social media advocates take a ride on the Hyperbole Train to Sillyville

Social media marketing stole my woman and ravaged my cattle

Forgive me, I was going to title this post something more subtle like, “Social media’s sin of omission,” but as a blogger shamelessly vying for your attention, I find myself succumbing to the very social media marketing arms race of “say what?!” that I want to push back on.

I know, as a marketer, it’s politically incorrect to be anything less than doe-eyed ga-ga about the Wonder Bread that is social media. And to a certain degree that’s justified. Social media has given customers more power, visibility, and voice — all great things! — which has helped many good and deserving companies gain recognition and caused many not-so-good companies to squirm like worms on the YouTube hook.

However, every now and again — and with greater frequency as of late — social media advocates take a ride on the Hyperbole Train to Sillyville and suggest that businesses shouldonly use social media to build their market. The rallying cry is thatpush marketing such as advertising is dead — or at least badly wounded and limping to the nearest bar — whilepull marketing, such as organic search engine optimization (SEO) and social network interactions on Facebook and Twitter, is now the reigning champion of the marketing world.

Continues @ http://www.chiefmartec.com