Last week on twitter, writing the dirty draft for this article, I claimed that social media marketer is just another word for spammer. If that upset you, don’t read the following text.

First, what are we talking about here? What is marketing? Marketing is “the commercial processes involved in promoting and selling and distributing a product or service”. And there is nothing wrong with promote and sell. But promote and sell is not how the web works. You might be able to promote. But only if you don’t sell. Thing is: All you can sell online is free stuff with sugar on top.

Contradiction in Terms

Market communication about products now happens more and more without the corporation—and that’s how we all want it to stay. We don’t need some weirdo sticking his head over our shoulders when we talk with our friends. The only trustworthy expert opinion about social media is: That social media users they’re a bad target for marketing tactics. If social media were a good place to market, facebook or digg would make loads of money. But they don’t. And the really bad news is: Social media users hate you even more if they feel that you personally target them.

Please, don’t get me wrong. There is nothing wrong with targeting, getting attention, getting your message out, there is nothing wrong with social or other media. On TV, getting attention is all you need. If you get your message out in print you’re doing really fine. And of course, companies should use the Internet for advertisement, sales and customer service.

But if Your Highness The User pays you a visit, you better have some presents for him. Give him cool TV shows, class A news, high end music, mindblowing new ideas instead. And don’t wrap your gift into a sign up form or any market research bullshit!

To your online audience an ad strategy that just tries to promote and sell feels like this:

Now, you might be surprised to hear that “the activity of attracting public attention to a product or business” in short “advertising” is doing better than ever. Well, it has changed its mechanics, it has changed its face, it has changed its name. We now call it “the Internet”.

The difference between what we used to call “advertising” and the Internet is that online you have a) no control over your message, that b) you can’t really buy attention with just money (Google Adwords? Banners? Meh… Who looks at that crap? Do you?) and c) that selling is the exception to the rule, a by the way thing.

Horse Shoes for Cars

Let me say it again: There are no social media marketing specialists. The right word for people that play tricks with social media is not “marketing specialist” but social media engineer or “spammer”. A “social media marketing specialist” is a blacksmith that sells horse shoes for cars. Of course there is Internet marketing, and the real question is: Why do the marketing guys now say “social media marketing” and not “Internet marketing”? Answer: Because “Internet marketing” sounds cheap. And it is cheap. If it’s smart, it is cheap in a good way, as it can a lot of money to both the company and the client. But, as we know, it can be cheap in a really bad way too.