So close to getting Social media...

Over the last couple of years agencies have been pushing their employees to understand and speak Social to their clients.  Unfortunately, a lot of clients did not have the capacity (or willing) to learn the language.  Some were smart enough to hire employees that could speak the language but they were handicapped with how much influence they had. However, agencies have been diligent in getting their clients on board and some clients even participated in the space. Now, lets be clear there are clients that get Social and are all over the space.  But I am talking about the conservative companies that have been budgets and think Social is only Facebook/Twitter.

Clients crude understanding of the Social language is in the form or Likes/Follows. This is simple enough to understand and they measure everything by it.  I can imagine agencies getting RFPs from clients that have Social as a component, which says, "1MM Likes/Fans on Facebook by the end of the year" and its August.  I get it, Facebook is a beast in the space but it is not the only Social output out there.  The list is incredible and there are outputs that you would never consider Social but it is.  Nonetheless, clients think they have learned the language of Like/Follow; as such, that is the basis for all things.

But we all know it is not that easy.  Clients first need to develop a dedicated strategy for Social not tack it on as an after thought. That Social is not just Facebook but all outputs that are relevant and deliver on strategy.  That a digital media spend is required to support a Social campaign.  And that metrics are beyond just Likes/Follows.  These are the things clients do not want to hear because they thought they were so close to getting Social media.

Of course they are relying on their agencies to break it down or translate the language for them. The debate now is - do agencies have the expertise in-house? Should clients look to agencies that specializes in Social media? How soon before the big media conglomerates start gobbling up small Social media shops?  We all have seen that deck circulating about how to plan and measure Social.

As agencies battle to speak Social to clients, metrics/accountability evolving, ad models become more refined - we all will need a re-education because we were so close to getting Social media! Social is not just social but how does it thread through the entire client marketing strategy.