Matthew Burgess

Ok, enough is enough. Over the last few months, I’ve noticed this trend getting worse, and even – unthinkably – worse from there. Everyone on twitter these days seems to be a “social media expert” in their own heads. And I’m not only talking about the people that actually label themselves as “social media gurus” (hell, that’s such an easy target it’s not even fun anymore), but the average Joe Blow on twitter who now feels they know more about how companies should behave in this “new, social, community world” than the marketing managers’ of the companies themselves.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m as big a believer as the next guy that the world has changed, and that marketing has to change with it. And yes, communities are more important than ever. I get that. Hell, I’ll stand by your side when you say it.

But, while that may be true, that does NOT make you an expert on how businesses should conduct themselves.

Because twitter limits you to 140 characters, it’s easy to throw out sound bites that sound catchy and insightful, but then conveniently never have to elaborate on those sound bites. It’s nice to hide behind that character limit, isn’t it?

Yeah, you can ask a business, “Hey, why aren’t you building a community? Why aren’t you taking an active interest in what people out there are saying?”. It’s easy to ask those questions, without having to actually wait around to answer them.

Here’s a tip: if you haven’t been involved in marketing a particular business, don’t presume to know how they should get involved. Or if they should even get involved in the first place. The truth of the matter is that – while it would be nice if every business could communicate more, in an open forum – for some businesses, there simply might not be enough return for them to justify that outreach.

That’s the thing that gets to me. A lot of people think it costs nothing to be open, interactive and “transparent” . Let’s be clear here kids: it does. Whether you want to accept it or not, it does.

So here’s what I have to say: Cut it out.

Unless you have actively been involved in putting together, and – more importantly, in my eyes – actually implementing a “social media plan” for a brand, AND unless you’ve pulled it off successfully, your word counts diddly squat.

Plenty of the people I’m speaking to in this post seem to have developed huge followings. And what worries me is that all they have to do is keep talking loudly until people believe them, without looking into what they have actually done. I’ll repeat this again, because it bears repeating: If you haven’t actually done anything, your word counts diddly squat. Talking does not equate doing.

So, in the end: sure, there’s no harm in putting your suggestions out there. If it makes sense to the business, they just might use it, and you can feel happy knowing that you’ve made the world a better place.
But please don’t harp on about how this company or that company “doesn’t get it”. How do you know they don’t get it? Are you employed by the company? Do you know the inner workings of how decisions are made in the company? Do you have access to their financial records? Do you know their main sources of revenue? Do you know exactly and unequivocally, down to the cent, that your suggestion would make them more money than would be spent to implement it?

I doubt it.

Cut it out.