Debunking the Myth of the “Social Superhero”

- September 16, 2010 by Elizabeth Anderson

You know the type: he’s touted in our industry for his ability to boost sales in a single bound. But the truth is, your Social Superhero needs the help of a few sidekicks to be truly effective.

The impact of social media on consumer behavior has been the hot topic of industry conversations for the last two years. You’ve seen the headlines: "Social Media Is Where It’s At," "It’s the Game Changer," "It’s the Next Big Thing."  Unfortunately in many instances, the potential for social media to impact consumer behavior – and as a result, a brand’s bottom line – is grossly overestimated, and false expectations are created. 

Enter the Social Superhero! Born of hype and misinformation, the Social Superhero is hailed as the magic solution that every brand has been missing. The Social Superhero is the incredibly effective and virtually free solution to growing your brand and driving sales. The Social Superhero enables you to significantly impact your bottom line and take the global market by storm simply by engaging a few consumers and capitalizing on their network. The expectation is that "your friend comments about your brand in the social space, then their friend comments, then twenty of their friends join in. Before you know it, there is serious momentum, and your brand is rocketed towards success and total world domination.” Unfortunately this is almost never the case.

Recently, Mashable.com shared their Top 5 Successful Social Media Strategies. Of the five examples mentioned, not a single one was deployed by a brand with less than a billion dollars in annual sales. Of course Gap, Disney, AOL, Starbucks and Mountain Dew are going to have some success with social media campaigns; but this fact has less to do with the power of social media and more to do with the fact that each of these brands is supported in most cases by millions of dollars in traditional advertising spend.

This isn’t to say that social media activity has no value for organizations smaller than the ones referenced above. Social media can be incredibly effective. But the key to success in the social space is setting the appropriate expectations. The real Social Superhero is your strategy. By incorporating social media activities into an integrated marketing, PR and advertising plan, you can support strategic goals and provide significant value for your brand. Social media may not be the “magic solution” it is often billed as, but through thoughtful exploration of goals, resources and objectives you can incorporate social media tools into your marketing plans and make an impact on your brand.

Related article: Social Filtering – Why some ideas get shared and others fail

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