Beware of Geeks Bearing Gifts

That’s the essence of a recent IAB debate, which argued that there are too many social and technology platforms to spend time with or dedicate resources to. 

Just as magpie marketers get a feel for QR Codes, Facebook, Google Buzz/Wave, or FourSquare,  a newer, shinier object appears and all the effort and money moves on. We live in a world of social graphs, frictionless marketing, social games and mobile apps. A world where every action made can be posted to a Facebook profile. But if you were to spend a few hours each day researching every new platform or social technology (at the last count there were more than 100 major ones listed on the Conversation Prism), you would lose half of your working year.  

How do you filter the value of Instagram, Pinterest, Quora or any of the other million social start-ups that have launched in the past few years? And it’s important to bear in mind that all new platforms are start ups – and nine out of ten start ups fail. 

While online marketers need to be aware of the next big thing, they need to be mindful that chasing after it can be perilous and unrewarding. Remember all that resource wasted on Bebo and Second Life?
It’s not all bad as some brands have married the commercial and utility value of social media. Consider TicketMaster’s social ticketing initiative that links with Facebook, allowing users to choose the best seats at their next gig – literally with their friends.

Also notable is Shazam’s move into dual screen content, which allows viewers to interact with commercials and TV programmes using a mobile device, when a Shazam thumbnail logo appears on screen. Investment in emerging technology is all about balancing resource risk against the reward each relationship brings.  A good relationship for a brand should provide value through engagement, sharing and purchase.

Humans are the second most curious creature on the planet after cats, so it’s only natural that we want to be a part of what’s shiny and new. Especially as innovation can keep a brand relevant to customers.  

That said, new things tend to be adopted first by a very small demographic, leaving companies asking why they should invest if customers aren't embracing a technology in high enough numbers? The answer is to put behaviour first, and the platform second. There’s no doubt that marketers have to stay abreast of the latest technology, but use the technology when it’s right. 

To avoid wasting resources it’s best to play where your customers are, not where the shiny objects are. The gamble is how do you pick and invest in a winner? In our view, it’s best to wait for the platform to open itself up, go through beta, and produce an audience.  When it’s proven, then go join the party. Test and learn.

The ultimate guiding force should be metrics and reporting. Facebook is only really being taken seriously because it has evolved its metrics – including the new ‘talking about’ function. As major brands compete to become publishers across the big four platforms, the problem is achieving stand out.  If a marketer invests in a platform, will the audience come?  

Doing something that others want to talk about is the critical piece of the puzzle.  Content needs to be seeded and PR’d.  After all, the definition of PR is not what you say about yourself, but what others say about you.  
The arguments for or against the IAB’s motion suggests lessons can be learnt from both sides. The danger is that playing safe for too long will see audiences drift away.

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