There is no denying that the emergence of social media has had a profound impact on society. It has effectively taken us to the point of living parallel lives: one life exists in the realm of the real and tangible, while the other exists in the world of technology. The farther this phenomenon takes us, the more we see these two sides of ourselves drifting apart. It becomes less about meeting up face to face to chat over a cup of coffee and more about chatting in the sidebar on Facebook. While social media is an extremely powerful tool when used correctly, the simple fact that it is becoming so prevalent in our culture presents a significant problem for marketers. As Edward Boches wrote in his article “The World Has Changed: Time to Change with It” for Communication Arts:
“Right now being on Twitter or Facebook is still relatively new for advertisers. Marketing through a conversation remains novel. So simply engaging and listening is enough to grab a customer’s attention. But that won’t last. In another year, every company will post on Twitter, collect fans on Facebook, and broadcast on its YouTube channel. The cacophony of conversation will grow deafening and the proliferation of communities will be overwhelming.”
I think Boche shares an important insight about social media. Presently, social media is the newest, hottest thing in advertising. But now, as one of my former teachers explained, even his smallest clients are asking him how he can “get them in The Facebook” or how they can become active on “The Twitter.” This shows that even people that have very little understanding of these mediums are catching wind of the importance and prevalence of social media. Soon, absolutely every business will be using these tools to try to develop stronger relationships with their customers. Once our culture become over-saturated with pleas from marketers via social media, it will be time for social media to evolve.
However, what makes social media so unique is that it provides the ultimate catalyst for expressing opinions. Within the social media sphere, every single person has an audience and their words have the power to influence the actions of others. This is precisely why social media can also be a frightening thing for marketers who go to great lengths to diligently monitor a brand’s messaging. Social media places these companies in a whole new arena where absolutely anything goes. The natural instinct of marketers might be to silence anyone expressing negative opinions about their brand, but with social media, ironically, this can actually hinder a brand’s success more than had they simply left it alone. In social media, you must let the people have their voice. Much to the chagrin of marketers, suddenly the people are controlling the message.
This very issue was the cause of a major blunder on the part of the generally inoffensive brand Chapstick. This article on AdWeek tells of how Chapstick posted an odd, sexualized image of a woman who is meant to be searching for her lost Chapstick behind her couch. Outraged by the image, a blogger attempted to express her objection to the image on their Facebook page and Chapstick proceeded to delete her comments. All the while, Chapstick is pushing its “Be Heard at Facebook.com,” which, as a result of the debacle, revealed itself to be somewhat of a farce. The whole thing snowballed out of control and ended with a textbook “we never meant to offend anyone apology” from Chapstick.
This just goes to show that people demand that social media be a space in which they can speak freely about whatever they like, whether in a negative or positive light. It is far more important that marketers respect this ultimate freedom than try to defend themselves sheepishly against the odd slanderous comment. 