Traditional marketing isn’t going to die. No matter how much social media purists chant that traditional marketing will eventually come to an end, that’s not going to happen. Social media marketing and traditional marketing will eventually merge in a way so as to give new meaning to marketing itself. SMM is evolving and brands are finding new, creative ways to utilize different channels, however, this doesn’t mean traditional marketing is dead or will die. That’s simply not going to happen. For example : Although divorce rates are high and many people choose to stay together without getting married, it doesn’t mean the practice of marriage will die. Same applies to marketing as well.
Social media is highly overrated. Yes, I make a living creating social media campaigns and advising businesses and individuals how to utilize the social web. So why am I saying social media is overrated? Cause it’s a fact and you can twist, bend and choke but the facts aren’t going to change. One of the reason I say it is overrated is because of the central philosophy that surrounds it. The philosophy of “engagement.” Yes, without engaging your customers or potential customers, there is nothing to gain in the long run. But engagement alone doesn’t create the urge to buy, the urge to follow and the urge to spread the word.
The word “engagement” itself is overrated. Everyone is talking about engagement. Honestly, if you are simply engaging without a bottom line it’s a waste of time and resources. Engagement can be measured! After building a community around your brand if you are still having a hard time selling your product and services, your time in social media is a waste. One way or the other, engagement needs to be tied in a way so it can be measured in some form, whether it be through clicks, sales, etc. your community’s participation needs to be measured.
If you are using social media to market something and at the end there are no sales, your efforts have failed. You can have a thriving community around your brand with high engagement from your members, but remember, not all communities are built on trust. Many are built on distrust and hatred towards brands as well.
Social Media is overrated due to the fact that everyone is chanting about engagement. It is overrated because most don’t know how to capitalize on that engagement and drive sales, traffic or whatever the end goal is. This is why there are strategist coming out of the woods touting the same old philosophy of “engagement.” And this word alone at times makes social media marketing highly overrated cause it’s not all about engagement. It’s all about how you capitalize on engagement.
And that is exactly why social media marketing is overrated and underrated at the same time. Cause it’s mostly driven by many who talk the talk but have no clue or idea how to walk the walk.
Well, that’s my take on it. Would love to hear what you have to say.
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Hi, My name is Ritu. I am a member of SMA (Social Media Anonymous) ;-) & help bloggers and businesses utilize the social web. 
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Ritu,
I totally agree with what you say here. As a small business owner, you are faced with hearing all kinds of “advise” by so-called “experts”. But the truth is that although someone may excel in one type of marketing, that doesn’t mean that they understand YOUR business, your demographic; & their marketing techniques might not apply to your situation.
Most advise takes time or money to implement and that can be in short supply; and despite making an investment in either,there are no guarantees that it will provide you with the results you need.
There’s a lot of chatter out there these day. I try to take it all in with a grain of salt. I’m still discovering what needs to be done and I consider my husband, myself, our 30 years of experience and our intelligence to be our most valuable asset.
I communicate with many business people and all I can say is, this is an unusual time and business is still strange.
thanks for an important point. i shall retweet it, i agree, soc. media is underrated for those who know too little about it and overrated by cod mdia consultants who make their libing by consulting, haha. that’s whx bloggers are a great corrective agains pure consultants.
vfb
ps. sorry, i just had some typos, my eyes aren’t good anymore. please excuse… i am sure you can guess the meaning (cod = soc., libing = living etc.) thanks for your tolerance.
vfb
@Lisabeth : Thanks for taking the time to read. However, I would have to say that you are wrong when you say “there are no guarantees” when it comes to results. Social Media Marketing can drive results and results that can be measured but the key is to analyze what the business wants from the social web. Is it Brand awareness they are looking for or are they directly jumping in to boost sales? The confusion mostly lies within businesses itself as most are jumping in for the sake of being there rather than knowing what they want out of it.
@vera : no worries
Thanks for sharing your views
What I mean by no guarantees is that the “experts” are all telling us we should be on twitter or FB but implementing these measures takes time, money. Not everyone is web savvy and if you aren’t you can end up paying some so-called expert who doesn’t really understand your core demographic or the nature of your business. No way to really know, for many, who the “web masters” are, etc. -and if ppl are really doing the job, if you’re getting good value.
I have found the same situation with advertising. Advertising with a publication does not necessarily mean that it will translate into sales. The fact of the matter is that many businesses have formed the same conclusion, as they have shifted their advertising dollars to the internet, causing print media to be in chaos. But you can still get killed investing on many internet marketing tools, like PPC. All this requires knoledge or people who you can really trust.
I totally agree that you have to have the analytical tools to track results.
However, what works for the rest of the world does not necessarily work for us. We are a niche market. Key is getting our message to the correct people and not wasting money.
Our best marketing tool thus far is our current customers accumulated from 30 years of being in business. Our mailing list is golden.
I’m just trying to expand our current audience. I think that’s important in the long run.