Businesses Clueless About Social Media

Over the years, some of the dumbest articles I've ever read about advertising and marketing have been published by Fast Company (examples: here, here, and here.)  But this week I read a good one. It's called "Facebook Is About People, Not Brands--So What Is Your Company Doing?"

The article makes several important points about the cluelessness of businesses regarding social media:

• According to a study by IBM, over 60% of businesses think consumers follow them on social media because they want to be "part of a community." In fact, this is the least important reason to follow a business. What's the most important? Like we've said here about a zillion times, getting a discount. 

• Among the top 10 reasons consumers say they use social media, interacting with brands is -- wait for it -- number 10.

• According to IBM “Businesses hoping to foster closer customer connections through social media conversations may be mistakenly projecting their own desires for intimacy onto customers’ motivations for interacting."

About 18 months ago, Adweek published an article of mine called The Digital Dream World. It started like this:

"Welcome to a new world... It's a world in which consumers want to have relationships with brands and conversations with marketers. It's a world that is causing a revolution in advertising and marketing. Unfortunately, it's a world that exists largely in our dreams."

The Fast Company article draws the same conclusion and uses an example that is very near and dear to my heart...

"The IBM study should dash the misguided way of thinking... like that of Pepsi Refresh, where product-focused marketing is replaced by gauzy notions of relationships, and should cause marketers to realize the large numbers of people they see on Facebook and Twitter should not be mistaken for an audience clamoring to connect with brands."

Will the last bozo still hustling "the conversation" please turn out the lights.