I was having a conversation with a colleague here at Metia recently, where he brought up a point that's hard to argue: Social Media is more than just Facebook and Twitter.  While it may seem obvious, it's worth thinking about.

Social Media, by its very definition, is about the Medium--and the medium is really only the vehicle that allows, or merely amplifies a social behavior.  Social without Media still occurs, in the form of face-to-face word of mouth.  Media without Social is simply a broadcast: one-way communication from a brand to its customer. 

By limiting the discussion of social media to Facebook and Twitter, we leave out every other social-sharing tool out there, including the other two "biggies:" YouTube and LinkedIn.  You'll also leave out Google+, Flickr, FourSquare, Digg, StumbleUpon, Tumblr, Evite, Pandora, Spotify, Ask, and all kinds of blogs, forums, community sites, and even email and IM. 

Maybe it's outside of the scope of "media," but it's also important to remember that social sharing is still done the old fashioned way: word of mouth.  Entrepreneur Magazine recently reported on a study done by Keller-Fay, that found that 91 percent of respondents' information about brands came as a result of face-to-face conversations or over the phone. Just seven percent of word-of-mouth conversations about brands occurs online. 

Marketers focusing only on Facebook and Twitter should re-think their definition of word of mouth marketing.  I like the definition by the Word of Mouth Marketing Association:

"WOMM - Any business action that earns a customer recommendation."

You're doing word of mouth marketing whenever you do the following:

• Deliver better products and services
• Provide a great customer experience
• Follow through on excellent customer service
• Use advertising to create awareness and appreciation
• Mobilize brand advocates
• Engage with customers through social media

How is your marketing earning a customer recommendation?