Just like in any piece of writing, social media can be analyzed, criticized and canonized in many different ways. In the typical college undergrad English course, students are taught to analyze a piece of writing by going through the process choosing a selection and expanding outward within that context in order to gain an understanding of the piece in its entirety. Likewise, in social media it is critical to place an emphasis on one area of the field in order to gain a better understanding of the benefits of social media as a whole. But could it be possible to place so much emphasis on building a business marketing strategy that the value of the conversation is diminished? While SM Playbook makes a strong and well thought out plan of attack for a social media campaign, it foregoes the most important aspect of social media; conversation.

In 2009 Social Marketing Playbook, the summation of social media can be described as sort of a process of modification: “After the brainstorm, it’s time to modify those ideas by looking at them from different angles to craft them into something cohesive and strategic” (pg19). It is important to note the use of “different angles” and “cohesive” in the context of social media. According to SM Playbook, when a business enters into the social space, it has to be able to maintain its branded attributes while also being able to adapt to each environment it has interactions with. This makes a lot of sense in that different audiences tend toward specific social mediums. Yet, there is a thread of commonality that brings them into these spaces: conversation. Even with a strong strategy and well laid out plan, without conversation the overall goal cannot be achieved.

Conversation is the key that drives much of social media, whether it is a network on LinkedIn or a comment left on a blog. In addition to that, conversations are being led by none other than the consumers. This means that a business must not only drive conversation, but they must participate. While the Playbook focuses on ways in which to get fans and build communities, there is no “plan” for continuing maintenance and relationship building. After all, customers and friends are going to be more loyal and reliable when the conversation is, well, present. When a business attempts to join in to the social media space, they have to remember that “it’s important to maintain consistent messaging and always relate back to your core brand attributes” (pg 20). Joining this idea with that of a community conversation, a business is not only going to build their brand, but they will personify that brand to reach out to the consumer, on the consumer’s level. Naturally, this leads us to question the different types of conversations that might be had throughout each social realm.

SM Playbook lists Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube as the three top social “arenas” on the internet. Statistically, these are possibly the biggest networks. The effectiveness of them, however, depends on a business’ strategy. In this part of the Playbook, the author makes an important note that the value of understanding these platforms is critical if a business wants to stay abreast of the latest social media innovations. This means that they not only need to know the effective components of each platform, but also which of those will be effective for the business. Because the Playbook focuses on strategy of building rather than conversation, it would easily follow that major distinctions in conversation between the different platforms would also be overlooked.

Conversations in Facebook typically revolve around basic interactions and sharing, and the passing along of certain applications between groups of friends. Likewise, it is now a popular place to update your “status,” which has gone from “what I am currently doing” to “my current thought.” In a similar way, Twitter is a shortened conversation, happening at 140 characters an update. However, when it comes to a business in conversation, Twitter is better served as a medium for relaying information and knowledge to consumers. In the Playbook, there is a helpful list on marketing with Twitter effectively. Unlike Facebook, Twitter provides plenty of opportunity for a business to act as a customer service, a personal connection, CRM, and a human all at 140 characters at a time (pg 29). On the other end of the social scale is Youtube. While conversations are had in this portal, they vary widely in terms of content and intention. In terms of intention, they are most helpful as being a tool for knowledge, something viral to pass along to others, and as a means of transferring information from one source to another. In terms of conversation, they are used as the attention grabber, and are more efficient in conveying a message, as it is quicker to watch a video than to read a blog.

Because social media exists in different forms and is practiced on so many different levels, it is important to understand how it can be used for your business in addition to understanding the value of it through conversation. When creating a social media strategy, 2009 Social Marketing Playbook will lead you through the plays and help to establish an efficient campaign. But in the end, remember: if you don’t have conversation, you don’t have successful social media.