Mitch Joel over at Six Pixels of Separation\u00a0wrote a post\u00a0titled:\u00a0 Unlike Advertising, Social Media Can\u2019t Save A Bad Brand, Product Or Service.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve\u00a0taken\u00a0issue\u00a0with\u00a0Mitch\u2019s content previously (and\u00a0also\u00a0agreed\u00a0with him).\u00a0 I\u2019m going to take issue again today.\u00a0 His headline insinuates that advertising can save a bad brand.\u00a0 Then, the only point in the post where he even mentions this again is a repetition of the title 2\/3 of the way down the post.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t back up his point \u2013 but I\u2019d challenge him to do so.<\/p>\n
Maybe it was true in a previous world, where monopolies existed on attention held by media.\u00a0 But in a fragmented media world, advertising can\u2019t save a bad brand, product or service.\u00a0 It\u2019s a total fallacy.\u00a0 Let\u2019s consider why:<\/p>\n
If your product sucks, word will spread<\/strong><\/p>\n Just like the web allows remarkable products and ideas to spread, it equally allows us to share our negative experiences with products that suck.\u00a0 Word of mouth goes in both directions.<\/p>\n You\u2019re creating false expectations<\/strong><\/p>\n If you advertise a bad product\/brand\/service, you\u2019re obviously not going to position it as being that way in the ad.\u00a0 What happens when perception meets reality?\u00a0 People are going to be unhappy, and that unhappiness is going to travel.\u00a0 It will equal negative blog posts, poor ratings\/reviews, forum threads flaming the product, etc.\u00a0 When previously media monopolies existed, the poor experiences people had with products could only spread so far, so fast.\u00a0 Now they\u00a0travel faster than earthquakes.<\/p>\n Consumers are voting with their wallet<\/strong><\/p>\n In times of plenitude, perhaps consumers would take chances on new products.\u00a0 No longer.\u00a0 Now we do our research.\u00a0 According to Internet Retailer,\u00a0a whopping 92%\u00a0of consumers conduct research online prior to making a purchase.\u00a0 If your product sucks, people are going to call you out on it, and the market will find out.\u00a0\u00a0Shoppers bite back! (that\u2019s one of 45 of my\u00a0favorite blog taglines).<\/p>\n We don\u2019t trust what\u2019s new<\/strong><\/p>\n Back in the \u201cgood old days,\u201d there were only a few brands.\u00a0 Now we suffer from not just an abundance of media, but products, brands and companies.\u00a0 In such a world, consumers don\u2019t trust what\u2019s new unless it\u2019s proven, has\u00a0social proofing\u00a0or the backing of a quality brand.\u00a0 And even with the backing of a quality brand, the advocates or passionate fans are now quick to call out something new if it does not meet expectation.\u00a0 Businesses that try to pull the wool over the eyes of consumers are not embracing a long term,\u00a0sustainable growth\u00a0strategy.<\/p>\n New ad systems reward quality<\/strong><\/p>\n Modern ad platforms flip the power of advertising to the consumer.\u00a0 Google\u2019s AdWords rewards ads that are\u00a0given a high quality score.\u00a0 Digg has\u00a0ads you can Digg or bury.\u00a0 Modern ad platforms take user feedback into the equation, changing the game of blasting interruption-based advertising.\u00a0\u00a0As Jeff Jarvis notes:<\/p>\n Google and Digg begin to reverse the economics and power of advertising: customers end up setting prices \u2013 implicitly on Google, explicitly on Digg. The better the advertisers\u2019 relationship with customers and the more relevant their message, the less marketing costs them.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n This is counter to the world Mitch alludes to with his headline \u2013 one which has already passed.<\/p>\n Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n In a fragmented media society, you\u00a0need<\/em>\u00a0people to tell each other about how great your product is.\u00a0 In essence: your product, service or brand is now your marketing.\u00a0 The idea of the\u00a0Meatball Sundae\u00a0Seth Godin describes in the book of the same name is not limited to digital marketing.\u00a0 If you tell an inconsistent story in any form of marketing (for example, advertising saying product is great while the product itself sucks) you are creating one.<\/p>\n No longer can advertising save you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Mitch Joel over at Six Pixels of Separation\u00a0wrote a post\u00a0titled:\u00a0 Unlike Advertising, Social Media Can\u2019t Save A Bad Brand, Product … <\/p>\n