Social Media and Online PR Agencies: Snake Oil or Not!?
ZDNet published a fantastic post this week entitled Social media consultants: snake oil or value add?
Check it out. It asks all the right questions about whether or not companies should be thinking about pursuing a Social Media strategy…. It’s brilliant mix of the downright controversial and practically sane.
Here’s a snippet…
“Social media consultancy, for the most part, has gone the way of the snake oil salesman……A business strategy should not be altered to fit social media; the social media approach needs to be altered to fit the business strategy. Not every company needs to be on Twitter or Facebook or FriendFeed. Companies need to, above all else, consider where their customers and competitors are before making a decision as to where their social media presences should be. And if a consultant says, “You need to be on Twitter; everyone is on Twitter” then it’s time to run. Fast. In the opposite direction….”
I couldn’t agree more. But this article comes with a health warning. Don’t read it as a condemnation of Social Media and/or Online PR agencies. The idea that companies don’t need help to figure out all this new webby stuff is absurd. True, companies that already live and breath the web and make social media a fabric of their sales and marketing efforts probably don’t need a consultant – they just need more arms and legs to do it more of it, better.
But many firms are on the outside looking in right now – so our help is necessary. When used sensibly, Social Media and Online PR platforms provide stacks of new opportunities to differentiate and drive sales.
The trick is to do it right – in a way that compliments existing business processes and creates dialogue that will help drive all those important things like sales, support and branding….
Ask not what you can do with Social Media, but what Social Media can do for you. (And get the help of a good Online PR agency to help you think through this stuff and execute properly!)
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Great post. I reckon the recession will impose some Darwinism on our industry and those who talk common sense and can deliver solid results in social media and online marketing will come through just fine. Those that don’t deserve to, won’t.
Chris Lee
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