Many business managers that I meet would seem to agree that:
Social media is a very promising but potentially risky marketing tool
It sounds so reasonable.
And it’s certainly an easy position to defend:
- it’s conservative, so it plays well in the boardroom;
- it pays lip service to the vaunted power of blogs and twitter;
- it lends one an air of forethought and serious consideration;
- it subtly showcases one’s attention to the bottom line;
- it says, “I’m open to change as long as it’s good change”; and
- it does all the above while niftily evading any form of commitment.
Politically, it’s a very safe bet.
It gives you the opportunity, after the unfolding of any significant social media event (good or bad), to point out that you were right all along… “See, I told you it was risky,” or conversely, “I’ve always said it had great potential.”
My problem with the proposed statement is not its wishy-washiness, but that it presupposes Sales & Marketing as the “owner” of a company’s social media strategy, when it could just as easily–and perhaps more fittingly–belong to Public Relations & Customer Service.
Agree or disagree?
– courtesy Enterprise Management Association (EMA-I.org)
