Countdown to Launch: Preview One – Alan Wolk

Days of Dinosaurs and Roses 

by Alan Wolk 

The amazing thing about social media is that it’s totally destroyed the power of ads to sell things to people. Because seriously, why would I bother listening to an ad when I can listen to the reviews and opinions of hundreds of my fellow consumers. Most of whom are interested in providing me with the real deal on whatever product or service they’re reviewing. Not in feeding me a clever pun or wacky visual. 

We’ve seen clever puns and wacky visuals for over 50 years now. It’s hard to remember which one is which. I mean every bank is friendly and caring. 

Social media changed all that. It put power into the hands of consumers, allowing us to fact-check our ads. Google is the new middleman. We see an ad for a car. Do we go to the dealership? No. We go straight to Google and see what the reviews are. If they’re favorable, then—and only then– do we go to the dealership.

 That’s a change of epic proportion. 

It’s the sort of change that might, if we’re lucky, convince corporations that if they want to sell more boxes or bring in more customers, they need to produce a superior product. A product that people actually like and say good things about in their online reviews. A product that doesn’t provoke angry remarks on Twitter or Facebook. And actually feels like a wise decision. 

This, to me, is the real power of social media. And why marketing at the birth of social media is both a joy and a challenge. 

Those of us selling well-designed products with strong fan bases have an easy time of it. Our fans want to join our Facebook pages. They proudly write glowing reviews on their blogs and display our logos all over MySpace. Life here is good. 

But woe to those selling shoddy, unsexy, unloved products. No one wants to be their Facebook fan or even their friend. Twitterers unceremoniously block them. And reviews are universally unkind. Brand managers point accusatory fingers, certain that if only the agency was the least bit competent they’d find a way to turn all those naysayers into fanboys. And delude themselves into thinking that a brand new slogan is all that’s needed. As if. 

Extinction is not a pretty process. The king is dead. Long live the king. 

 

BIO: Alan Wolk, author of the renowned Toad Stool blog (http://www.toadstoolblog.com) is a New York-based creative strategy consultant who lectures frequently about social media (both to large audiences and to anyone who’ll listen.) He is best known for the series “Your Brand Is Not My Friend.”