With so many media platforms to chose from it’s no wonder Google feel the need to offer us more. The search engine giant has recently revealed plans to develop a system that challenges the need for social media marketing professionals.

The idea is simple: Google sees you engage with a link and allows you to share it onto other platforms so other users can access it. It does this by utilising a pop-up system that explains how you can share the link on social media. Google will then recognise content within your email – in the same way that Facebook analyses your conversations – and recommend similar topics/themes. For example, if you were sharing a new book Google may suggest ideas for copy that will allow users to show their followers their “favourite book”.

Is this going too far?   The growing company already dominated the search engine market, and Adwords is becoming more and more pricey. Google’s attempt to become a prominent player in the social media-marketing scene sees them try to predict the engagement from a link shared in an email. It is all built on email communication. Email can be an effective form of communicating, yes, but a more holistic marketing approach is still needed if audiences are to be truly engaged.

A further problem with Google’s idea is that social media strategies are specific to the client with whom you are working – and their desired results. One strategy that works for one may not work for another, and social media marketers are far more likely to recognise and overcome this.  Targeted branding is essential, but an automated system that does not understand user needs is unlikely to be able to replicate the skills of a person.

Google’s proposal will also damage the brand-customer relationship that is so integral to the popularity and success of social media. Facebook, Instagram, and other social media platforms are story-telling tools that facilitate brand recognition and improve customer service. Trying to replace social media marketers with algorithm-generated material is a move unlikely to replicate the same personable content that social media users have come to expect.

Although the idea facilitates easier sharing, whether it will be enough to outweigh the work done by skilled social media professionals has yet to be seen.

By Rebecca Guest, Shake Social Intern.