Great post! Business has evolved in dozens of ways over the years. Accounting practices, IT infrastructure, traditional marketing. Remember when having a website was cutting edge?

We have to remember that any evolution of a business practice should be building on and adapting what we are already doing that works. Yes, some things will be obsolete and fall away naturally. Others will stay in fundamentals, but adapt to new tools or technologies.

What remains the same is that we’re all about being in business to better provide something of value to customers. Social media tools are but one way to facilitate those relationships, the same way client golf games and handwritten thank you notes have done for ages. We can’t throw the baby out with the bath water just because we have a shiny object to play with.

Social media is powerful and holds great potential to help companies come back to building relationships with their customers. But as you so wisely pointed out, it’s not the end all be all, and someday, many of these things will be as ubiquitous as email.

Thanks for your insights.

But to respond to thePuck above: If you are selling technology products and focusing on people under a certain age because that demography is not your target market and doesn’t understand how the gizmo works, may I plant the idea in your head that senior citizens network everywhere – with other seniors over McDonalds’ coffees and mahjong games, with their mailman and hair cutter and tax accountant.

By sharing the benefits (and drawbacks) of your product to non-target demographics, you are enabling people you’d otherwise not consider to tell other people beyond your scope about you and your brand, they will all tell their kids (who may not know your company) and you get sales and reputation and respect.

And although I am a young professional, I guess I am one of those “old souls” who still prefers the slick pages of a magazine to the bright lights of a computer screen.

I agree that digital will continue to be even more important going forward. But I don’t believe people will stop watching local TV news or reading local newspapers – whether online or in print. They’ll continue to have a place in media relations campaigns, whether as the focus or as a component of social media outreach.

Glad you’re part of the discussion. We need more smart thinking like this.

The social movement signifies a shift in how people consume information, and that shift is generational as much as it is technological. Traditional media is caught in that limbo justifying its existence in the face of a clear revolution in the way information is delivered and consumed and holding to the business models and tenants of balanced reporting of a previous generation.

I do think, however, that we are in an interim step between the affinity for opinion-driven content found on the Web and the balance and fair reporting found in traditional media. In the end, I think that traditional will become a component of social campaigns, supporting areas where online and mobile can’t reach.

Will be interesting to see how things settle out. Just happy to be part of the discussion.

Thanks

My point is that it has great uses, but those uses aren’t perfect for accomplishing all the marketing/PR/communications goals for most companies. Social media isn’t a one-size-fits-all.

Thanks for sharing your insights!