Is this Reality
Reality and Social Media
Why is there so much focus on twitter and the list of influencers and how much does this really matter?
It’s easy to get sucked into this “influencing” story and look for followers, highlight the impressions and even game the system by finding the publishers of influencer lists or maybe even making your own influencer list
But how much does this all really matter?
Not much as Mark Schaefer recently pointed out in Twitter is not reality: The fatal flaw of influencer lists where he descended for the first time to use the words
it’s hooey. Ca-ca poo poo
We all seek validation and want to be part of a tribe. It’s inbuilt in our genes and make up no matter where you come from or who you are. Twitter is just another version of a tribe, as is Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and beyond. But the trouble with twitter as identified in the Pew Research Article: Sizing Up Twitter Users
U.S. adult Twitter users are younger and more likely to be Democrats than the general public. Most users rarely tweet, but the most prolific 10% create 80% of tweets from adult U.S. users
Not the best representation especially when companies are seeking realistic feedback on their products and services. As Mark points out Twitter bubbles to the top because accessing the data on the platform is (still) possible and easy with the readily accessible API and “measuring” can be automated making it easy to produce reports and provide quick real-time feedback.
Measuring blog posts, video blogs (vlogs) and podcasts is much harder but more relevant. Perhaps there will be some progress in automating the measurement and assessing of these formats and content, but in the meantime, I’d recommend using some reasoned human intelligence in assessing the value of these influencers and perhaps spending more energy on the production of real content that informs your audience and customers.
You might not be able to measure the results and link it back directly but you’ll see it in the overall metrics of your customers who are worn down by the constant waves lists and content that offers limited insight or value to them.
We Seek Stories
We may have moved to digital transmission but most of the world continues to crave interesting and memorable stories told eloquently that offer a point or purpose. Remember the feeling you enjoyed when you got to curl up and read a really good book or have it read to you when you were younger. Try replicating that experience rather than focusing on the metrics and influence quotient.
