[IDK who these people are, but they look like fun.]

Social media meet marketing. It’s only ONE strategy. And not even a really great one. Although it can produce results (but how do you measure influence?), it should not be relied on and certainly shouldn’t replace existing campaigns. Advertising, branding, marketing communications in general has worked pretty well so far.

By nature, social media relies on a market that may not necessarily be there, or at least where you are. It’s like going to a bar. It sounds like fun with your friends, but the probability is high that you’ll end up partying with the same people, hung over and leaving alone. That sucks.

So many weekends friends ask, What do you want to do? Or the variation: What’s everyone else doing? Social media, same thing.

So, what do you do? Do you keep going to the same bar in hopes that everyone will eventually catch on, or do you switch it up and try to hit another spot, a more populous spot? A new spot? Then you start thinking, Maybe I should try happy hour during the week? And then it’s all, What do I wear — the widget or the blog?

Social media, like dating or the lack of (really why we’re hanging out with friends) is complicated. You have to work it, but not too hard. It has to integrate in such a way so that it doesn’t look and feel like you’re trying. At least with your friends, you have a buffer, a wing man — someone to pump you up, make you look good; someone to swoop in and swoop out. At the very least, you have someone to share a beer with in an empty bar.

But who’s social media’s wing man?