Actually it already has got ugly. Subjectivity and how one tells a story and its association with journalistic integrity will continue to overshadow and be overbearing. The recent plethora of conversation, discussion and debate about the super injunction situation in the UK has clearly demonstrated and begun the road to change.

People involved in social media for years have been predicting these occurrences and, as usual, we humans only react to something in the here and now rather than prevention instead of cure. Social media’s romantic session is melting. There are ultimately several areas it’s going to get a little melancholy:

There are some things that are just dumbfounding! So when I read a tweet by @jamesmb about penguins and reindeer being used as part of the festive display @HamleysToys I had to check my diary to make sure it was 2010 not 1910! This blog is not about to delve into the realms of animal welfare issues, thats for another forum. Needless to say I find their marketing ploy abhorrent.

No I’m blogging, with the bit between my teeth because this is a display by Hamleys Toys of pure arrogance or, perhaps, it’s just complete inertia. I tweeted immediately last night “Absolutely disgusted in your disregard for animal welfare. Penguins should be in their natural habitat not used as sales props!” I’m still waiting for a response. I’m not the only one. Interestingly, they haven’t tweeted themselves since 9.47pm (29th November.) I have visions of their official tweeter having either run for the hills or hiding behind the sofa hoping we will all go away.

It’s a classic case of a company not knowing how to deal with real time discussion and conversation. Hamleys Toys, the whole point in social media is to engage not ignore, especially when the news isn’t good or people are reacting badly to a decision you have made. You’ve gone into complete lock down. Something people only do when they feel threatened. You are beginning to make me yawn with the news that another company doesn’t get social media.

We’ll unfortunately see more of it as business rushes to join the crowds on social media without the grey matter to understand how it works, why its different and why you just can’t shout nor hide anymore. Get a grip Hamleys Toys, come out from under your uncommunicative bushel, start being transparent and recognise you not only made a huge old fashioned mistake (very ill advised marketing activity) and start responding to your consumers. Did you not observe the recent Nestle case study?

A little marketing advice, stop the penguin and reindeer exhibition and instead put a sign up saying you have donated the costs to the WWF and start corresponding on Twitter with some very important people in your life, your consumers. The power is back on the streets, its been there for some time now. Learn how to correspond on the same level with a group of people that are empowered to both promote and belittle you. You have two choices; if you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen or join the party, its a great place to be but you need to learn how to socialise!

The trouble with online stuff is we forget how powerful offline influencers still are. You can plot this on a continuum. At one end of the scale are the people who aren’t even online yet save email. At the other end are those people who spend most of their lives online. For those of us immersed in online activity, its easy to be consumed by it. Focusing all our efforts around online influencers. And, for us personally to be drawn into influencing online too. Online influencers with significant followers are rarely offline influencers too.

This will of course change. Our offline customers will increasingly participate in online activity and its our job to help them get there. We will all, in the next few years, gain equal status both in the physical and digital worlds. In the meantime we need to take some time out to consider how we help our offline influencers. Some questions to ponder:

1. Who are our offline and online influencers? Name them!

2. What is the real value, not perceived value, of our offline and online influencers?

3. How do we engage on a regular basis with our offline influencers and how do we make it work better?

4. How do we as a business, encourage and practically help offline influencers to start online stuff? This is not an option but an obligation. Its our responsibility.

5. How do we physically meet up with our top 25% of influencers online to cement the relationship?

Its important now to look at converging interactions between the offline and online worlds that are authentic, organic and synergised. Bringing the two sets of influencers together and connecting them could make a whole heap of difference to our businesses.

Had an amazing two hours with some incredible business people last night. Sometimes, my job really is the best in the world. I’ll be posting a series of blogs over the next few weeks to reinforce the discussions we had at Exeter Innovation Centre but its best described by Phil Rees in his lovely post:

http://deface.posterous.com/marketing-is-dead-0

The Dead Poet’s Society scene could not explain any better what has happened to marketing overnight!

Well I don’t need to blog in depth today because Scott Gould has just posted this. Need I say anymore? Just a fabulous overview of how social media needs to be useful…..I think that goes for anything doesn’t it?

Well worth the read, click below.

http://scottgould.me/be-useful-the-6-social-media-presences/

Enjoy….you should, its brilliant!

Hmmm…. your customers are creating the market place now not you. Give us choice and we will take it! Look at us has been replaced with look at what we are doing. The big question; is your marketing designed for a static world or an ever changing one?

Markets will always outperform individual businesses, they also learn a lot faster and are better connected than business too. If you’re marketing ain’t broken, its about time you asked yourself why? As Jeff Jarvis said “The mass market is dead. It committed suicide. Google just handed it the gun.”

Most companies, for the last 10 years, have taken the easy way out to market their brands, they have essentially bought customers. Sadly, its cost more and more and had less and less impact. In the past it was about driving traffic to your business, now its about loyalty.

Remember this equation; Feeling valued = loyalty + commitment

Most of us are still acting as if what we do is scarce. Shouting isn’t going to get you heard above the crowd, not when everyone else if shouting too. Now really is the time to tear up the marketing you have been doing in the past. Measure its return on investment and, then when you’ve picked yourself up off the floor, go and find some other way of connecting with your customers.