Screw Engagement, More Glitter!

I like glitter. A lot. For heaven’s sake, I have been known to rock a gangsta chain made entirely out of huge crystals on top of a shirt covered with sequins. If it’s sparkly, I am usually on board. Hell, most of the time I am driving the shimmer train all the way to sparkleville. As pro-twinkle as I am, sometimes too much is too much.  Sparkle’s an accent, not a wardrobe. Glitter can’t be special and exiting when there’s tinsel everywhere. I know it’s usually not my style start a blog post with a soliloquy devoted entirely to shiny things, but this time I’ll make an exception.

Now this “sparkle manifesto” can be applied directly to what’s happening in Social Media right now. Currently we’re suffering from glitter overload.  Every brand is launching a new game, viral video, foursquare badge, Facebook meme, and etc.  There’s just so much glitter everywhere that consumers’ eyes are being singed out by the reflection.  As clever as these campaigns may be, they are limited. The content is only relevant for a limited amount of time, to a limited audience, with a limited purpose. What happens in when the badges disappear, the game come down, and the videos are done? For a lot of brands it means they’re left naked. They’ve gotten so caught up in the glitter that they forgot to invest in the basics.

One of the old adages I use all the time is,  “Social Media is not campaign based, but a campaign can be Social Media based.” In short, you have to keep the conversation going- it’s not a hit and run channel.  I see a lot of brands spending a lot on big bold “viral Social Media” campaigns that have little to no engagement component to them. Many of the day-to-day social activities are left undeveloped.  Strip back the interesting guerrilla marketing effort and there’s no actual consumer dialogue. Perhaps I am wrong, but I thought that was one of the main components of a true Social Media program.

Maybe I am being a selfish consumer here, but instead of trying to be the next big thing, I’d prefer a company that listens to it’s customers. Bonus, if they take time to write clever responses. Double bonus if their business changes as a result of the conversations that they’ve had.  Instead of doling out diamonds like they’re pennies, is it too much to ask companies to focus on building up the basics? Commit to engagement. Share exciting and relevant content. Create a rock solid and informative listening program. Evolve your business practices. Don’t just spam me with sparkle. I hope companies can evolve their thinking beyond the campaign and build real conversations that will endure.

NB: A little well placed sparkle never hurt anyone- just make sure you have a killer dress to wear it with.