Social Media Top 5: Influenza Marketing, Old Guy Rants & a Twitter Fix

Influenza Marketing: Is the Process Ailing?

“Influencer Marketing” is one of the biggest buzzwords for a marketing tactic (yes, tactic) that is often a bit slippery in a number of ways. First slippery point is that identifying what an “influencer” is for a company is not always the easiest thing to do: whom do they influence, what is their reach, what qualifies one as an “influencer” (hint: if you say you are an “influencer” in your olne bio you are disqualified in my book), and where and how do we find them? The second slippery point is the real value of influencers: what are they worth, do we have to pay them and how much, and can we count on them to follow rules (particularly disclosure guidelines and other laws and regulations)? There is a lot to think about for programs where you really need to be sure what your return should be for the effort and expense.

One article that caught my eye was a confessional piece in which an agency wag talks about the insane amounts of money “influencers” ask for. This seems to be a case of companies and their agencies saying “we need an influencer marketing” program, meeting the increasing cash demands of these so-called influencers, and hoping for the best (or hoping they can get away without measuring what matters). Will brands, as the article says, “start realizing the amount of followers you have doesn’t mean s**t,” causing the decline of the “professional influencer,” reducing such programs back to recognizing passionate brand advocates and rewarding them for spreading the word honestly? It seems that the cash-for-love system is too easy to die without a fight, but I guess we’ll see.

I Disagree: There is Lots of Content Marketing that is as Awful as Most 30-Second Spots

This is the first of two stories I have seen featuring old dudes talking about how great everything was when they ruled the world and how crappy everything is now that the social media comet has threatened to wipe out the old-school dinosaurs. While Sir John Hegarty has a point about the need for any content to be able to tell a story succinctly and, to be succinct about it, accomplish its goal in a short time, the reliance on how old 30-second spots are so much better than today’s “content  marketing” comes off as the babblings of an old-timer who refuses to embrace new methods and turn them to his advantage.

Also in fairness: there is plenty of content marketing that is as awful as your typical advertising creative, so the jobs for people with terrible ideas will never go away.

You knaves! Get out of my moat!

Books are Here to Stay, Dagnabit 

In my other “Old Guy Ranting” find, we see a writer gloating over the hardy survival of the physical book.

Congratulatons! The book has not completely perished, as the easily-dismissed predictions of idiot pundits declared. I’m not sure where the writer is going with the music business analogy, as he strains to prove that the future of music as a viable career is in live performance rather than recorded ones- something the most successful touring musicians always knew. Does he mean the future of the book is live book readings? No- so the music industry analogy falls apart, despite a very good if irrelevant point.

The way I see it, books are the new vinyl. Or the old vinyl. Or something; more and more, I see the “pro-book” people emphasizing the superior look and feel, ability to read, and greater all-around enjoyment of paper to be superior to the convenience and identical content of electronic books. Just like music. If it enhances your experience, great- and no, they will never go away completely, nor will vinyl, newspapers, or hats.

Just don’t give me old books- those musty basement finds trigger my allergies.

Twitter Fixing the Only Thing Dumber than 10,000 Character Tweets 

It appears Twitter is fixing one unnecessary barrier of the 140-character Tweet: the fact that URLS and image files count against your character limit. I like the limitation of Twitter, keeping messages short and snappy, but do not like that illustrating with a link or image cripples the text form. So- yes, I like something new.

This Week in Stupid Facebook Apps That Might be Stealing Your Info:

or- And Now, a Word from “Wonderful Ladiesman”

If you must use a Facebook-connected app of uncertain provenance, surely betraying your private information to some nameless developer/marketer, then that app should be the Captain Beefheart Name Generator. I approve, especially as this one did not appear to take my Facebook credentials.