UnSelling: The New Customer Experience

Chapter 60Social Media Success Is None of Your Brand's Business

When it comes to the concept of UnSelling and social media, the key is to remember that the best way to have your product, service, or content spread is by creating amazing products, service, or content. We go to social media for selfish purposes—because our friends are there, to watch funny videos, and to share our lives online. We don't go there for commercials.

The thing is, no one really wants to be social with their watches, jeans, or toilet paper.

We fell in love with social because it created communities for us around the world. We could stay in touch with friends we never got to see anymore and share the day-to-day stuff that make us all human. Brands were sold on the idea of being part of social media because we were all there, and they treated social as they would commercial space on our favorite TV shows. Brands set up shop, pushed out their messages, and waited for the windfall to hit.

The problem is that no matter how many search engine optimization (SEO) tricks they played or money they paid, we just kept finding ways to ignore them. The companies that did cool, human, actually social things succeeded. Those that thought they could buy or push their way into a spot in our feed had to continue to find new ways to trick us for each and every click.

When we love products or have great experiences, we share them with other people. We tell stories. Social media didn't create this; we used to use cave walls ...