This past week, my good friend Thomas Moradpour launched a blog. One of his first posts is titled Full Disclosure: I think Social Marketing is BS. The post raises some key points that I’ve seen a lot of conversations cover of late. For this Marketer Monday, I thought I’d gather for you some other posts that have argued along similar lines. Feel free to add your own post or comments to the conversation!
Jeff Wilson (@jeffthesensei) explores similar issues in his post titled Is Social Media Just a Channel? I’ve seen this question quite often, though perhaps phrased differently…Is Social Media just another tool, just another weapon, etc. An excellent post!
This post by Suzanne Vara goes into detail regarding how changes in Social Media can impact our other marketing channels. Check out 8 Tips For Embracing Change in Social Media.
Proof of how long this debate has been raging – examine this post by Jay Baer written in August 2009 (!) called 7 ways to use Social Media to build stunning brands. The first sentence begins, “Social media is perhaps the most misleading name for a marketing-related concept ever…”
Finally, rounding out my round-up for today, a fantastic post by Debra Ellis called Social Media vs. Direct Marketing: Place Your Bets Now. Like many in the Social Media space, Debra paints a picture whereby Social Media could actually work with other channels to make marketing enriched, longer-lasting, and more valuable.
Is Social Media marketing? Is Social Media Marketing the better phrase? Is Social Media something separate from “regular” marketing? Can it exist on its own?
Join the fray. I have a feeling this debate isn’t going anywhere!
Image by jolka igolka. http://www.sxc.hu/profile/coniferine