THE CAUTIONARY TALES OF
SOCIAL MEDIA
b as told by b
S e t h Justin G o l d s t e i n .
www.socialmedia.com
twitter @seth
seth@socialmedia.com

Reality
CHECK.

{ Q: }
Why is social media so important?

SOCIAL MEDIA
COMMUNICATIONS MEDIA
TWITTER
SKYPE FACEBOOK GOOGLE
EMAIL MYSPACE CABLE
FAX CRAIGSLIST TV
TELEPHONE EBAY RADIO
TELEGRAPH AOL PRINT
GUTENBERG

SO, WHAT ARE YOU SO AFRAID OF?

THIS?

(yes, it really happened...)

(honest, it did...)
“In videos posted on YouTube and elsewhere this
week, a Domino’s employee in Conover, N.C.
prepared sandwiches for delivery while putting
cheese up his nose, nasal mucus on the sandwiches.”
New York Times
April 16 2009

(okay, then...)
HELP! HOW DO WE GET OUT OF HERE?

fig. 14.22.18
LOSE CONTROL
[ or the hows and whys of getting out of the way ]

(in other words...)
TAKE A REALLY BIG CHANCE.

01.
Most companies are scared of social media as they fear
LOSING CONTROL OF THEIR BRAND.

02.
And yet consumers invest more in brands that
REWARD THEIR PARTICIPATION.

(but remember...)
DON’T BE TOO FANCY.

(words to live by...)
“If you aren’t embarrassed by what you’re releasing,
you’re taking too long.”
REID HOFFMANN
Founder of LinkedIn

03.
Services which seem perpetually ‘unfinished’ are those
THAT USUALLY LAST THE LONGEST.

{ Q: }
How do you take an accurate
picture of a fast moving vehicle?

{ A: }
Like this?

{ A: }
...or this?

(for example...)
“Brands are now becoming conversation factors where academics,
celebrities, experts and key opinion formers discuss functional,
emotional and... social concerns.”
SIMON CLIFT
Unilever

04.
Social Media provides a light-weight
CONTEXT FOR EXCHANGING INFORMATION.

(what we really mean is...)
IT’S LIKE A COCKTAIL PARTY.

(i.e....)
NOT A MONOLOGUE.

05.
You need to keep lots of conversations going at the same time
WITHOUT GETTING STUCK IN ANY OF THEM.

(see what we mean...)
“I built a system simple enough to sustain itself.”
PIERRE OMIDYAR
eBay

GET OUT.

fig. 22.5.9
STREAM SMALL
[ or why only 140 characters actually works ]

01.
Keep it brief and keep your audience.
THEY’RE ALREADY LISTENING ANYWAY.

(but don’t take our word for it...)
“Creativity comes from constraint.”
BIZ STONE
Twitter

02.
We tend to assume that engagement
SCALES WITH BANDWIDTH.

03.
But low-bandwidth devices
RESONATE LONGER

(words to live by...)
SMALL AND NIBLE = EASIER TO ESCAPE.

fig. 38.21.7
CREATE SOCIALLY
[ or how to get your brand in the mouths of others ]

04.
Traditional media tells the same big story
TO AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE.

05.
Social Media is about lots of little stories told
IN SMALL GROUPS AT THE SAME TIME.

(as we were saying...)
“Utility doesn’t have to be this big thing. It can take place in smaller,
more frequent interactions.”
MARK ZUKERBERG
Facebook

01.
Internet advertising is so annoying.
IT DISTRACTS USERS.

02.
Social advertising is a real message
FROM ONE PERSON TO ANOTHER

03.
A good conversation
CREATES LASTING IMPRESSIONS.

04.
Social behavior inspires technology
WHICH INSPIRES NEW SOCIAL BEHAVIOR

KEY
insights:

(in summation...)
01.
LOSE CONTROL
b
02.
STREAM SMALL
b
03.
CREATE SOCIALLY

b THANK YOU b