Show Me The Money In Social Media

[WARNING: What ensues is more time devoted to social media than it deserves. It's a rant, a warning to those "drinkin' the cool-aid," and please, if you CAN show me the money, DO IT. I'm begging to see real, irrefutable proof all this social media crap has some legs to it!]

Books have been written about it (even dentist, Dr. Jason Lipsomb, has penned one), there are websites that are nothing but ‘it,’ professional social media “experts” crawling out of the woodwork, and I gotta wonder: Is there an end in sight to it all?

I’m betting…YES. MySpace is gone. Facebook’s next. Twitter – Honestly, do you really, REALLY care what the hell I’m doing on a Saturday with my kids? I’m bettin’ not, especially if you’re a potential customer considering giving me money in exchange for Butts In Your Ops.

I will say Gary Vaynerchuck’s book is good (Crush It) on business sans the social media part.

Dentists are now even reading and writing about it in their trade magazines. 2 whole pages were dedicated to it in the February 2010 issue of Dental Economics. Worse still, the author heavily mis-quoted information from a source cited in his article. Those mistakes can happen, but I’m willing to bet no one will “notice” and no retraction/correction reported. Lesson: BE CAREFUL what you believe and VERIFY.

Look, I LOVE advertising, I LOVE marketing. But, my love falls short if there’s not anyone able to step forward and say, “Hey, here’s what’s happened to my business and these are the short-term/long-term benefits of relying on social media as a plausible, long-term strategy, and, THIS IS THE MONEY IT’S BROUGHT IN.” Full-on, detailed stats.

I want proof it all works. ANY of it. I want someone tracking the TIME invested into all this “free” social media so we can get a true reading on the cost of it all. (No one seems to believe sitting down and writing fifty, 140 character posts “hey, I’m changing a diaper on the kid right now. phew, it’s stinky,” has a cost to it.)

Vaynerchuck, in his book, “Crush It,” outlines one campaign where Twitter, at a cost of “zero,” brought in 1700 customers. Other “media” brought in less. He argues, “no cost” to Twitter, so a better deal, right?

Sounds great. But, until I know the economics of repeat-ability of that campaign (how likely he could do it all again and generate another 1700 customers), & how long they stayed as a customer (vs. customers acquired via other means).

In business, there are certain customers that arrive to your door from certain media that last longer, spend more, spend more often than others and my entire career, I’ve noted those referred to me by a human (not a 140 character Tweet yet, or a Facebook posting yet) and those that come to me from books I’ve written or events I’ve created and they’ve attended, are the far most valuable customers I can get.

Of those 1700 customers, there may be no depth to them at all…all one-shot wonders. Or, perhaps you’ll get a hundred or 200 out of 1700 that might stick. When compared with the other media, how does that factor stack up? I’m willing to bet, not nearly as good.

What about ROI – nothing in his book mentions ROI?! What was the total order volume for each media used – billboard, twitter and direct mail?

How many of each media are now repeat customers, 14 months later (he did this in December 2008)?

All that matters in business. Long-term customer value far more important than initial. Equity vs. income. More often than not, when my immediate needs are met, I’m chasing and storing equity with my clients to use later. YOU should be too, and I question whether social media will allow you that ability?!

People talk about building “relationships” and customer loyalty when you engage in social media.

If you could build a relationship posting pictures and living via electronical tweets and posts with customers, then you oughta be able to pull it off with your wife and kids, eh?

Then, there’s education – you can “educate” your customers or prospects via social media. How do you do that in 140 characters without directing them offsite to another website? That’s the same damn thing as a banner ad, a google ad, a postcard, etc. SOMEONE is paying for Twitter, somehow. SOMEONE is for Facebook, too. It’s called a TIME investment.

Do the patients you need to drop big duckets in your practice hang around reading “tweets” and posts on Facebook all day long? Doubtful. Really, really, doubtful. The last person I want as a client is someone so grossly engaged in virtual reality (Internet socializing, not real, noes-to-noes, sweaty-palms stuff) that when they DO get results from what I do (putting Butts In Ops), they’re so weird and fragmented no one will do business with them because they are not digitally enhanced.

Successful people, people with drive, determination, something going on in their lives, are not living on or in “social media.” I don’t care what the stats say. I spent a few months engaged in it all, but really, I had enough of high school in high school and to me, that’s all Facebook was and remains to be…that and goofy people trying to direct me to their videos and join their groups and tell me how high of a score they got on some game. It was like “greeters” day at the local Chamber of Commerce. Not my cup of tea. But I’m sure it’s gotta be good for someone?

[See my previous post about Brian Tracy's thoughts on all this crap...He said, "There's not a penny in it to be had."]

What’s the missing link and why WON’T social media ever really work?

I’ll tell you: Social Media is wholly inadequate for building a meaningful relationship with a real client or prospective client. It’s attention-deficit to the extreme.

But, right now, it’s hot, it’s selling and everyone wants this “FREE” media to work. News for ya bub, it’s light years away, I think, if ever.

Tags: Dental Advertising, dental marketing tips, Dental Practice Management, development marketing business research, facebook, google, Positioning, Success, twitter