The Emperor's New Clothes

Two hundred fifty million Facebookers, 184 million bloggers and 14 million tweeters, that’s a lot of opinions. Some traditional media call these noisy threats, but Vogue’s Editor in Cheif Anna Wintour sings their melodies. Last month Anna was quoted by Fashionista,

“We laude as much coverage on fashion as possible—we don’t care where it comes from,” she says. “But with all the noise, it actually helps Vogue, because we have authority.”

With the magazine industry crumbling, is Anna overly optimistic or are some industries impervious to social media’s leadership qualities?

Vogue’s authority might be in jeopardy as advertisers dive deeper into social media. Marc Jacobs’ “Fashion Victim” Foursquare badge, Jimmy Choo’s London treasure hunt, and Diesels' Facebook connected fitting room cameras show advertisers aren’t just interested in social media, they are signing on to the newest outlets.

So what does this mean for Vogue’s powerhouse editor? Anyone who saw the documentary The September Issue or the film The Devil Wears Prada knows Anna Wintour is one tough cookie. As people continue to Facebook, blog and tweet, Anna is still sitting in meetings with Bergdorf & Goodman or Armani where a single nod or look from her can change the creative and marketing direction for the season.

As long as she is Editor in Chief, Vogue will fight to retain authority and I think, succeed. The fashion industry isn’t impervious, but Anna may be.

What about other special interest categories? Do established media still rule?

Social Media Marketing Is Simple

Many are still afraid of social media. There are a lot of terms and ideas floating around that confuse people and can even make them panic. I want to start the new year off right by proposing an idea that sounds pretty simple:

The goal of social media marketing is the same as traditional media marketing - to spread ideas through word of mouth.

When working in the social media world (obviously not all social media should be used for marketing), the aim is to get people to talk about your product or brand. Facebook, Twitter, blogs, and other social media platforms allow people to share ideas quickly. People talk about their interests and hobbies, which often include brands and products. Using social media for marketing aims to tap into the rich veins of discussion that will produce buzz and excitement around a brand.

The tools may be different, but most of the goals are very much the same:

• Make a great (good is not good) product that can stand on its own without spin that satisfies a consumer need.
  
• Customers will get excited and tell their friends about the product.
• Marketing can help, but real success comes through viral word of mouth a.k.a. the best and most desired form of marketing.

Yes, I am trying to simplify social media a bit for those still gripping to understand. Good ideas spread. Goal of social media marketing = word of mouth. Is this too simplified?

Traditional Media ROI - Just As Hard To Quantify?

We put a lot of value on landing a mention or story in a big newspaper like USA Today. Once we make it into a big newspaper, we have hit the jackpot. Everyone will hear about us. Millions read that paper everyday, which translates to lots of exposure for our brand or product. There has been a lot of talk about the ROI of social media lately and yes, it is hard to measure, but is it harder to measure than that of traditional media?

Consider the following funnel: I subscribe to the newspaper > I actually read the article with your brand name > I actually remember the brand name > I use the info in the article to make a purchasing decision.

My argument is this: it is just as hard to measure true ROI in traditional media as it is with online or social media. Sure, lots of people subscribe to USA Today, but everyone does not read and soak in every single article or advertisement. They skim. They pick and chose. They filter. A newspaper readership with 100,000 subscribers does not mean that 100,000 people saw your brand name, let alone used the info to make a decision that effects your profit.

Are we too comfortable accepting the ROI measurements for traditional media?