Can You Force the Conversation? Should You?

I've written my fair share of articles and posts lately blasting away against social media. That's why I thought it was a good idea to throw one out there that actually SUPPORTS the idea of social media. After all, as much as I can lament the way that it's promoted, the reality remains that social media is a powerful force...one that CAN be creatively harnessed to help improve both your brand and your bottom line. That's why an article published over at Advertising Age today leaves me wondering about how often the conversation is as important as the conversion.

Abbey Klaassen writes:

Now there's been a lot of debate back and forth recently about the value of social media marketing. Some swear by it as the most effective way to build links, others claim that it rarely results in sales, still others claim that it's all in the way you approach it. I've often wondered just how it all fits together myself.

As I think about it, I realize that I'm moving towards a more solidified viewpoint.

See, the issue with social media is a question of whether it happens naturally or is forced. Now there's nothing wrong with planting seeds to get the buzz going, but there seems to be a very clear divide between the success of "buzz" that is forced through the creation of an idea and the success of "buzz" that happens as the natural result of something else.

When Sony tried to force buzz with their "All I want is a PSP" blog, they fell flat. When Mentos embraced the natural buzz that came from the popular Mentos and Diet Coke video, they scored a hit.

So maybe the lesson here is that companies need to learn how to embrace and run with an idea that falls in their lap rather than working so hard to create the idea. The ability to react quickly to take advantage of a situation is one of the strong points of the small business market.

Maybe it's time to stop focusing on finding ways to create buzz and to start focusing on putting yourself in a position to inspire buzz.