I constructed the comment below in response to a blog posting within LinkedIn by Pete Hollier, SEM/SEO Consultant who had asked “Is Social Media really Complex?”

I felt that my response communicated JUST the right sentiment, so I am reposting it here for your constructive criticism.

Social Media is absolutely simple, often resembling the earliest form of communications – word of mouth. Stories carried on the lips of the old and passed on to the ears of the young.

Consider the thought that “if someone is bit by a rattlesnake, you should attempt to suck the venom out of the wound” Now this is a statement that may have been communicated as far back as ancient Egypt. Think of how you first heard of it.. Someone told you this, and what did you do? You probably went to confirm it with your mother or father, or possibly a friend to ensure that it was true.
After all, it sounds like an awkward thing to do, sucking the venom out, but once you validated the information with others, you were more confident in the authority of the source. Social Media is a way to provide consumers with a way to “validate the authority of the source” on whether the product claims are true!

First Consider… “Does the soft cloth pickup 20oz of fluid?” You can either:

1. Trust that the marketing claim is true.. and purchase the soft cloth;
2. Ask one of your friends whether or not the marketing claim is true;
3. Go online to find an authority who can assure the validity of the claim.

Social Media helps to speed the decision to purchase. If the marketing claim is judged to be truthful and honest, the move to purchase is strengthened. If the marketing claim is judged to be false.. Beware, they may not only not purchase your product, they may be the first ones to comment negatively about it within the context of Social Media.

Many times, this is a key reason for corporations not to engage in Social Media. They want uninformed, zombie “sheeple” to believe their marketing claims regardless of their voracity. AND they don’t want anyone to tell them that their “baby is ugly”!!
From the core context of communication, Social Media is very simple, however the implementation and demonstration of value proposition can be incredibly complex.

What are your thoughts?

Marketing teams across the globe are tasked daily with defining the features and qualities of a product while also attempting to communicate this message to the widest audience most interested in purchasing their product. Now let’s be clear here. Marketing teams rarely look to knock down new doors, investigate uncharted waters and sell their product to those who are not in the market for it.
Why??

Easy. The repeat purchase and established buyer demographic cost the least amount of money to market to. They require little encouragement to enter the buy cycle, and put up little resistance to “spin doctoring” of feature enhancements. This is not to say that new consumers are not sought out, it is just that they cost more to sell the product to. It takes more advertising “buy now” statements, broader and longer sales campaigns and more deeply discounted product mixes (coupons).

What tools do we have to sell to the consumers not currently polarized towards your product or service?

Social media specialists and community managers are able to dissect consumer sentiment through the words of the general public. Social media allows prospective consumers who are considering options to read first hand accounts of the experience of those who already have purchased the product. Consider eBay’s scoring system. If a prospective buyer sees a Seller Rating of 87%, that consumer may be less likely to make that purchase. Likewise, if the seller has a 100% rating and has sold thousands of items to the public, they feel reasonably sure that the product is as advertised and that the product was delivered successfully.

Social media goes even a step forward by allowing marketing professionals to create traditional copy based on an analysis of the product dialogue that the consumers are engaging in. New product benefits can be discovered, others that were felt to be benefits may turn out to be serious product flaws.

Ignorance of consumer sentiment creates weakly competing markets, manufactures inferior and low quality products and reduces the overall product receptivity of the public.