What we’ve been saying all along….

A recent article on theGlobeAndMail.com titled Where are the sales from social media? presents the stats that prove what we at tSG have been saying along about social media: it is not a sales tool.

The way we see it, social media as a sales tool or advertising medium is impeded by two huge obstacles:

  1. Users’ motivation for being on the website
  2. Privacy regulations

Let’s look at these individually:

  1. Users of the most popular social medium, Facebook, are on the website to check their friends’ statuses or, more often than not, to post something about themselves. This narrow-focus of intent relegates advertising on Facebook to ‘annoying clutter’.
  2. The much-hyped statics from Facebook are good, but not spectacular. Privacy regulations make it difficult to extract the vital data that we want to see. And they make it difficult to communicate with potential target audiences.

But social media is good for one very important job: brand support. Getting your advocates to speak to their friends and family on your behalf has spectacular impact. Strong and distinctive branding makes it easier for them to advocate for you because it helps them to understand who you are, what you stand for, and what you are trying to achieve, all the ingredients necessary for them to speak on your behalf.