When clients visit the Lab, they always want to know:Â But what does social media mean to me? And ultimately, they want what Cuba Gooding Jr.’s character asks of Jerry Maguire.
Brands want to know they can prove their investment on social media platforms is a worthy one. They want to know it will reach wide and far–and will be as effective as television and print campaigns used to be. They want ROI, which means somehow, social media will have to prove it can not only connect people, but draw the dotted line to the cash register. They want to know it won’t backfire (we do our best to show how social media can save the day in a PR nightmare, but we also tell them that all content is viral content, for better or worse).
As new media advocates, it’s hard to know that brands MUST play in this space without being able to give them a pile of case studies and years of hard data to go on that show a direct connection to the purchase funnel.
Right now, essentially we’re asking them to go on a lot of faith. Because we don’t have all the answers–not even Facebook does, although the Lab collectively suspects they will continue to lead the way and are getting closer. In the meantime, for anyone who’s ever tried to convince a parent, a friend, or a client why they should look to social media, check out this video plugging the new book “Socialnomics” by writer Erik Qualman.
