Alan's musings ... some personal views and rants

on this digital marketing malarkey

The Emperors New Digital Clothes?

Social Media Marketing: Marketing Panacea or the Emperor's New Digital Clothes?

More evidence that the emperor is dancing around in his underwear.

I – and others – have long since tried to stem the crazed thinking that social media is the panacea to all marketing ills, failures and problems.

Don’t get me wrong; marketing on social media can bring benefits to some organizations, brands or products. However, my research and experience suggests that if I was to put a figure on ‘some’ it would be around 5-10 percent.

Before you social media evangelists throw something at the screen: a caveat. That's 90-95% of all other organizations, brands or products represents everything from global brands to small or micro businesses. Like ... the corner shop nearest you. Or the company that makes the light bulb in your room. Or the business that makes the packaging that bulb was in when it was loaded – with a few thousand of its mates – onto a truck. Or the company that owns that truck. Or the company that manufactured the pallet the boxes were stacked on. Or the company that makes the folk lift truck that lifted the pallet. Or the company that made the concrete for the loading bay where the truck was loaded. Or the company that laid the concrete. Or the company that made the air filter for the truck transporting your bulb. Ditto thousands of other parts that fit together to form a £100,000 lorry. Ditto the folk lift truck. And what about the nails that are used to join pieces of wood together to form the pallets? And then there’s the folk who make all of the parts that go together to make a machine that converts wire into nails. And of course, everyone follows the wire manufacturer on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Are you getting the picture?

So why are so many organizations jumping on the must-have-a-social-media-presence bandwagon?

I have been candid to the faces of a number of managers or owners of organizations and said it is because they have been remiss in ignoring all the rules of business before wasting money on marketing on social media. That is: they have not conducted some kind of due diligence. Some kind of calculation of return on investment. Used some kind of common sense.

Why then did these normally sensible folk do it? Obviously, it’s because everyone in the world is using social media.

Well … [a] no they’re not, [b] if they are, they’re being social, not shopping for nails, and [c] everyone sees the sky every day – but that doesn’t make clouds the best place to put marketing messages.

So why have so many business-savvy folk fallen for the fake social-media-panacea news? Probably because of hype like this.

According to a story widely distributed earlier this year – both off- and online ...

Research for easyJet of 18 to 65-year-olds showed that 55% had booked trips purely based on images they had seen on Instagram.

32% of the more than 2,000 people surveyed also admitted their biggest motivation when picking a location was how nice the photos will look on their own Instagram feed.

The research found holiday makers were now taking an average of 2,500 photos during a week’s holiday in a bid to find the perfect shot to post online.

I have found at least one marketing website that – based on this kind of research – was advising hotel owners to ignore all other marketing efforts to concentrate on quality photos of their establishments that will look good on Instagram.

Hmmmm ... am I going out on a limb to query these findings?

Given the user demographics of Instagram – most being closer to 18 than 65 – have 55% of them have even booked an overseas trip?

Check the wording: it says PURELY based on images respondents had seen. Purely means no consideration of where the location is with regard to getting there or how much it will cost. Really? Isn't it likely that some of the most photogenic places on the planet are not close to the majority of holidaymakers? That means they will be expensive to visit. I refer you again to the age group that uses Instagram regularly.

Furthermore, the research suggests that a third of all people choose holiday destinations based on how well their photos will look on Instagram? Really? I quizzed around 20 people in the pub last night [all under the 65 age limit of the survey, so a valid sample]. Only four were even on Instagram, though two were regular users. All had been on multiple trips in the last 12 months. Everyone of them laughed at the notion of visiting somewhere purely to look good in a holiday selfie.

Further investigation revealed that several publications – off- and online – covered the story in such a similar way that it smacked of a press release being re-produced. Note: for press release read, emperor’s new clothes. I’ve tried to source the actual research without success.

However, closer consideration reveals a hint of the emperor’s underwear. The findings are very pro the use of Instagram in booking holidays. The research was paid for by easyJet. Guess which budget airline launched its own Instagram app –Look&Book – around the same time? Clue: their planes are orange and white.

Skeptic; Me? As Homer – Simpson, not the Greek philosopher – says: ‘people can come up with statistics to prove anything. Forfty* percent of all people know that.’ *Yes, Homer says forfty.

Academic footnote: students … check the validity of any research before using it in an assignment or dissertation.

Disclosure: Alan Charlesworth is the author of Social Media Marketing: Marketing Panacea or the Emperor's New Digital Clothes?

How to cite this page:
Charlesworth, A. (2019). The Emperors New Digital Clothes? Retrieved [insert date] from AlanCharlesworth.com: https://www.alancharlesworth.com/Alans-musings/the-emperors-new-digital-clothes

This page was first published in July 2019 ... but it may have been updated or amended since then.