Social Media, you need to get your head on straight, and right quick. You’re heading for a wall that will not bounce you back into a nice place with lovely grass to sit on and delicious treats to eat. You’re heading for a wall that will turn you into a pancake (and not the kind that tastes good with syrup).
It’s weird to see this kind of sentiment pop up on my screen in this context as I type. After all, for a long time, probably a year (hey, that’s a long time in the world of social media) I had REALLY rosy glasses on. If a well-known person in the online space offered advice, I assumed it was solid. I was talking to my friend Jeannette Baer (@myagenda) about this the other day in fact. You wrote a book? Let me read it pronto! You say that I should focus on this more than that? Cool, I’m listening.
It’s not to say that I was a mindless robot, here to absorb you. It’s just…there seemed to be an air of credibility, intelligence, maybe even kindness.
Have I changed, or has the space changed?
Taking advantage of the desperate and ill-informed
Last year, when some well-known folks announced that they were writing books and doing webinars about Google Plus shortly after it launched, there was a lot of controversy and vitriol in the social media space. I have to admit, the back-and-forth got too personal and too ugly for me so I stayed away from most of the conversations. We talk about attacking the idea, but we know that doesn’t really happen. But having read some of the stuff recently that came out shortly after Google Plus launched, I realized it was, by necessity, very half-baked. This is simply a by-product of trying to make money educating people on how to bake a cake before your new cake is out of the oven. I spent a minimal amount of money and sort of knew what to expect, but it was disappointing nonetheless.
Then, I started noticing more stuff. I watched a few webinars that had really good titles – titles that seemed to promise actionable advice – but what I got was a book promotion. Same thing for blog posts I’ve read. I haven’t spent money on these things, but imagine if I had? Imagine if I said, “I’m going to teach you today how to best use social media if you are a B2B manufacturer. “Great!” You might think (assuming you’re a B2B manufacturer). What if you paid me, I don’t know, $50? $67? $291.22? And all you got was me talking about a book that was only loosely related to what you wanted to learn? You’d be a bit peeved, right? Especially if money was tight.
Then, Pinterest happened, and I have seen notifications for webinars on how to use Pinterest for your business. One such webinar costs you $139. This while there are copyright concerns and while many people are deleting their accounts rather than building them out. It’s entirely possible that everything in that webinar is great, but we just don’t know yet. It’s too early.
So why are we doing this again?
Gettin while the gettin is good versus taking advantage of people
I fear that the world of social media is being overrun by people who are more towards the snake oil salesman end of the spectrum. This makes me really sad. I’d love to go back to a year or two ago when I thought that everyone in the online world was just out to give me and other people a boost. But something is off. Something is different. Whether it’s in me or in the online world I’m not 100% certain. But it seems like there is confusion between tying money and sales to social media versus absolutely ripping people off. This is not sustainable for individuals or for social media as a means of marketing and communication, right?
Why can’t you wait to write that book? Why can’t you wait to charge $139 for that webinar? Is it because you might get beaten to the punch? It could happen, but isn’t it better to offer advice that is based on reliable information? You might not get the earliest of the early adopters, but things take longer to evolve than we might think. There will still be plenty of people who want to learn from you. Heck, there are still people who want to learn Twitter or Facebook. Did those earliest books and webinars stave off future adopters? Nah.
Sadly, we live in a time when people will be enticed to spend that $139 or whatever it is because they feel it’s an investment in the future of their brand or business, and it’s hard to talk yourself out of that kind of investment, isn’t it? It’s a mode of optimistic thinking. It’s a symbol of hope. It’s you being confident and self-assured. Is it a coincidence that these for-pay educational “events” are increasing as the economic recession continues? Maybe not. Maybe the folks offering those items see a fertile garden of people hoping and praying for that big silver bullet. Maybe that’s capitalism. But if it is, it’s capitalism’s ugliest side by far. And we should call it what it is – taking advantage. It’s not really educational if you can’t *possibly* know everything about what you’re talking about. And it’s only impossible to know everything about what you’re talking about because it simply does not exist yet. Simple as that.
What do you think? Is it right to jump in and charge people for information as soon as you have any? Is that the way to tie social media to hard dollars? Or are we heading towards a rather corrupt mode of communicating where “information” is short-cut-laden language masquerading as something more credible?
Image Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bluerobot/5490728061/ via Creative Commons
I wanted to learn about affiliate marketing. I read a post by a blogger I respected that said, buy this $2 ebook. The ebook was all about selling this one marketer’s product. Even worse, the ebook was outdated. He wasn’t even selling those promotions anymore. Plus they didn’t mesh with his advice on how to pick good offers. I was peeved although I didn’t pay very much.
I wanted to learn about affiliate marketing. I read a post by a blogger I respected that said, buy this $2 ebook. The ebook was all about selling this one marketer’s product. Even worse, the ebook was outdated. He wasn’t even selling those promotions anymore. Plus they didn’t mesh with his advice on how to pick good offers. I was peeved although I didn’t pay very much.
There is a lot of stuff going down with pinterest that has become my #1 pet peeve of the moment. I was going to rant about this week at some point.
@susansilver I think a lot of people are at the breaking point regarding Pinterest. It’s been nothing but a gold rush for about two months. Very yucky.
As for the e-book, I just can’t understand stuff like that. Wouldn’t you think that would catch up with you at some point?
@margieclayman I don’t agree on Pinterest. We’re in a social media bubble where it feels like it’s been a gold rush for two months (and it has in our world). But in the real world? Moms and wives and sisters are using it to help sort through their busy lives in a very creative way.
When I was approached about writing Marketing in the Round, I was saying to my mom, “I don’t know if I want to do this. I mean, everyone is writing books right now.”
She took me by the shoulders, looked at me dead on, and said, “Gin, in your world maybe everyone is writing books. But out here in the real world, writing a book is a big deal.”
We have to remember we represent less than one percent of the real world. Social media does get yucky. That’s why being busy at work is good for all of us…it forces us to stay off of the platforms every once in a while.
@ginidietrich I see your point – I guess my problem is that people have taken the fact that Pinterest is popular and then jumped to the point where it’s the next big thing for ALL businesses. I think that’s dangerous. The webinar I speak of is how to use Pinterest for business. I think that’s dangerously premature.
As for writing books, I know that what you and Geoff are going to end up with will be sensational because you are definitively NOT snake oil salespeople. Not all social media books fall into that category, too. In fact, a lot of books i have read are timeless in terms of the concepts they introduce. But jumping on something like whatever the next Pinterest or Quora will be and writing a detailed book about how it will most definitely help your business? That’s worrisome to me. And I fear a lot of people are getting taken for rides because of stuff like that.
@ginidietrich @margieclayman It’s like I told you when we Skyped Margie. From inside the fishbowl, the concave shape makes everything look bigger than it is. But in reality, the outside is far bigger than us in the fishbowl think. It’s hard to think of our little community as being small when it’s global, but it is. The more I talk to businesses outside of our circle about social media, the more I realize just how many businesses really don’t know, understand, or care about it.
This is the hard truth. Far too many are writing blog posts and books to please their peers, well their peers will never be the ones that pay the bills. Do what’s right for those outside the fishbowl looking to get in, not for those that are already in here thinking they’re a big fish in a small bowl. Most of them are just suckers anyway.
@margieclayman Oh you know I agree with you. When I saw Pinterest for Dummies is coming out, I threw up in my mouth. But I suppose someone has to do it. We just won’t read it.
@ginidietrich @margieclayman Even I, the anti-Pinterest hype guy of them all, see value in the medium for the right stakeholder. I wouldn’t dismiss the medium, I would dismiss the panacea talk and overhype surrounding it.
@geoffliving One of my coworkers introduced me onto Pinterest months ago. I asked around a little and no one knew what I was talking about. And the problem with the ppl giving $139 webinars so soon is that it makes a harder road for those of us who wait and see if there’s really something worth hosting a webinar about. So the need to “get there first” permeates and dispels any sense of reason.
There’s a lot of “Squirrel!” syndrome going around. It’s infectious.
I’m convinced the Dummies people have insider access and thus write the half-baked books that are on the shelf a month after a new product release. I prefer the Idiot’s Guides, like the style better, but they don’t come out nearly as often as Dummies.
And I agree on the fishbowl comments. I work in the legal industry, and there are lots of firms, of all sizes, that are just starting to dip into social media.
@geoffliving @ginidietrich Yeah, like I said, it could get everything sorted and be really great for *some* types of businesses. But as of now, with all of the concerns, I don’t feel comfortable telling our clients, ‘Hey, jump in and post photos of your products here!” They might miss out on some early traffic, but I can also know they won’t get stung by copyright problems or sales confusion. That seems to make the caution worth it, at least to me.
@Chris_Eh_Young @ginidietrich On the other hand, Chris, that lack of knowledge is part of the entire problem. Suddenly Wall Street Journal or the New York Times writes an article about Google Plus or Quora or Pinterest and managers everywhere say, “Uh, well, what’s this?” They might Google it first instead of asking someone, and what will they find? “Oh, this blog looks reputable. And they say I should jump right in. Hmm.”
How much weight are reputable bloggers given when they are visited blindly? That would be a fascinating study to run.
@margieclayman @ginidietrich As a photographer, there are ways around the digital imaging issue with watermarks. Personally, I am a big believe in free content to get the word out. Give what others won’t because they are afraid, and you get an advantage. Isn’t that why we blog?
@econwriter5 Don’t mistake my cautious approval for targeted Pinterest use as a blessing for social media douchebaggery, please.
@geoffliving @margieclayman You know I agree, Geoff. The more people who want to share my content, the better!
Margie, sadly, it isn’t just you (but you already knew that). Consider David Meerman Scott’s book and advice on Newsjacking.
The problems are not just in social media, they cover all aspects of marketing. They can’t shout any louder, so to be heard, marketers are shouting earlier or in the moments of silence we once had. I have said in the past that marketers will move to the extremes to be heard. It is unfortunate, but right now, it is the world we live in. My goal is to work with marketers that pick the extreme of serving their audience, rather than shouting louder, ambushing, bashing or spreading FUD. However, I do believe that we will see all possible extremes in the years to come in a desperate attempt to stand out.
Great point, well said. Thank you for sharing.
@Wittlake You could well be right. Like I just said to Susan though, I don’t see how you can do that stuff and not think it’ll catch up with you eventually. People aren’t dumb, or if they are, they aren’t dumb for long. Eventually people will realize that what you are offering was not fully thought out. Or one would think, anyway
Margie:
Really provocative post!
Part of the problem is charlatans are attracted to social media – how many teeth whitening, get rich, and find companionship pitches do we get daily.
But part of the problem is that many of us interested in social media love change and novelty and are looking for the ‘next cool thing.’ So we are enthusiastic about Quora, Google+, Groupon, Foursquare and Pinterest and want to master them and be the first to give good advice to others.
Given the long lead times to get articles into print, academics are forced to focus on the timeless and important. Yet participating in a B2B SMM strategy and planning session I actually had to stop myself from suggesting that they post their industrial products on Pinterest!
As you suggest we should think first!
– Gary
@ProfessorGary Hi Gary,
I suppose social media does make life easier for charlatans, but I’m not sure the trend is that easy to explain. I think a lot of people started out with a genuine desire to help. In fact, they said as much back in the day. But then there was this realization across the social media world that offering free advice and giving away all of your information doesn’t make you much money. So now the scales are tipped the other way and money is the first thing that comes to mind. Unfortunately, the desire to make money is now so great that people are charging for things that they probably would not have charged for 2-3 years ago.
Pinterest seems like it could be valuable to some companies – but the lure of traffic has fooled a lot of people, I think. I’m sure there are tons of industrial companies that are being told to put pictures of their machines or parts on Pinterest. We’ll see how that goes
There are snake oil salesmen everywhere. What I do see are people who I really did respect and know are deep down good people, getting desperate and selling crap to pay the bills. Honor and integrity are hard to steer in a straight line, especially when you can post “!0 easy ways to make a million” and get 100x the traffic than if you write the headline “Making a million is hard work but you can do it.” The human condition is to want the easy way out and something new to entertain them. There are those who have no qualms about leveraging human nature with the attitude of “Hey, it’s a free world, if they want to spend their money on what any logical person would know is ridiculous, that’s their fault.” This is the same argument I got when I worked with juvenile drug dealers who said (and I quote) “If stupid white people in BMWs want to come into my neighborhood and snort poison up their nose, I supply it to them. They need the high, I need the money. If it isn’t me selling it to them, it will be someone else. ” Huh…. Entrepreneurial, no? Meeting a need that solves a pain. But I digress.
People have to be smarter consumers. When I was a kid my parents taught me that TV commercials are designed to sell you stuff that you probably don’t need. If we believe every catchy blog headline and shiny promise we need to examine our BS detectors. Sometimes you gotta be got to learn (and I am one of those people).
And Pinterest, OMG! don’t get me started. The hype is silly stupid. Show me HARD EVIDENCE that people are making money over there or attracting clients who pay you in money and then I’ll start to pay attention to it as a business tool. If you don’t have that, I think your post on the “101 Reasons You are a Fool to Ignore Pinterest in your Business” is crap in a more ways than one.
@susangiurleo that drug analogy is really interesting (I’m watching season 4 of The Wire so it really resonates!). Here’s the thing though. While most people probably know that crack is not a great idea or hobby, I think there are a lot of people who really lean on certain people in the business world or the social media world for guidance. And we are sort of led that way, right? When you sign up for Twitter, you are given “accounts to follow” in all of the main categories. Because we use the term “thought leader,” people let their thoughts get led. They might be new to marketing, new to the world of entrepreneurship, so they are scouring the blogosphere looking for advice. And they will. not. know.
I know this because as I said in my post, I had really rosy glasses on when I first joined the world of social media. I assumed, due to lack of experience, that a lot of people were a lot smarter than me. I took their word for a lot of things. I kind of regret that now, and I am very worried for people who now have an extra layer of people telling them who to listen to and what to do.
Margie,
I think for the collectors of the dough the end justifies the means, not about educating anybody. Who said it? “There’s a fool born every minute.” These wranglers are proud to round up any available bucks online and be on their merry way to the next big social media idea. The speed that social media is changing is scaring the perpetually uninformed middle manager & they will gladly cough up $139 for an expense report to make them feel like someone is trying to figure out what’s goin’ on out there. Let me tell you a funny story. Three year old Ella told us when she heard a fire truck siren roar by, “when I grow up I’m gonna be a fireman cause I wanna know what’s goin’ on out there!”
Yours Truly,
Susan Fox
@Gaga That’s a great point, Gaga. It’s the silver bullet factor. It’s the “I need to stay ahead…somehow…” factor. Knowing what is going on, but only on the surface level. Yes yes and yes.
Pinterest has impressive figures for a start-up and I have to say the Branding you can do on Pinterest is very interesting. It shows you to be a real person with what you like as well as having a business side – cool. Many businesses are home-based these days and Pinterest may just tie into that more than any other platform. I am always open to new ideas and try to think positive. It’s way too early to charge a lot of money to teach Pinterest marketing, however I think if you were giving a general social media seminar, you would be remiss not to mention it.
@mscrimsonlips There is a big difference between fleshing out yourself as a human and fleshing out your business, however. You are probably right that some of these home businesses that you mention could really benefit from using Pinterest, but then I wonder about these copyright problems and the affiliate links. Are these companies keeping their eyes open for that kind of news? Are the webinars and books about Pinterest pointing that stuff out? Hard to say. But that’s why I am saying (as you reiterate) it’s just way too early to get on the “Pinterest for business” bandwagon. It could be great. It could be a nightmare. It could be meh. It’s just too early to tell.
Yes, Margie, I am afraid “we” are going the way of the snake oil salesmen. And, to correct you, it’s usually discounted to $47.00.
“We” cannot wait to write the book or hold the webinar because in our current age of instantaneous anwers, someone will beat you to the punch. No it isn’t right to jump in and charge people for half-baked ideas, and for what is essentially a book promo. But, evenyone is looking for a short-cut; the buyers and the sellers alike. So, these buyers are easy pickimgs because “they” don’t know who is truly a reputable source.
It’s a completely different notion to pay someone to say, set up your Pinterest (for example) page for you, and another to go to a webinar for someone to show you what thay know about Pinterest, so far…
And, yes Margie, there is snakeoil everywhere. So the old saying remains true, “Buyer beware.”
Martina
@martinamcgowan
@Martina McGowan Thanks Martina
I think it’s interesting that so many people in this thread are sort of laying some of the blame at the victims’ feet. I am not sure it’s necessarily their fault. I think there is a lot of manipulation, a lot of slight of hand and shiny object syndrome. If you don’t know to look out for it from the start, it’s SO easy to get sucked in, as I was. I am fortunate that I have a different job, a marketing job, outside of social media which helped me get the flashing red alarm that something was off.
A-fricking men. You have arrived and are awake. There is no honor in this business anymore, not like it used to be.
@geoffliving It’s a bummer to find that being awake is more depressing than being asleep, non?
I’ve long been of the opinion that the people who are the best at something — the people who do something brilliantly, and properly, and for the right reasons — are not always the people best known for doing that thing, or best at promoting their capacity to do that thing. Book contracts aren’t always given to the best writers, the best lawyers are not the most famous ones, the most bankable actors aren’t the most interesting ones to watch, etc. Sometimes they are, mind you — there are plenty of brilliant books and lawyers and actors that get plenty of attention. But fame / notoriety isn’t the gauge. The value of the stuff they do is the gauge.
Unfortunately, in a field where “buzz” and “viral” and “likes” are the measures of success, the people who are best at promoting themselves and their ideas are going to rise to the top — less like cream than like a dead goldfish. That doesn’t mean everyone with a significant following is a hack — it means that a significant following isn’t enough to make you NOT a hack.
I’ve seen the different platforms come and go in Vogue, and the different strategies, and the different memes… and here’s what I think is true: every business has asshats. Asshats you can’t get rid of. Doesn’t matter what you do… there they are. I think the only recourse of the honorable is to continue to be so, and to give people our best in a world where that’s simply not common.
It’s kind of exciting, actually — feels almost subversive.
I’ve long been of the opinion that the people who are the best at something — the people who do something brilliantly, and properly, and for the right reasons — are not always the people best known for doing that thing, or best at promoting their capacity to do that thing. Book contracts aren’t always given to the best writers, the best lawyers are not the most famous ones, the most bankable actors aren’t the most interesting ones to watch, etc. Sometimes they are, mind you — there are plenty of brilliant books and lawyers and actors that get plenty of attention. But fame / notoriety isn’t the gauge. The value of the stuff they do is the gauge.
Unfortunately, in a field where “buzz” and “viral” and “likes” are the (popular and remarkably un-useful) measures of success, the people who are best at promoting themselves and their ideas are going to rise to the top — less like cream than like a dead goldfish. That doesn’t mean everyone with a significant following is a hack — it means that a significant following isn’t enough to make you NOT a hack.
I’ve seen the different platforms come and go, and the different strategies, and the different memes… and here’s what I think is true: every business has asshats. Asshats you can’t get rid of. Doesn’t matter what you do… there they are. I think the only recourse of the honorable is to continue to be so, and to give people our best in a world where that’s simply not common.
It’s kind of exciting, actually — feels almost subversive.
@megtripp Hah! I like that. We few rebels who fight the power of the buzzy hacks. Can we make a Star Wars trilogy based on this storyline?
It’s opportunism. Capitalism. Good business. I see nothing wrong with it. Really. Just because we’re all friendly and have open access to each other, we think that business doesn’t exist. Bullshit.
That said, I have a personal problem with the concept of capitalism. At its core, capitalism is based in seizing opportunity. Doctors, hospitals, pharmaceutical makers, even farmers (see Monsanto) are not in business to do ‘good’ – but rather to make money. That’s capitalism. That’s what we promote in America. It’s what we stand for. So how can we (in SocMe) complain about any of us doing something different when industries that once were pillars of ‘good’ do for the bottom line?
Do I like it? No. But then I don’t like that my doctor prioritizes patients based on those who can pay over those who need help either. But that’s how it is in America. Anything spoken otherwise is socialism.
@jmitchem I know what you’re saying. I guess I would retort in this way. Are people who rip people off with pyramid schemes capitalists or are they something else? Are they opportunists taking advantage of people who don’t know better, or are they something else?
Unfortunately, I feel that there are people who are working in the social media space who, perhaps without realizing it (or maybe they are, which would be worse) are charging money for any ole thing because they know there are folks who will pay it. Now, one could argue that that is what capitalism is all about, and I suppose you’d be right. But offering advice on a platform that isn’t even fully developed yet, and charging a big chunk of change for that advice – that smacks of something more negative to me, unfortunately.
@jmitchem Agree with you! “It’s opportunism. Capitalism. Good business”
I agree with you, Margie. That’s what makes me eliminate a lot of blogs I read. They’re recommended and I subscribe and within days I feel like I’m at a pitchfest. When I go to a webinar where I actually learn something and am not just told that this is a person who knows all and if I give my $49.99 he will then reveal it, I feel like there’s still hope. I’ve been taught by some of the best. And even they are starting to change because they’re constantly being told that they should be getting more for what they do. And if you’re told long enough that you’re underpricing yourself while your competitors are getting rich….well, eventually they start to believe it. Maybe the truly gifted will continue to follow their common sense, while the others that believe they will only have a limited opportunity to make a few dollars will just disappear.
@herbworld It’s a fine line, right? I think a lot of people worked themselves into a hole when social media was new because they were all about giving stuff away. But they forgot that you can’t make money if you aren’t making money. Now, 3-4 years later, we seem to be swinging the other way, and people are competing with each other to make the most money they can as soon as possible. Hopefully it all evens out at some point.
I’m certainly not against people making money using social media. I just think you should charge people for stuff that’s like…legit.