Tried and Truism: When you hear that EVERYONE is doing it...

I had the pleasure of being part of the Leadership in a Connected Age conference yesterday here at Champlain College. Great information shared by speakers Steven Shepard and Elliott Masie. I learned a great deal as always and had some great take aways. If you want to see a "tweet-by-tweet" of the conference, search for #cxage at http://search.twitter.com.

What the speakers got me thinking about even more, however, is the power of perception. We often here that "perception is the reality" and in Marketing we often work to create a perception of success, want, need, etc. around a product or service.

When it comes to the use of social media tools and new communication technologies, however, the "perception is the reality" mantra is not only untrue, it is downright misleading. Some "truisms" I heard and felt yesterday from speakers as well as from attendees included: 1) Gen Y is all about teams, collaboration and technology. 2) If you aren't using social media tools you are behind. 3) Giving/empowering individuals to create content will elect a president. (therefore it will always be a success) 4) Social Media will save the world.

Ok, so that last one is a bit over the top (grin).

The reality with these points is that there is a thread of truth in all of them. But at the same time, there is much about them that may lead you down a primrose path.

Yesterday at #cxage I presented a workshop on Social Media Tools to expand your community, business and mind. And as with all of my workshops, sessions, etc, I started with a disclaimer. Believe it or not, NOT EVERYONE is using Twitter. Not EVERYONE is using social media.

Where did we get the idea that EVERYONE is using these tools? When did we get the idea that the old rules no longer apply to new tools?

As a professor it is my job to teach the foundation of marketing to my students. I weave in so-called "old school" stuff like, target market and competitive analysis and goal setting with all the possible tools in which the message can be delivered. We talk about RADIO, TV, PRINT and WEB. We talk about engaging with you customer via MAIL, PHONE, EMAIL, FORUMS, BLOGS, MICRO-BLOGS. In short we talk about how to utilize best-practices to reach and engage with your audience.

The tools themselves, while providing a host of opportunities, are less important than the message and the goals that are set.

Let's look at each "truism" from above in the context of REAL reality.

Gen Y is all about Teams, Collaboration and Technology

Um. No. This is not the case. While individuals who are younger (remember I teach them) do work in many group settings, not ALL want to be collaborative. Not ALL want to work in a group and certainly not ALL are good with technology. Time and time again, I see students who are a whiz with their cellphone and an iPod freeze up when it is time to use a content management system, or work with blog software and explore Second Life. We get ourselves into trouble if we base decisions in the workplace on the sense that Gen Y knows ALL of these things. Blanket statements like this mean we forget about individuals, their experiences, their strengths and their challenges. We set an unfair expectation on a "group" of people. It is just another way to stereotype a group of people. Rather, consider that often times there is strength in a group and safety in a group, especially when someone is learning. This issue is the same as we look at ANY age group.

If you aren't using Social Media Tools you are behind the times.

Um...no. Not at all. Yes, the media landscape is changing -- daily, actually. Yes, internet-based messaging and collaboration tools are cropping up all over that provide exciting and interesting opportunities. Yes, traditional advertising is expensive and it is hard to measure ROI. At the same time, one should never "jump" into a tool just because "EVERYONE" is doing it. If your target market is using social media tools then you should be there. If it works for your brand then you should be there. Does this mean you shouldn't pay attention and listen to the streams of information that are flowing out there? Nope. You may not need to use the platform to market your product or service yet, but you do need to be aware and listen. From a strategic perspective this is no different than monitoring the news media to see what letters to the editor are being placed, or what article has been written about your business. This "old school" process is the same -- there are just more places you need to listen.

A new study from HubSpot shows that not everyone who is on Twitter is even using Twitter that much. Well, how could this be since EVERYONE is on Twitter? Common sense. Twitter hasn't been around very long. People who are on Twitter right now are learning how to use it in a host of different ways but in reality, are making it up as they go. There are no rules, no best practices -- there are examples of businesses that have used it and gotten positive results and there are examples of those who have used it and failed miserably. By the way, according to Twellow there are 1,399 people on Twitter in Vermont. According to the 2008 Census, there are approx. 621,000 people in the state of Vermont. So it's clear that not EVERY Vermonter is on Twitter.

So, listen. Be aware of what is going on, but do not feel pressured to jump in just because "EVERYONE" is there.

Giving/empowering individuals to create content will elect a president. I'm sorry. I just can't buy this one. I have great respect for Mr. Masie, but while 69,498,215 people voted for Obama, 59,948,240 voted for McCain. Both candidates used a host of social media tools and let individuals create content, comment, and meet up. Remember that Ron Paul utilized social media most effectively and raised $6 million in one day! If the argument is that the YOUTH voted for Obama because he engaged them/empowered them with Social Media I would have to disagree. There were just too many OTHER factors. Take a look at this great breakdown from CivicYouth.org, the website of CIRCLE (The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement) which conducts research on the civic and political engagement of Americans between the ages of 15 and 25 and you'll get a sense for the complexity. Note not one mention of social media as a driver. Is it true that ALL the campaigns utilized new social media tools like never before? Yes. Do I believe that we will see more use of online communication and engagement tools in future elections? Yes I do. I just don't believe they are the reason why someone will be elected.

Finally -- Social Media will Save the World.

Yeah, I believe this one (smile). Seriously, I believe that what has changed is that individuals now have access to a myriad of tools in which to engage around issues they care about. The potential to use these tools to make positive change in the world is amazing -- but, let's all remember that these are just tools and much like any tool can be used for pretty much any purpose. Andrew Keen would argue that giving this much power to the people dooms us all to a world of frivolous, insipid content that is meaningless because, well, most of us are just amateurs (See Keen's book, The Cult of the Amateur) and we need some type of editing.

The real change with social media is the access to tools that empower the individual to reach a wide audience like never before. I agree that organizations have to adapt to this actual reality and learn how to manage information better since they can no longer control it all.

Just remember not to fall into the age old trap that "Everyone" is doing it. It's a bad reason for just about everything.