Are we becoming social media snobs?

May 17, 2011

There’s no fighting it; social media isn’t going away. Not only is it a critical component of any successful content marketing strategy, it’s also the cornerstone of online interaction. Face it – nearly everyone has a Facebook page, most top talent can be found on LinkedIn, and Twitter has damn near taken over the world.

So yes, the professional use of social media is relevant, important and here to stay. But as the “rules” of social media in the workplace continue to be debated, different camps are breaking out on various sides of the argument. For example:

  • those who are all in (“Get with the program you dinosaurs!”)
  • those who are interested, but still trying to figure out the right strategy (“It all sounds good, but…”)
  • those who continue to do business like they did in the good old days, with hardly any interest in tweets, pokes or any other social media jargon (“Yep, that’s us. We’re the dinosaurs.”)

No need to worry too much about convincing the last group, as they’ll likely come around in the end. Jeff Bullas recently wrote an article directed toward these folks anyway, sarcastically listing 20 reasons why they should continue to not use social media to grow their brands. (My favorite? “You have shares in the Yellow Pages.”) But what gets lost in messages like these is that just because a professional is timid toward social media, doesn’t mean their reasons are illegitimate.

After all, the concept of using the Internet to enhance your personal brand as a way of boosting visibility and credibility for your company is still relatively new, and I don’t believe it’s a one-size-fits-all solution. For example, Mark Ingram – a former journalist and popular voice in the online publishing space – recently wrote an article titled “News Editors Still Don’t Want Journalists to be Human”, in which he picks apart social media policies published by The American Society of News Editors (ASNE). While he agrees and disagrees with various parts of the ASNE review, his main quibble has to do with the suggested restrictions placed on editors and reporters in regards to how they express themselves on social media.

The point Ingram raises (and I don’t disagree) is that journalists are people and they do have opinions, and in this day and age, it’s ridiculous and inadvisable to expect otherwise. He’s not wrong, but I don’t think those thoughts adequately explore the reasons behind those beliefs.

The journalistic system (at least ideally) is to objectively report on all sides of a story in such a way that the closest version of truth is represented. If a writer is seen as having an agenda of his or her own, then that agenda inevitably taints the content and how it’s perceived. So would publications be worried that allowing writers to express their own opinions on Twitter might rob them of credibility? Of course! Would they fear that breaking a story in 140 characters might discourage people from reading the full article on their websites? Of course! And are they right in feeling this way? Of co… well, no, probably not.

We can all agree that the world is changing, and with the competition of 24-hour news channels and popularity of professional bloggers, the ways people consume information is far more varied than ever before. Traditional publications are starting to favor blogging over hard news writing more and more, by focusing on building up the trust and brand of the writer to retain credibility and help the company as a whole. (ZDNet’s Mary Jo Foley is a great example of a former reporter who has successfully transitioned into professional news blogging in her coverage of the Microsoft space.) This is really where content marketing was born, as more and more companies realize they can do the same thing to grow their businesses. That doesn’t mean their initial concerns are invalid, though.

But while journalists are concerned about expressing their agenda and squandering their perceived objectivity, marketers and business reps have the reverse problem – people already know they have an agenda. The question then becomes, how do you successfully adapt social media in a way that softens that particular point? How do you build your personal brand in a way that creates trust and respect for yourself and the company, but also makes you more than a shill? How do you institute policies to avoid hurting the company’s brand while at the same time not crushing the purpose of social media in the process?

The truth is that there are valid concerns for businesses and everyone else with something to lose when it comes to social media, and it’s not surprising that those fears tend to rise above what they might potentially gain from it (at least not initially).

Lisa Barone wrote a great piece debunking the idea of “professional” Twitter accounts recently, basically stressing that you either let people in, or don’t bother. But while I’m not totally on board with the aggressive tone against those who fail to completely give in to the “social” side of social media, she does provide a great explanation of what it takes to develop the right personal brand online:

“Social media isn’t a free-for-all for engagement. Not at all. It’s about deciding who you are, how you can best support the company and being that. Therein lies your strategy – regardless of whether you’re tweeting as yourself or a representative of a brand. But you’ll never accomplish anything by cutting the YOU from your social media persona. It’s your job to figure out how to blend it all in a way that benefits everyone.” .
Couldn’t have said it better myself. I think once everyone understands that simple truth, they’ll see there’s nothing to be afraid of. But until then, while we might not necessarily agree, I still can’t help but understand where the concerns and questions are coming from.

You can find more information on content marketing and editorial practices at the OpenView Labs website. You can also follow Brendan on Twitter @BrenCournoyer and find more from the OpenView team @OpenViewVenture.

Content Strategist

Brendan worked at OpenView from 2011 until 2012, where he was an editor, content manager and marketer. Currently Brendan is the Vice President of Corporate Marketing at <a href="https://www.brainshark.com/">Brainshark</a> where he leads all corporate marketing initiatives related to content, creative, branding, events, press and analyst relations, and customer marketing.