nimble fingers

Liverpool Life As promised, here's more on yesterday's Social Media Morning from the nimble fingers of Alistair Houghton of the Liverpool Daily Post. Dave Thackeray is less upbeat about the event, suggesting (I think) that it simply underlined that social media loses its soul when employed in the marketing process.

My attitude is somewhere in between.  For this consumer/potential customer, social media has meant that once monolithic institutions which were impossible to interact with have become as easily contactable as friends.  As with most things, the use of social media in marketing depends on who's doing it and how well.

The companies that miss the mark are those which are simply employing social media because they feel like they have to but don't really have the resources or drive to do it properly or most often whatever they're selling simply doesn't fit with that form of marketing.

The best examples tend to develop when the person at the keyboard has an obvious love for the product or service, which surprisingly isn't something easily faked at a hundred and forty characters. On a couple of occasions I've met such people in the real world and their passion is reflected there too.