Think Beyond 'Outside the Box' with Social Media

Too many times recently I have seen companies embrace social media through their lenses. All too obvious is the company that creates some sort of portal/blog/community/other that is only relevant to their marketing team or IT department.

This is a recipe for disaster. When will we learn.

True success is still in the hands of the customer. Give them the social media they want, on their terms. Monitor it, measure it, follow it, and most of all let the customer ‘own’ it.

It may not be obvious. A ‘soccer mom’ might not want the latest community on keeping a tidy house community from P&G, but she might be interested in how other moms are helping their Girl Scouts sell more cookies. There is potential there. How to bring it to fruition is not easy…. But essential.

A social media concept must bring value to the customer. When it delivers on that value proposition, the community builds, and you have your audience to work with. Key here, audience to ‘work with’.

One final thought, DO NOT just build the audience and then start dumping ads on them. That will work against the ultimate goal.

Slippery Slope to the Bottom

Interpublic today announced a deal with SocialVibe. Bottom line, this is a BAD idea. Paying consumers to endorse brands and promote to friends is a slippery slope.

On the surface it looks great- winning points to redeem for charitable contributions. Finally liking Madison Avenue and social media. A win for all

I dissent. Take the concept to its logical conclusion. In order to meet the growing demands of its clients (or worse yet- Wall Street) more consumers need to be enticed to promote brands… so what happens?

First is the ‘commoditization’ of the charitable cause. We lose site into making a difference, and contributing to an actual cause. It becomes a media platform to stand on and say, ‘hey look at me’. People can, and will, start syndicating how much of a difference they are making. Yet, beneath the surface it is nothing more than self aggrandizement. In the long run, charitable causes lose communities, as constituents are pulled further from their cause, and not closer to.

Worse yet, SocialVibe and Interpublic start increasing the stakes. They award points that can be redeemed for actual products or services. Then the model falls completely apart, and we get a bunch of ‘brand sell outs’ (I dare not use the more derogatory term) who care nothing about the products they endorse. Soon spam takes on a whole new form as people try to make a few extra dollars using every knows social media tool to promote whatever it is they sign up for to their contact lists.

In either case, brands loose. In both cases the long term sustainability of the model is limited at best. Smart marketers beware.

Then again, I could be wrong. This could be the whole new model. I am not betting my $.02 on it, nor the non-profit on sit on the board for. Their mission is too important.

Listen Before You Leap

Recently I was at a dinner with some friends. Before I knew it I had ‘opened my mouth, and inserted my foot.’ My failure: too much excitement in wanting to jump in and participate in the conversation. The result: strange looks, my backpedaling, and a long recovery to re-engage (thankfully a few more glasses of wine helped ease that transition).

We are on the brink of social media fundamentally driving and affecting the way companies engage with consumers, constituents, and other stakeholders—both on-line and off-line. The buzz is everywhere. The taste is palpable on the lips and tongues of corporate types and start-ups alike. When the economy truly begins its recovery, my prediction is social media will take off, hitting new heights not forecast before.

My fear is companies will pull the ‘Speed of Internet Trigger’ and want to move fast into social media spaces when their budgets permit. My cautions: avoid the damaging harm of trying to move too fast; avoid waiting until budgets free to start you social media planning as it causes a significant increase in risk.

So, what is the solution? My recommendation is that you start listening before you leap. I have blogged in the past about listening to your customers. It is a low cost, low risk way to start truly understanding today, so that you can act intelligently tomorrow. You do not have to act, yet. But when you do, it will be with grace and elegance, as you will better understand how and where to act appropriately.

You cannot smooth over the ‘foot in mouth’ syndrome with your social media efforts with a few extra glasses of wine.

Your Brand is Out of Your Control

It’s an anathema to brand and marketing folks around the globe, but it’s true. Social media has thrown a huge wrench in brand control. Gone are the yesteryears where internal brand and marketing teams carefully crafted messages, controlled content delivery and carefully measured responses.

In today’s dynamic digital media economy, for all the claims that brand and marketing folks make, they just cannot exhort the same kind of control. There are too many blogs, wikis, videos, usenet groups, and the like for anyone, even Google, to get their arms around.

That being said, you should not give up. There is huge opportunity, even better than before, for your brand. Yes, the tables have flipped, it puts ‘the people’ in control of your messaging and branding. That is good!

Embrace it, use it, and learn from it. If you engage in serious and open dialogue, if you react that conversation, you will win in the market place.

Why?

It puts the customer square back in the middle of the bull’s-eye. We have gotten too far from that, as many a company claim the customer is their #1 focus, but really not. I bet you can name at least 10 companies where you think they have lost that magic.

If you let down the barriers, let the customers control the brand and respond openly (ie admitting mistakes) and take action (to address their positive and negative feelings), the brand will become what you want it to be…. Delivery of the right product and/or service to the customer, with their positive endorsement.