The Ten Plagues of Social Media, based on the Social Media Insider column by the same name, offers modern versions of the ancient Egyptian plagues. You can also find the column by David Berkowitz at marketersstudio.com.

1. The Ten Plagues
The Ten Plagues
of Social Media
David Berkowitz
David Berkowitz
Blog: MarketersStudio.com
Twitter: @dberkowitz
Twitter: @dberkowitz
March 2010

2. Introduction
In honor of the season, where some
celebrate the ancient story of slaves’
exodus from Egypt, it’s time for a new
gyp ,
telling of the ten plagues: the Ten
Plagues of Social Media. All are paired
with a counterpart from the ancient
rendition.
This was originally published as a column in MediaPost’s Social Media Insider, reposted on my blog at
http://www.marketersstudio.com/2010/03/the-ten-plagues-of-social-media.html
p p g
Cover Image source:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Martin,_John_-_The_Seventh_Plague_-_1823.jpg
Iintroduction mage source:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:A_Seder_table_setting.jpg

3. 1) Blood:
Lack of transparency
Whenever marketers aren’t fully
transparent as to who they are and
what they’re promoting when
y p g
reaching out to consumers and
online influencers, they cloud
consumers’ trust just like blood
clouded the Nile. The demands of
transparency also fall on the content
producers whenever their
contributions can be considered
t ib ti b id d
influenced by other parties.
Image source:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/supercoco/3589969909/

4. 2) Frogs:
Oversharing
h
Whenever marketers aren’t fully y
transparent as to who they are and
what they’re promoting when
reaching out to consumers and
online influencers, they cloud
consumers’ trust just like blood
clouded the Nile. The demands of
transparency also fall on the content
t l f ll th t t
producers whenever their
contributions can be considered
influenced by other parties.
influenced by other parties
Image source:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Frog_on_bough.jpg /

5. 3) Lice:
Campaign‐based thinking
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It’s hard to get lice out of your head,
and there s no easy cure for shaking
and there’s no easy cure for shaking
off campaign‐based thinking either.
Campaign‐to‐campaign and quarter‐
to‐quarter thinking prevents
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marketers from reaping the long‐
term benefits of social marketing.
Image source:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lice_image01.jpg

6. 4) Flies:
Autoposting
Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter,
, , ,
Foursquare, and other sites are not
all the same, but the way some
marketers unleash hoards of content,
you might think the sites were
interchangeable. Posting the same
content in the same way across every
social site is efficient for the producer
i l it i ffi i t f th d
but diminishes the experience for the
recipients. There’s a place for it;
headline and deal feeds are some
headline and deal feeds are some
that can work as syndicated feeds
while managing consumer
expectations. The first instinct should
expectations. The first instinct should
be to avoid this though.
Image source: Bresson Thomas
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ComputerHotline_-_Diptera_sp._(by)_(11).jpg

7. 5) Pestilence:
Lack of internal communication
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I don’t want to refer to your
colleagues (or mine) as livestock, but
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you depend on your colleagues for
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your livelihood and putting food on
the table, just as our ancient forbears
relied on livestock. When marketers
and their agency partners aren’t in
close communication, and when
there isn’t communication internally
with any of those parties, it amounts
ith f th ti it t
to a plague on their livelihood.
Image source:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wenceslas_Hollar_-_Cattle_plague_(State_2).jpg

8. 6) Boils:
Lack of integration
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In this case, the plague fits the crime.
Social marketing campaigns should
be planned just as tightly in
p j g y
conjunction with other marketing
programs as boils are connected to
victims’ skin. Perhaps it’s not the
most pleasant analogy, but these are
the ten plagues, not the ten happiest
things to ever happen.
Image source:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Black_Death.jpg

9. 7) Hail:
Talking at Consumers
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Sometimes, reading marketers’
updates in social channels feels like
walking through a hailstorm. You get
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pelted by a self‐aggrandizing update
here and a limited time offer there,
and you can’t wait to run for cover.
Conversing and asking questions can
soften the blows and make it more
like a day at the beach.
Image source:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hail_Hagel.jpg

10. 8) Locusts:
Bright shiny object syndrome
h h b d
If you’ve ever seen a swarm of
y
locusts on National Geographic
Channel or Discovery, you’ll
appreciate why this was the first
plague association to come to mind.
Look at all the locusts move from
field to field – blogs to MySpace to
Second Life to widgets to Twitter to
S d Lif t id t t T itt t
Facebook to augmented reality to
Foursquare – sucking the life out of
them and then looking for their next
them and then looking for their next
meal. Marketers can shed their locust
exoskeletons by figuring out what
works and sticking with it, even while
works and sticking with it, even while
exploring new opportunities.
Image source:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Locust_and_grasshopper_campaign_in_the_Philippines.JPG

11. 9) Darkness:
Lack of vision
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When you see marketers fumble
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royally in social media, you’re usually
witnessing a marketer that didn’t
plan ahead. These fumbles can often
arise when a marketer is dealing with
a crisis, but they can also come up
when a marketer is more successful
than they anticipated, such as when
th th ti i t d h h
too many consumers take them up
on a deal. Plan for the best and the
worst and be prepared to act when
worst and be prepared to act when
either arises to prevent darkness
from descending on your social
programs.
Image source:
My own

12. 10) Death of the firstborn:
Death of marketing as we know it
h f k k
The death of the firstborn plague is
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the most permanent. There has been
a similar plague on marketing and
media: rising consumer expectations
of some form of two‐way
communication. For consumers like
myself who grew up writing letters to
brands that pleasantly or
b d th t l tl
unpleasantly surprised me, this is
deliciously empowering. This plague
will kill off some marketers who can t
will kill off some marketers who can’t
adapt.
Image source:
My own

13. Conclusion
Egypt wasn’t undone by the exodus,
gyp y ,
or any version of it that has been
passed down to us. It remained a
capital of the ancient world for over a
thousand years more and has been a
pivotal part of many great
civilizations and cultures since.
Plagues may afflict us and they may
Pl ffli t d th
kill off the weak, but the springtime
exodus saga tells the greater story of
rebirth and renaissance. If there s not
rebirth and renaissance If there’s not
a promised land for marketers per se,
may we at least heal from these
plagues to uphold brands promises
plagues to uphold brands’ promises
to consumers.
Image source:
My own

14. The Ten Plagues of Social Media
The Ten Plagues of Social Media
1. Lack of transparency (blood)
p y( )
2. Oversharing (frogs)
3. Campaign‐based thinking (lice)
4. Autoposting (flies)
5. Lack of internal communication (pestilence)
6. Lack of integration (boils)
( )
7. Talking at consumers (hail)
8.
8 Bright shiny object syndrome (locusts)
Bright shiny object syndrome (locusts)
9. Lack of vision (darkness)
10. Death of marketing as we know it (death of the firstborn)
Death of marketing as we know it (death of the firstborn)

15. Contact David Berkowitz
Contact David Berkowitz
Blog: MarketersStudio.com
Blog: MarketersStudio com
Twitter: @dberkowitz
Twitter: @dberkowitz
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/dberkowitz
Li k dI li k di /i /db k it
Email: marketersstudio@gmail.com