Is social media a fad?  

Adam Penenberg, author of Viral Loop, a book about how companies like Twitter and Skype have built their businesses with built in viral marketing and product features, discussed this common question in his keynote at digiday:SOCIAL LA today.

He proposes that we have always been social - what is your family, your friends, your colleagues but social networks?  The telephone didn't replace physical experiences or hugging your husband.  What is a Tupperware party but a social networking campaign?

 Perhaps it's just as human to be social as it is to ask if new technologies will be fad? 

 What we - the collective "we" - seem to be asking, "Will social media be worth it? 

• Worth it for participants (consumers/business people/moms)?
• Worth it for content producers (bloggers, media companies, service providers)?
• Worth it for forum providers (Facebook or The New York Times or Google)?

 It may be worth it for one or two of those participants, but not for all. And if there is no business model in it, then it won't be sustainable.

 In traditional advertising, TV commercials were integrated throughout the show so that it kept consumers watching the commercials to see the last bit of the program.  Ad banners were moved into the center of the article to lure clicks, but now we are mostly inoculated.  Yet, the business model still relies on advertising.  Perhaps this is okay if you have huge volumes, but for most content providers, this model is broken.

Bottom line - consumers have told us from their behavior that they don't want an intrusion.  They don't respond to email marketing that is not interesting or relevant, either.

Will social marketing solve this problem?  How do we create ads that engage rather than alienate?  How do we create conversations that contribute to sales cycles?  How do we create ads that make people want to talk about them?

Some strategies that have worked and may work again if adapted to the new socialized and increasingly digital world where marketers and customers interact:

1. Pay them.  PayPal paid users $5 to join, and gave $5 if your friends signed up.  Many marketers pay real cash for product reviews.
2. Give value.  This is the genesis of B2B whitepapers and 10% off coupons.  Takes a new level of creativity to break through.
3. Blend.  Twitter links to a webpage drive email newsletter sign ups, which are nurtured to become qualified prospects.
4. Validate consumers.  Reward response to email promotions and newsletters with custom follow up messages that engage or genuinely thank them.

What is working for you?  Please tell us in comments below and let me know what you think – If social marketing is not a fad, then how (and when?!) will it earn its keep?