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Published: January 12, 2010 at 06:39 PM GMT
Last Updated: January 8, 2010 at 06:39 PM GMT

By Matthew Greene

Whoosh… look, up in the sky! It's a bird. It's a plane. No, it's the unrelenting thud of marketers wasting their time (and mine) on social media to drive traffic and transactions on the Interweb.

According to today's eMarketer article based on a September '09 MarketingProfs survey conducted among both B2B & B2C marketers (http://tinyurl.com/yblparr), a common refrain is "marketers found that the marketing tactics most often used on social sites are not necessarily the best ones."

Why is this? Well, it's because of grotesquely out-sized expectations among the brand manager classes that Social Media represents the best (spelled c-h-e-a-p-e-s-t) method of reaching consumers with an authentic and engaging brand voice.

Because I attend all of the fantastic iMedia Summit events, and also happen to be the founder of an interactive marketing services agency, I get to live inside the bubble of the digital media realm and see the swirl of offerings, strategies, technologies and triple-screen availabilities all day long. In fact, because 'emerging media' such as Social, Video and Mobile are hot topics, iMedia created a Summit called 'Breakthrough' which is unique in that it is open to both senior Brand Marketers and Agency personnel—and focuses exclusively on these topics.

And without a doubt, the bulls-eye of the Breakthrough Summit is Social. I can literally hear the sound of all (or most) of the air being sucked-out of the room whenever Social is being discussed in a panel session, or during a Keynote speech, or sponsor presentation.

No doubt, the stunning growth of social media and corresponding usage demands that marketers pay attention to it, and that major brands such as P&G or Unilever or Virgin America blaze trails in the category in an attempt to make it work against a specific set of objectives.

However, all the noise surrounding the social craze has somehow validated the idea amongst the ad budget holders that THIS is where they should focus their digital strategy, along with precious marketing dollars. And I say, that's crazy!

It's the equivalent of a big brand saying we're pulling all of our traditional media dollars and share-shifting entirely to the Web, Social and Mobile because that's where the hoopla is. I see it happening. This disavowal of other digital media forms in favor of Social.

I hear it from prospective new clients who want 'buzz.' I saw it when a major fast food company who had done zero advertising in digital channels told me they were going to conduct a 'test' with social media as a method of getting their franchisees stoked about digital. Much to my verbalized chagrin, that was the last $500K that that specific QSR spent on the Web. The deafening thud heard 'round the Web when that lead zeppelin crashed put the kibosh on any future digital consideration. That's such a shame because I know how to sell more hamburgers on the Web and drive restaurant visits using all other digital channels, with a dash of social thrown in, but there is simply no way that social can lift burger sales all by its lonesome.

So dear reader, let me ask you. How can I socialize the idea that Social can indeed play a role in one's overall digital marketing plan, but a right-sized role, maybe 15% (max) of total budget?

Matthew Greene has over twenty-five years of strategic advertising and marketing experience working with blue-chip companies. Matt can be reached at matthew.greene@blueribbondigital.com

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