The problem is that the evidence that social media marketing has been a mass delusion is piling up and reaching a point at which it is becoming hard to hide from. To wit:
– A recent report published in the Harvard Business Review says: “Across 16 studies, we found no evidence that following a brand on social media changes people’s purchasing behavior….nor does it spur purchasing by friends.” (This study, by the way, had some serious flaws of its own which I discuss here.)
– In a study by Duke University, the American Marketing Association and Deloitte, over 88% of senior marketers surveyed said they could find no measurable impact from social media marketing.
– A study by Forrester Research reported that only .07% — that’s 7 in ten thousand — of a major brand’s Facebook followers ever engage with one of its posts.
– Coca-Cola’s Global marketing chief Marcos de Quinto said, “Social media is the strategy for those who don’t have a…digital strategy.”
The silly idea that people want to go online and have conversations about their toothpaste or their tires only makes sense if you understand the fantasy land in which marketing people live — an alternate universe of meatballs who are “passionate about brands.”