I’ve been in many discussions with people who are insistent that I call “it” social media instead of new media.

In my view there is a growing component to social media that has nothing to do with social. It is not social…it is all about business.

Companies are attempting to sell product, connect with customers and influencers, launch programs, scan product reviews online and measure.

This is anything but social media. My view is companies do not know how to be social, so they should drop the facade.

Ever read an online exchange between a company representative and a consumer?  If it is a customer complaint about service or a defective product then it is authentic. Why? Because both sides are working to the same end. If it’s about anything else, it is not authentic. That representative is not speaking from the heart. He or she is trying to sell the consumer on a new product, event, promotion or new marketing initiative. Or get the consumer to take action on the company’s behalf. Ain’t real, and it comes off like it.

Now, read an online conversation between two people with different points of view. Say, an exchange between two people with differing opinions about national health care. Now, that is authentic.

There is a way for companies to be “social” but a company must give the employees the freedom to talk openly about their lives as an employee of the company. Take Zappos, for example. Those employees are tweeting about their lives.  ”Am at the coffee shop.” “Great sales meeting today.” ” Just met the chairwoman of the board of Xerox and she is cool.” Snapshots of their lives, and interesting to some.

And yes, getting people to engage on behalf of a cool new contest can be very effective. Those people want to write and video about their experiences…so it is personal.

But, tweeting, facebooking, youtubing, flickring, or using any other new media outlet to deliver messages in the name of a company is not personal and, by default, it is not social. It’s advertising. Or selling. Or marketing.

Now trust me on this…this will be the only time I ever quote Sara Palin. However, she is right when she says, “how’s that touchy feely thing workin’ out for ya?”

Companies make, market, sell, and service product lines. And they should use new media to do that. And if a company wants to engage social media, then you will need to reach into the personal lives of employees and consumers, engage them, and live with what they publish.

That’s why I call it new media. Because it’s media serving many masters, and only one of them is social media.

I’ve changed my mind. New media is not about finding the influencers. It is about attracting the influencers…with content.

Recently Channel Signal has had several companies approach it with the request of “give us your list of influencers and we will take it from there.”

Uh, noooo.

And a lot of blogs have been pontificating on the importance of locating the influencers. Of talking with them. Providing product. Making them your messengers. After quite a bit of thought, and discussions with Channel Signal analyst David Sweeney, I asked myself…

How are you gonna do that? How is a brand gonna approach an influencer and tell him or her that you really just want to use them to make more money? “Please be a low paid messenger so our brand can continue to sell more product?”

That’s like somebody coming up to you in a bar and saying, “You look like you know a lot of people in here. I’ll buy you drinks for the rest of the night if you be my friend and introduce me to your pals so that I can network into a job.”

This social media thing has gotten silly. Stupid even.

Brands will attract the influencers with excellent content placed in the right channels.

And how do you do that?

Write boldly. Be interesting. Provide information, services and game improvement techniques that make people better. And if people think you are helping them climb, run, ski, or hike better…then your brand wins.

When tweeting, think headlines or short shots of intelligence. Blogs can be more expansive with more personality. Both need to convey interesting stuff. Stuff that is…

Smart. Filled with interesting hooks. Sassy. Bold.

Target the aspirational customers with an eye to converting them to being enthusiasts. That’s your largest target market. Those are the people who will grow your brand online, and offline. And that content will attract the influencers because of its wide appeal.

Those who sell you on collecting a list of influencers and then show you how to get them to be cheap messengers are selling the allusion of control.

There is no control. The real influencers will not be your messengers. They will not be your shill for product. They will pass along your content when it is pithy. When it is interesting. Different. Appealing. When they get excited.

And that is what you want.

So, the brands in the outdoor recreational space have work to do.

Oh, and when you write content for your brand, stop selling. It’s annoying.

And buy this book, and read it.

On Writing Well

And when writing for new  media, every time you use an adjective, ask yourself…”Am I starting to sell again?”.

It surrounds every company,

penetrates every communication device.

Employees listen,

and decide if they want to reply.

.

You text, phone message or email.

Get the recorded message, the auto reply.

You need answers to fullfill the request.

Time passes; the communication link dies.

.

And months later you get the frantic call.

We’ve had a meeting

Be here tomorrow,

we’ll meet down the hall.

.

More responsive, more mobile, companies said.

But the answering machine, email, and text

have become tools of defense,

where much goes unread.

.

So, I have a question for you.

When there is a crisis,

and a critical message doesn’t get through.

Who pays the price?

Who looks like the fool?