We’ve talked about it before. The time is coming. Social media adoption continues throughout corporate America, still often the terrain of experimental marketing. And while most are struggling, you can envision the time when social media is no longer special.
The thought occurred to me this morning as I walked the dog during DC’s first snow. What will all of the social media “only” agencies and consultants do?
This is a very real question that I think if you are in the business you had better be considering. The reality is like it or not, advertising, PR and interactive agencies alike will all offer some form of social media consulting in the very near future (if they aren’t already). Then, in the not too distant future at least some – if not many – will be competent in the art of relational marketing.
In my mind, the resulting competitive market is going to force a small niche on social media only players. I really foresee three things:
- First, many of the best social media minds will be absorbed into paying jobs. That’s a good thing.
- Second, consultants will always be able to fit in, whether with companies, organizations or agencies. But they will be role players in the larger mix.
- Finally, social media only firms will need to distinguish themselves as strong boutiques, or they will likely fall to the wayside. In essence, the social media-only firm becomes the swat team.
To me, from a communications standpoint, great social media has always integrated into larger communication plans. That’s the natural path from my point of view. How that path evolves is another question. So that being said, what will you do?
I’ve got a couple of responses to this question, bearing in mind I’ve stated my intention to make myself essentially redundant by integrating social media throughout the company I work for, and ensuring everyone has access to as much knowledge as possible.
The first response is that social media is just a name for building relationships, and that will be something which will continue to evolve with new technology and changes in society, so there will always be a need for someone to focus on the most effective ways to build relationships, whether it’s for collaboration inside a company, in PR/marketing, or in directly conversing with consumers.
The second is that Web 2.0 and Social Media are really the first stage in the technical side of connecting – there’s a whole world of mobile, for example, which is still emerging to a large extent despite the mass adoption of mobile phones. Then there’s the possibility of increased adoption of video for conversation e.g. Seesmic, or on a larger scale, the adoption of a VRM approach. Plus experimentation with better ways to create revenue, which is a definite priority!
We’re still at the stage of starting in our relationships – so there are plenty of ways to explore in terms of relationship counseling rather than just being an introduction agency!
Great response, Dan. I love the fact that you want to make yourself redundant. I think this is the way, and the opposite of the whole personal brand phenomena. I also agree that there will always be new technological tools challenging us to new levels of interaction.
There will be forms of social media that will in fact become the mainstream. But there will never fail to be cutting edge social media that only the early adopters and so called experts will be the most comfortable with. Once the whole world is on Twitter, we’ll be on to something else. Once they are on that, we will be long gone, and so on. I don’t think that there will never be a specialized area of the web that few know and are familiar with.
The important thing for firms that specialized in web media is to stay current. Don’t get locked into fading platforms. You get paid to stay ahead of the curve so its important to live up to that.
Hi Geoff, great post. You vocalized perfectly what sits in the back of my head every day: At some point the word “social media” is going to evaporate (as related to a marketing niche) and just be part of a larger toolkit.
I’d be a fool if I didn’t see that around the corner, which is why we put a strong focus on alliances with advertising and PR shops here regionally. We prefer to lead them (internally, and with their clients) in this knowledge base if they aren’t willing to commit staff and resources to learning.
In the long run, we feel these partnerships will benefit us, but who knows how the dramatically (and quickly) the landscape will change? Time will tell!
Geoff, as usual, you’ve succinctly and articulately stated what I’ve had bouncing around in my head for the last year or so. While I’m one of the leads for social media at Booz Allen, I’m also part of our larger strategic communications team that encompasses all forms of strategic communications – PR, media relations, advertising, etc. When my manager and I discussed whether I should have my own administrative team of just our social media people, we decided that that didn’t make sense. If I did my job correctly, I’d work myself out of a job and instead of everyone here having to come to me for social media support, it would just become a part of what we (the greater communications team) just does.
Like you point out, there will always be a much smaller, core group of “SMEs” or whatever you want to call them, but for the most part, we’re working to just make social media something that’s a normal part of communications – just like a press release, a website, a billboard, a press conference, a blog, a podcast, etc.
Social media can’t succeed in a vacuum – as you point out, it should be integrated into a larger communications plan/team.
I think the trajectory you’re describing is pretty much inevitable. Pioneering and ground-breaking days last only so long, and those who push the early boundaries are typically not what’s needed in the consolidation/maturation phase. Best to heed your early warning signal now and prepare for that time!
@Zach Indeed, we should not rest on our laurels. I still don’t get FriendFeed though, or its supposed value. Sorry, off topic.
Nathan, Steve, and Steve: Glad to see I am not operating in a private padded cell here. As a business owner, it’s definitely been top of mind for me for six to nine months.
Geoff, I’m glad that you mention in the end of your post that social media shouldn’t be the “end game.” As Steve Radick stated (also see a relevant post on his site), social media should always be part of a larger communications or learning or whatever strategy.
As a social software trainer for the federal government, I’ve thought about this issue…a lot. If I do my job correctly, I will eventually make my position irrelevant as the technology is fully integrated into the work flow of individuals. However, that time (IMHO) is many years off. In addition, there will always be new folks who need to learn how to use the tools. Having said that, I think there will always be a need for a “technical” person, though hopefully my 90% role as culture-changer will fade.
In addition, as other commenters have stated, technology marches on (rapidly). I therefore wear the “forward thinker” hat to identify, recommend, and champion new technologies. I do not expect that role to ever diminish.
Geoff
What did these people do BEFORE social media? Social media is a tool, not a destination. As the web morphs you’d better morph with it.
As you well know, I am not an “early adopter”. My busienss remains marketing to Uncle Sam. The tools may change but the target remains the same.
Ask yourself what your target is….
Not that I have an opinion.
Geoff, this post inspires a cascade of additional thoughts (and questions) that flow from he ones you raise here.
First, to paraphrase Clay Shirky, the impact of new communication media doesn’t really become socially interesting until the underlying technology becomes boring. And ubiquitous.
Second, as Steve suggests, none of this stuff exists in a vacuum. It’s all (or certainly should be) part of an overall strategic communications, well, strategy.
Likewise, it’s hard (for me at least) to understand this widespread, dualistic view held by many of the aforemention SoMe “experts,” who view tools/tech as something external and inherently separate from what people actually have to say. People of Earth: McLuhan’s dead – the medium (or the tech) isn’t the message. At least not any more.
I attempt to humbly ask (and answer) a few burning questions about this very subject here: http://tr.im/toomanynotes. If you have an insight, please feel free to share.
I have to agree with Amtower. Don’t let social media define who you are or what you do. You have a skill; whether that is to educate, to market, to sell, to speak, etc. The tools will continue to evolve, but learn to capitalize what you are good at and evolve with the times.
Mike: I’d say I am a communicator. But I like this tool set more than any others because it requires a lot of interaction and truthfulness that other media forms don’t That’s why there’s a duality. It’s two-way versus old school one-way.
Geoff,
I started drafting a post on this topic yesterday, ironically, but haven’t finished it yet. It was one of my first thoughts when I formed Ignite Social Media.
I never imagined that social media agencies would replace PR firms, or replace the big web development firms. And if those firms are NOT getting up to speed and considering it, they’re crazy.
Our niche is to focus only on that. More than 15 of us now and growing, keeping up on the trends, separating buzz from actionable ideas, and applying those for our clients.
If we stay ahead of the curve (and that’s NO given), there will always be a role for the specialists. Big brands who have access to the largest firms in the world have chosen small specialty firms like mine. Does that mean they don’t use those big firms? Of course not.
Fads will come and go. Cool things will become not so cool. But two-way communication with brands is here to stay. If we do things right, we’ll be here, too. If we earn the right to be.
~Jim
I think one of the things that this implies is that it will be harder to “generate buzz” on blogs and message boards, when social media isn’t quite as interesting or special anymore. In fact, things may revert back to major publications being the center “buzz creation.”
I think that instead the internet will democratize PR and other buzz-generating tools and make them more accessible to small business owners, but the buzz will still be created on big brand-name publications. Like how Publicity Guaranteed charges only based on article-placement. That sort of stuff is going to be the wave of the future, when social media becomes less effective at generating “buzz.”
Great post, and something we’ve been thinking about a lot lately. When the web was first created it was to make it easier for people to co-operate on projects and discuss through social media. We didn’t call it that, but in essence that was the idea.
Pretty soon “Social Media” will fade into history and it will become just “the web” again. I hope this time we can understand that the web allows us unprecedented freedom to communicate and build relationships, and just like off-line business, relationships are the core of good business.