Is Social Media Part of Your Media Buying Experience?

Submitted by Mitch Seigel on Tue, 03/08/2010

On January 14th a sleeping giant was awoken. The fall of the Tunisian President stirred the pot in Egypt. A group of Facebook friends, specifically who had dedicated a site to the 2010 fatally beaten Egyptian businessman Khalid Said, 470,000 strong, decided that it was time to act. Messages went back and forth among friends, and eleven days later on January 25th the revolution began. In just eighteen days the major Egyptian cities of Cairo and Alexandria had fallen and the Mubarak regime was defeated.

In Wisconsin, the demonstrations by pro-labor protestors continue. The Indiana Deputy Attorney General also decides to speak his voice, and he does it on Twitter. He tweets a message that the police in Wisconsin should use live ammunition. Tweets are sent among the protestors and word of Jeffrey Cox’s statement gets to the Indiana Attorney General’s office. Cox loses his job.

The most watched television program, Two and a half Men on CBS, learns that its star, Charlie Sheen is yet in trouble again. Reports of his personal problems force CBS to cancel the remaining shows for the year, and as of today, has fired Sheen. On March 1st Charlie Sheen used Twitter for the first time and proceeded to set the Guinness Book of World Records for the speed to which he got to one million followers. He now has more than one million ‘friends’ on Facebook as well, and word has it, that he is getting paid by both Twitter and Facebook to continue posting tweets and comments.

Where is all this heading?

The popularity of social media is off the map. If this doesn’t convince you to make social media part of your media buying experience, I don’t know what will. Yes, everything isn’t a fall of Tunisia or Egypt, and you may not be an Attorney General or actor, but the fact is that social media is here to stay. The look may change and the names of the popular sites may differ, but it appears that people around the world have been feeling pent up in their ability to express themselves, and social media has given them that outlet.

In my own humble opinion, I believe the transparency that has taken grip of our society today will ultimately be its own enemy. How many times have you heard the term TMI lately? Words are freely flowing and do we really need this much exposure. Aren’t some things meant to be private?

My suggestion is to actively use social media in your media buying, develop your own business and personal accounts in the social media you choose, and at the same time, take caution in what you say and how you say it. Remember, just like emails or comments sent online, social media posts will always be out there, somewhere!

What are your challenges when it comes to media buying, specifically social media? I look forward to hearing your comments.

Until next time …