The Future of Social Media

The guys over at InsidePR had an interesting discussion on the future of Social Media prompted by Collin Douma.

Some interesting thoughts after listening to the discussion.

Currently there is a lack of leadership that is moving social media into a prominent position. I consider groups like David and Terry, FIR, Jaffe, Chapman, etc as the pioneers/champions of social media and momentum is building. I think we need more leaders to get us to the tipping point for social media where it becomes common for agencies to push the concepts with clients buying in. As you pointed out, this will ultimately result in a change in the fundamentals of marketing.

I also think it will be a blend of disciplines. I work in the interactive department of a full service agency and in our attempts to promote social media concepts to clients you have the Interactive, PR and Marketing guys making the pitch. Each brings key components to the table for a successful social media campaign.

Another interesting point is that some people feel the medium may not be for selling. For social media to really change the fundamentals of marketing, and for companies to get on board, there has to be some component that creates action; action that can be tracked or reviewed in some sense.

It's an interesting conversation that will require time and testing to flush out the future.  It begets the question, Where can you implement social media?