Condensing social media down to two simple things (By Steven Hodson,Shooting at Bubbles )

Social Media – the new battleground of inane buzzwords and incessant hyping of how important it is for businesses to hop on the bandwagon … usually with a couple of high paid consultants hired to whisper sweet nothings in the ear of some CEO.

It is all about ROI of conversation based on consumer involvement as well as creating some kind of brand buzz. It’s all about getting your face out there on Twitter and Facebook so that you can be a part of some conversation around your products or services. It’s all about trying to find that magical formula that will help you increase your sales by making your business seem to be more human.

Is it really though?

Hugh MacLeod had an interesting post today where he talked a little bit about corporate PR and advertising in this new socialized world of communication.

Then I tell them, “You don’t create social objects by pulling levers; you create social objects by creating social gestures.” Then I tell them, “Virals don’t start life out as virals, they start life out as gifts. And gifts are always in conflict with their own value.” Then I tell them, it’s a brand’s job to be interesting. And what wakes a brand interesting is the human interaction around the brand, not the inherent qualities of the brand itself.

I spend a lot of time thinking about social media and how it is used, how it could be used, and how it is misused. In the end I believe that all you need to know about how to use social media can be boiled down to two very simple things.

Honesty and respect.

As simple as that might seem in theory it seems to be a different case when it comes to actually being a part of this new world.

Honesty

One of the biggest buzzwords you hear when the discussion turns to social media is – transparency. More often than not the idea of honesty is tied into this concept of transparency when really it shouldn’t be.

The idea being that businesses need to be transparent in all aspects of their business practices and that by doing so they are being honest with their consumers.

In my opinion this is a boatload of crap. You can be honest with me as a consumer without having to open up the soul of your company for my scrutiny. The fact is I don’t care for the most part about how you do your business. What I do care about is that you are honest with me about your products, or services, and honest with me when something goes wrong and how it will affect me and my family.

It means that you don’t hide behind press releases that have been whitewashed by legal departments. It means that you don’t make your consumers have to force your company in to fixing problems because it’s cheaper to wait until the noise gets too loud.

Being honest with your consumers is one of the simplest and easiest ways to make me interested in your business.

Respect

You show me respect and I will return it a hundredfold.

Don’t treat us just as consumers to constantly be bombarded with what all know is bullshit advertising. Don’t insult our intelligence by thinking that we don’t know when we are being sold a lousy bill of goods.

Show us the respect that any intelligent human being deserves because gone are the day where we take what you are saying at face value. Gone are the days when might made right because more now than ever we truly have the biggest bargaining chips in any discussions we might have – our voices, our feet, and out wallets.

Treat us with respect in all the way your business interacts with us and you will get that same respect back. Treat us with even the smallest amount of disrespect and you will hear about it and you can pretty well kiss any ROI goodbye.

Honesty and Respect

Pretty simple eh.

Two simple things that can make the difference between a working social media experience for your company – and us, your consumers – and finding yourself floundering as our world changes around you.

It really doesn’t get any simpler than that.

via shootingatbubbles.com