Readers of this blog know that I am a social media skeptic. I acknowledge that some social marketing successes have popped up. But they have not been replicated, which indicates that, so far, they are more likely the product of randomness than indicative of a hot new marketing tool. 

This week, Advertising Age reports results from the Edelman 2010 Trust Barometer, a study that asks people their level of trust in various media messages. Only 25% of people polled consider friends and peers as credible sources of consumer and business information.
 
Now, I'm also skeptical of research that asks people to self-report their feelings. Such “research” often tells you much about respondents’ self-concept, and little about anything else. However, when this same study was done two years ago, that number was 45%. The decline gives pause, self-reporting notwithstanding.
 
Perhaps marketing’s attempt to institutionalize word-of-mouth advertising has robbed it of its very power.

Steve Cuno
 


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