The Social Media Craze: Fact or Fiction?

It seems everywhere I turn these days I'm hearing how social media sites like Twitter and Facebook are helping businesses find customers and generate revenue. Today's NYTimes had an article in the small business section that included a recent market study on social media usage among small business owners. The study said that 51 percent of small business owners said social media sites helped them gain or keep clients.

* But Where Is the Hard Data?
Nevertheless, I'm starting to get irked by all these claims. From Dell to the small local proprietor, everyone's claiming that social media sites are boosting sales and generating revenue. But I want someone to please step up and show me the trail of glory. I have yet to see a single report, study or anecdote that shows in unequivocal terms that this particular activity on that particular social media site directly result in X amount of dollars in sales.

Until I see THIS type of data, I can't help but think that the social media craze is mainly just hype.

Our business utilizes social media sites regularly. We've received a client or two, here and there, but this was largely accidental and certainly did not happen as the result of any systematic plan. And one or two clients in two plus years of operation is hardly a horse to bet the ranch on!

To me, the social media craze is endemic of the tendency to see the Internet as the end-all-and-be-all of successful marketing. But in our opinion, this is a myopic view. Successful marketing requires the use of both traditional and Internet-based methods. It requires a comprehensive approach that doesn't put all the eggs in one basket.

Look, I'm an Internet marketer by trade. My staff is on several social media sites on a daily basis. No one would love to believe more than I that hopping on Facebook and Twitter will guarantee our business an increase in sales and clientele. But I just don't see it.

In the world of business, I think it's crucial to avoid the temptation to believe the hype without sound and conclusive evidence.