New Version Of Social Media Release Lacks Essentials

The evolution of the social media release took another step this week with the unveiling of the Social Media Group’s Digital Snippets. The template (click here for the PDF) differs from the Todd Defren and Shift Communications’ industry standard in several ways, mostly in providing a basic content menu of items for the online user instead of the narrative, digital resource hybrid from Shift’s.

See their application of it with Ford Motor Company here.

The new version is being talked about by industry thought leaders like Geoff Livingston and Paul Gillin, among others, but no one seems to notice the void in what I’ve always considered one of the essential elements of the SMR: embracing context.

Yes, the template includes all the buzz words: del.icio.us, Technorati and “third party” but look closer and you see the references are all to outbound traffic. The template basically says you can share information about this product or company (Digital Snippits was developed in Social Media Group’s work with Ford Motor Company) but we don’t really want to make it easy for you to see an independent third party’s review of it.

Sure, there’s a “Community” at the bottom with links to “third party” websites, but embracing the context of your product or service within the community is a key element to building credibility there.

Todd And’s presentation on Defren’s original template clearly circles the purpose-driven del.icio.us bookmarks (third party, but brand selected), Technorati tags and Links To Relevant Coverage as methods of embracing context. The Digital Snippets template seemingly leaves those out.

While I certainly think the Digital Snippets approach is something to be applauded and will certainly be more digestable for the social media-nervous executives, in my opinion, it isn’t a step forward in the evolution of the social media release.

Other Links You’ll Find Interesting:

1. If I Could Change One Thing About The Social Media Release
2. The Unbearable Idiocy Of Brands: Ford Runs Over Its Fansumers
3. Not New, Not Even Improved (not about Digital Snippets, but related)
4. Elements Of The Social Media Release
5. Social Media Release Useless?

[tags]socialmediarelease, social media release, Digital Snippets, Ford, Ford Motor Company, Social Media Group, social media[/tags]