Posted on 09/21/2010, by
Jeff Rasmussen
I stood transfixed at a rock-climbing wall at an outdoor festival recently. Transfixed with others of my ilk: predominantly male, predominantly too… modest to attempt the climb, predominantly all-knowing, though, about how to accomplish the feat.
The feat? Climbing up what looks to be, even to this non-climber, a very challenging climb, which includes a middle portion that’s way not-just-vertical (impressed by my rock-climbing lingo, aren’t you?).
The deal was this: pay $10, and “all you have to do” is climb to the top, ring the bell and we’ll pay you back $30. Net $20, for something we all did as kids.
I was perusing the offerings within the social media community lately (the one that espouses its merits at the same time it extols its simplicity and its complexity). It occurred to me that many companies are like those of us transfixed on the “other” side of the rock-climbing wall.
You see, an interesting phenomenon happens at the rock-climbing wall. Those of us who have NEVER climbed a rock (or wall) as adults, those of us who haven’t climbed a real rock since our childhoods, and a few of “us” who have, all observed the Intrepid Few who ponied up their money and gave it a shot.
The thoughts that went through my mind, it became obvious to me, were pretty much the same thoughts all of us wall-watchers were having. We were silently (and not too long afterwards, vocally) coaching those on the wall with simple, can’t-you-see-how-obvious-it-is solutions that would lead them to ($20) riches. “Reach out with your left foot…around the corner!” someone would offer. “Switch feet on the white peg, then reach up with your right hand!” others would submit simultaneously. We were all, obviously, solving this simple vertical riddle… but were too, what’s the word… immobilized (by possible humiliation… probably [and public] muscle fatigue), to put into action our theories.
Many people and companies are still sitting transfixed on the social media marketing sidelines. We know it’s possible (we’ve seen the case studies). We know we should be doing it. We know it’s not rocket science (heck, the dreadlocked, barefooted guy just rocketed to the top of the wall - oh, sorry, that’s the rock-climbing part of this story). But, all the same, we’ve heard the young kids who’ve leveraged Twitter to riches (heck, they created Twitter). And we’ve seen hallowed corporate institutions put on bold new faces and stake their social ground. But others of us continue to watch. And even, silently mostly, think of how we’d have done it better. Or how those results could have been even more auspicious. (“Use your third arm and grab the blue nub above your head!”)
And then there are doubtless those of us who stood at the rock wall utterly in awe that people were making it even halfway up. Or were bold enough (cocksure) to pay MONEY to try (in PUBLIC!). Threatened? Paralyzed? Doesn’t matter the word, the result is the same. We’re sidelined. Watching the proverbial world go by as, literally, another blog is created every SECOND of every day. We watch and read and hear about the connectivity and viral nature of the big social networking sites…and we do nothing!
Prudence has its place, I’m here to espouse. But only for those companies making the commitment RIGHT NOW to embrace social media in a big way – and very soon. And perhaps their prudence will pay off by not letting the summer intern ‘give it a go.' Maybe their somewhat-late-adopter strategy will save them missteps and frivolous time and financial investment… because when they finally take the social plunge, they’ll do it with(in) a corporate strategy. They’ll know where they’re going. They’ll know with whom they’re engaging. They’ll know how their social media strategy dovetails with their existing one. They’ll know not to hawk their wares on their very first posting (or their 21st or their 101st). They’ll know lots of rules and have a proactive roadmap they developed with a social media marketing expert/partner.
Social media marketing isn’t rocket science. But there’s science involved. And there’s art. And there’s patience and nuance and corporate confidence. Oh, and there’s a fair amount of re-training the old dogs in the marketing and PR departments about the re-written (okay, nearly obsolete) 4 P’s of marketing.
You don’t get the $20 if you don’t make it to the top and ring the bell.
You don’t reap the rewards of social media marketing if you don’t commit to it, do it right and do it well. And while every company, organization, government, widget manufacturer, garage-band, political candidate and babysitting service can benefit from it… the art/science/practice itself simply isn’t for everyone. Maybe you haven’t liked words since 9th grade vocabulary (when they really got poly-syllabic). Maybe you do 13 other things and the thought of writing a weekly or even a monthly blog simply bloggles your mind. That’s understandable. If that’s the case, though…find someone to help you. The world may literally pass you by if you resist this social movement that’s afoot. It may not, too. But, are you willing to simply stand transfixed on the sidelines to find out?
