-optimization.com/2008/02/social-media-session-at-affiliate-summit/
February 28th, 2008 at 4:29 pm
A followup to what I said before. Twitter, blogs, Facebook, etc. are just tools and means of connections. It’s really no different that going to any real life networking event. It’s all in how you work it. I can’t give any scientific studies but I do have experience. I have reconnected with old high school classmates at Facebook and in doing so have been refered to a client that given us several good paying projects. Well worth the little bit of time spend on Facebook, I’ve made new connections on Twitter and learned about online events, web sites I should be aware of, etc. Once again, very little time investment for a good return of relationships and resources. In my blogging I have not only been able to increase my SEO but I have developed some good partnerships in business and networking that would have never done otherwise.
You can go to a real life party and just chit chat and drink beer but you can also share valuable information, answer question.
February 29th, 2008 at 2:51 pm
[…] One of panelists also remarked that they use Delcious, Twitter and Facebook to drive traffic back to their web site (blog). Did they not read the definition of social media optimization? It is about making your content portable so that people can read and interact with it on one of these different social networks across the net. If you are only engaging in conversation on your blog you are missing out on a lot of opportunities to interact with your target audience. Source: » Social Media Session at Affiliate Summit - Social Media Optimization […]