Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Common sense about social media

Business Insider published a post yesterday with the inflammatory headline, "Why I Will Never, Ever Hire a 'Social Media Expert.'" Given that I advise clients on social media issues, I was very curious to know what was behind the author's beef with social media experts.

So I was surprised to find that I agreed with many of the points laid out by Peter Shankman, the post's author. It's not about being anti-social media, but rather being smart about social media instead of blindly rushing to engage in every social media fad out there. He also makes an astute observation that the current frenzy surround social media is reminiscent of the dot com boom when many people believed that all that was needed to succeed was a website and a half-baked business plan.

The key take-away? Social media is another tool in the marketing tool box - it is not the be all, end all of marketing. Social media alone can not support a business but it can be extremely effective when used strategically and in the right way. None of this is new, but it's always worth repeating.

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