Advertisers Kill Tradition

Posted by Kevin Spidel on Jul 20th, 2009 | Comments

Tonight in a Tweet, I realized how true this statement really is; advertisers who approach the social web as a communication vehicle, kill cultural norms within a given space. Case in point…Twitter. Twitter is not just a vehicle to communicate. It is not a tool. It is a culture.

Here at Activating Word of Mouth we focus on authentic word of mouth. This begins with relationships, not spam. We take the advertising out of marketing. Other marketing firms approach social networks as a new vehicle to get their products/services out in volume. They are about noise. Last night I noticed a new trending topic “Chris Brown.” My first thought was, did I miss the news? Did he do something to Rhianna again? I clicked on the search for “Chris Brown” in Twitter and saw this:

This is just one example of unsophisticated marketing done with trending topics.  Anyone can create an account and spam Twitter feed; but this is a flash in the pan. Ultimately you will be blocked and reported. Engagement is time consuming, but self sustaining. When you create true fans, they will retweet you and continue to retweet you with real, authentic content. Spam such as this kills valued traditions in communities. Twitter, and trending topics are not tools. They are culture and traditions.

Marketers need to understand that as we have evolved into a more semantic web, these tactics of the past will not be tolerated. The social web space is growing. Traditions are valued in any culture. Spam and volume such as this will not last.

Take time. Engage. Be Authentic. We guarantee your time will reward you on the social web. Real folks agree.

That is what word of mouth is all about.

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