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As I’ve mentioned, I got my start as your typical ad agency type. I worked on print, TV, Radio, created websites for clients. And we actually frequently discussed what we were going to do about the media shift that we saw coming. The traditional media landscape was fragmenting…which was actually a good thing, as it let us target the audience for our message with great accuracy.
But what were we going to do with this whole Internet thing? This was different. It wasn’t a mass medium like traditional print and broadcast channels. It’s not passive—people hop online with a specific intent. We’d have to figure out how to be wherever they were when there intent was to find the things our clients were selling.
SEO was the prevalent method. “Owning the Search Result” was the goal for most marketers. But the talk still went on. Was there more?
Then I looked up one day and realized something. While we were talking about what to do when the change happened…the change happened.
This was four years ago. I brought it up, and the agency I worked for started exploring all of the new options out there. We had clients start blogging. We played around with video, and interactive options.
And out there, still, the talking went on. Many people were so busy anticipating the shift, they missed it.
And this week, I look up and, lo and behold, the talk is STILL going on.
Take the recent discussion by NBC head Jeff Zucker.
Zucker indicated that he…has major concerns about the business model for broadcast TV. “It’s got to be redefined,” he said.
Zucker and his team are currently working out how to change the model. “Otherwise it will be like the newspaper business or the car business. We have to adjust in ways that the companies did not. I don’t want to be filing for bankruptcy,” he said.
This even after Tribune Co. Filed for bankruptcy and one of the nation’s oldest nationally distributed dailies announced they were shutting down their print operation and going completely digital.
Not all of the big players have been oblivious, however. General Mills has given their effort, launching “Pssst…”, their members-only social network. Unfortunately, they still don’t quite get it, as Paul Gillin explains. They’re wasting what could be a valuable community-building asset by treating it like a traditional broadcast medium.
So, what does it take to make Social Media work? Here is a great summary by Valeria Maltoni, as we near that contemplative Year’s End/New Year rollover: you’ll have to challenge some common assumption:
- Business as usual will not work
- It’s not about you, it’s about “us”
- Value and brand are in the purpose and meaning business
- It’s not just the words, it’s how you say them
- Promises are running on empty
I recommend you read the whole post, where she expands on each point.
PHOTO CREDIT: Source – sxc.hu
