How Social Media Really (Really) Works

Matt Haughey blogged on buying his 4-year-old a new swing set, and used the opportunity to warn against wasting money on self-described social media gurus:

So maybe instead of getting your company on twitter, paying marketers to mention you are on twitter, and paying people to blog about your company, forget all that and just make awesome stuff that gets people excited about your products, hire people that represent the company well, and when your stuff is so awesome that friends share it with other friends, you may not even need "social media marketing" after all.

I decided to comment, which I'm copying here:

As a father-to-be, I'm prowling the net looking for the right crib, the right stroller, the right advice on preventing boys from ever dating her, and the right everything else. I wouldn't know about most of these products (or of Howie Mandel's decision to prevent boys from dating her daughter by not potty training her) if the companies didn't engage in some type of marketing or PR.

For every good company that is fortunate to have news about its products or services included in a popular news story, there are plenty of other good companies that need help getting the word out.

Matt, you wouldn't have known about the swing set if Lilly hadn't blogged. Lilly may not have known had she not read the wire story on the Argus Leader website. The story's reporter may not have known unless he or she researched the news release from the White House. And, regardless whether Rainbow Play Systems had publicity help, the chances of getting noticed (or even called) by a reporter on deadline increase tremendously with the hard and/or smart work of a PR, SEO, or [shudder] a "social media marketing" agency.

I shudder at "social media marketing" because I work in IT for a public relations firm with tech clients, and we no more pitch a "social media strategy" than we pitch an "email strategy" or a "phone strategy." Twitter, Flickr, YouTube and the rest are simply ways to share and converse with people.

A good chunk of our clients' sales comes from people who read business, trade and daily publications either in print or online to help inform their decisions. Many of the people who write those stories work for companies struggling to stay in business. A good PR firm works to understand their needs, cultivate relationships, and connect them with people, products, stories or insights that add something of value to their work. (Meanwhile, a bad PR or "social media marketing agency often floods reporters, analysts, bloggers, and networks with unwanted voice mails, irrelevant emails, useless Twitter chatter, or valueless multimedia.)

Of course, none of this matters if a company's product or service doesn't have enough value in and of itself, but -- as @rick suggested in the comments above -- neither will it matter if people such as you (or Lilly or the reporter or even Rear Adm. Stephen Rochon) never hear of or learn about the Rainbow Play Systems of the world.

Matt, congratulations on finding the right swing set. If we ever get a yard, your choice will probably going on the top of our list. And for all the companies selling stuff I might want to buy, make sure it's solidly built, sustainably sourced, smartly designed, fairly reviewed, truthfully marketed, and easily searched. If that requires the services of a PR firm, an SEO expert, or a social media guru, just do your homework first.