Social media is the answer - but what was the question?

In a panel discussion at Web 2.0 Expo in San Francisco the enterprise use of social media were discussed by the ubiquitous social media researchers Jeremiah Owyang, Charlene Li and Peter Kim. The discussion is perfectly summerized in blog posts by Jennifer Legio and Lauren McKay.

The conclusions may feel familiar. Companies, especially the senior management, need to understand what social media is really about. It's not about campaigns it's about relations. Great use of social media demands cultural change.... The bottom line, as so often in marketing: To few companies understand.

Or. Is it researchers that don't understand? And social media geeks?

In the end of the day good marketing communication is about addressing the customer's needs in a way that make them buy as often, as much and as pricy as possible. A dialogue can't be a goal, it's a mean.

Made with enthusiasm and passion a Facebook group can be a great asset for brand building, word-of-mouth and dialogue. Same thing goes for Twitter or Myspace .

But a lot of customers don't care about you that much they will be friends of yours on Facebook. Often they may care but they rather want to visit your store, hang out with other customers in real life, listen to good music, shop great stuff and feel pampered. After all that's why you invest in your store, isn't it?

At Moosecatch we love social media. We love the dialogue with friends, business partners and our future customers. But we think it's to important to make it fit in any company, in any situation. Because it doesn't. Goal first, means then.