Later this afternoon I will be speaking at Search Engine Marketing Expo on Ethical Social Media Marketing. Below is the full text of my planned remarks. I look forward to hearing your feedback on this important topic.
# # #
Thank you very much for inviting me here today. The field of social media marketing is emerging and it's of course very relevant to search. In addition, it's highly likely that the space has already changed since this great panel we have assembled here started speaking.
I know I only have a few minutes and that I am last to speak so I quickly want to discuss three themes today that are relevant to the topic at hand - social media ethics.
First, I want to talk about the Collaboration Imperative. I see this as an easy way for everyone to remain ethical if it's something we truly decide to embrace everyday.
Second, there's the intersection of search, social media and public relations. There are number of ethical considerations here that all of us need to watch out for.
Finally, I want to touch on the global economic climate and its impact on social media marketing. We're going to see some important changes over the next 12-18 months that will make ethical behavior more critical than ever.
So let's get into it with the first topic - what I am calling the Collaboration Imperative.
Social media marketing is actually a term I loath, though I recognize it's sticking. First, all things social are media and all things media are now social - so I am not sure what "social media" is any more.
More importantly, social media marketing also implies that social networks, blogs and other like channels are advertising venues. They're not. They're public spaces just like our great National Parks. We must respect them as such. Otherwise we're going to pollute the environment and make them less enjoyable for everyone - especially the citizens who thrive there, just like the amazing ecosystem that thrives in places like Yellowstone.
Now, to be clear, I am extremely bullish about the marketing potential these emerging venues offer. However, I am disheartened how many companies and brands approach them. Lots of brands seem to think that consumers want to be marketed to in these spaces. They don't. Gartner is coming out with a report next week that says that 50% of social media programs fail. The key reason is they ignore the Collaboration Imperative.
People who participate on social networks, blogs and other similar venues are there for a reason - and that's to connect around shared areas of interest and passion, often with an outcome in mind. This is why advertising, to date, hasn't been a home run here. Most of it doesn't add value to what people are looking to accomplish on these sites.
Social media marketing works best when it's integrated into the experience and takes a "win-win" approach. It's action oriented, transparent and built on something we talk a lot about at Edelman - Public Engagement.
To succeed in this new world, brands need to move from taking tried and true marketing tactics and retro-fitting them for the new environment. We need to stop thinking about talk and buzz. Instead, there is an imperative that marketers engage publicly by collaborating with their audience towards a shared desired outcome. Follow that path. Be action-oriented toward a win-win outcome and transparent in the process and ethics won't be an issue.
Second, I want to talk about the intersection of search, social media and public relations and their ethical implications.
Over the last few years we have all watched the remarkable rise of Google. It's such a force in our lives. I have family members who aren't Internet addicts like us and whenever I start talking about Google the remark how they could never live without it. It's quite amazing for a site was hardly on people's radar even just five years ago.
We live in a world of die-hard Googlers. And what we've seen over the last five years or so is that search engines increasingly favor what some call socially-connected, high-quality content. The great rewards of visibility go to those who create quality content that legitimately earns links - and do so daily.
There are three categories of high quality content producers: brands, media and ordinary citizens. What's interesting is that if you were to analyze all this information, a lot of it in some way can be linked to public relations professionals, just like the newspaper clippings of old. PR pros help content producers tell stories and sometimes even advise brands on how to go direct to audience to do the same.
This is incredibly exciting but it's also fraught with ethical considerations - especially as PR people recognize that they must actually become public participants themselves if they hope to build lasting relationships that are meaningful. So there's a clear watch-out here.
Micro Persuasion, my blog, is a microcosm. It has over 50,00 subscribers, 5,000 pages of content and a Google Page Rank of seven. Let's say that I were to to start blogging about a negative experience I had with a company that competes with one of my clients. This could influence their search results negatively and in the process seem to elevate my client. This would be highly unethical. Subtleties like this one are becoming the norm.
Thus, I need to bring my ethical A-game online every day and it's something all of us in marketing, SEO or PR need to consider, even if you don't have an issue this dramatic.
Finally, there's the current global economic environment. We all know it's not pretty. However, I remain very optimistic about the prospects of the PR industry and view it as a safe haven in this environment - if we, once again, come to the table with our public engagement A-game. Ethical behavior is key here. Ethics create trust and trust is king.
Unlike previous recessions and depressions, we now live in an era of great transparency. It's very hard to hide in a world where everyone has a camera-phone, a Facebook page or a blog. Accounts of corporations doing good and doing bad will surface quickly online thanks to an intricate global network that includes social media, traditional media and search engines.
The transparency and trust trend-lines - which are directly linked - remain evergreen. I believe that public relations professionals are best equipped to help companies navigate this environment, especially in a downturn. We will be called upon to help brands build closer, more open relationships with consumers that - once the rain stops - will truly blossom into long-term profits.
Still, we have a long way to go in addressing ROI in a measurable way. But relationships and trust can be tracked over time and it's directly linked with public engagement, action, transparency. Further, it's also hooked into search since, for billions of us, Google is our window on the world.
Before I conclude I want to offer a message about collaboration of my own. Lots of us in this room, in some way or another, compete with each other - either for dollars or attention. If we can collaborate to set ethics and measurement guidelines when it comes to social media, search and PR - we all will win. Hopefully this panel is the beginning of a dialogue toward that end.
Thank you for your time today.
