17: Branding and Social Media
View the warning on the contents page regarding "facts" presented by this author.
Social media can be an effective channel for communicating regularly with customers and providing constant reinforcement for your brand, but it has been over-sold: it does not replace current channels of communication, and likely never will, but it is still powerful and significant, especially for younger customers.
And of course, it's nothing new: people have been socially networked long before technology provided the ability to do so, but it has been exceedingly difficult for the manager of a brand to participate in the conversation, or even to get others to speak of their brand to their personal acquaintances. And because word-of-mouth is the most powerful and credible medium of communication, it's important to consider the social media, but not exclusively, and only to the degree that it is used by your target audience.
Evolution of Social Media
The author reminisces about the early days of the Internet, where people connected at modem speed to visit from company-owned Web sites that were one-way distribution centers for information about companies, products, and brands.
In this time, the Web was antisocial, as sites where people could interact with one another were unknown and the approach to using it followed the broadcast-media model.
(EN: I disagree with this characterization entirely. The Web grew out of the "bulletin board systems" of the 1980's, whose purpose was to provide support to groups of people with common interests, enabling them to share resources and communicate with one another. Most companies didn't understand this and treated the Web as a broadcast medium - but the social aspect was always there, and was part of the DNA of the Internet ... it just took corporations a couple of decades to recognize it and leverage it appropriately.)
Key Players
The author describes a few different sites that are considered to be the key players in the social media space. (EN: skimming ahead, it's clear he's out of his depth, is overlooking several and including some whose star has fallen. Witness the very first "key" player he mentions ...)
The author mentions MySpace, which describes itself as "an online community where you meet your friends' friends" and lists some of the qualities of a MySpace page, primary among which is the ability to create a highly customized personal page. (EN: MySpace is now considered dead and the customization feature was widely ridiculed because most pages looked entirely trashy. For a company to "launch" a MySpace page today is a laughable and makes it seem desperate and out of touch.)
He also mentions photo and video sharing sites, Flickr and YouTube respectively, as social media sites where people can post their "work" and comment on what others have posted. (EN: These are still alive, but considered to be on the fringes of social media, as they are used for their intended purposes - file sharing - but users do not engage in a "social" way.)
Facebook, the reigning champion of social media sites, began as a site where university students could network with one another, primarily for making arrangements for offline social events. The features worth remarking are the ability to make short posts, comment back and forth, and simply to "poke" someone as a tentative first attempt at starting or rekindling a friendship. Facebook currently has half a billion users and is widely regarded to be the most popular site on the Internet.
Twitter is considered as the extension of social media to the mobile platform, enabling people to post very short test messages (140 characters) and others may "follow" a person's feed. (EN: This is also usually relegated to the fringes of social media because it is largely one-way communication rather than social interaction.)
LinkedIn is mentioned as a business-oriented social networking site, enabling people to post their resume and indicate people they know professionally. The goal of the service is to enable anyone to find a business contact by gaining an introduction from a mutual friend. (EN: LinkedIn is struggling to become truly social, but hasn't quite made the leap to getting its members to interact with one another. As such, it functions as a directory of people - much like a contacts file - rather than a social engagement site.)
(EN: A number of weaknesses are evident in the author's consideration of social media sites, aside of the remarks I've made above: primarily, he omits personal sites, bulleting boards, and chat rooms, which were around since the beginning, and whose features many of these sites merely imitate. Also, his complete omission of Blogger is a serious oversight, as it was the first site to be considered social media and, while the craze has waned, a blog is still the centerpiece of social media marketing. It also stands to mention that the social media is evolving and changing - that doesn't excuse the author's lack of familiarity, as the information was inaccurate and outdated at the time the book was published - but merely to state it will continue to evolve, and likely a book is the wrong place to seek information on something that is changing so rapidly.)
Can brands play a part in social media?
The author avers that "the short answer is yes." Social media can be an excellent way to promote a brand and leverage the social media. While some sites have attempted to keep them from polluting private conversation with spam, they have since conceded that brands wish to be a part of the conversation, and their users are willing to tolerate commercial intrusion.
However, businesses would do well to consider the reluctance with which they have been permitted access, and the apprehension that they will be as abusive of social media as they have of e-mail.
If it's done well, a social media presence can engage customers and prospects, communicate new information, and touch base with them frequently. If it's done poorly, it can disgust and repel customers and prospects and poison them against a brand - users are especially sensitive to this, and many companies get it entirely wrong.
(EN: Beyond that vague warning, the author provides little guidance on etiquette, which is a critical to being successful in the social media.)
The author makes a few stray suggestions of what might be worthwhile to post: updates about products and the company, questions that you would genuinely like them to respond to.
One word of caution is that engaging and social media, and getting it right, takes quite a lot of time. You have to engage the customers, be responsive to their comments and questions. Having a social media site and failing to react to those who attempt to engage you is like publishing a telephone number and then never answering the phone.
Points to consider
More random advice again:
Companies did not abandon print and radio simply because television came along, and there are numerous companies who have maintained strong brands for generations without doing any television advertising at all. Likely, the same will be true of the Internet and social media. It should be considered part of a total media strategy, not a replacement for all other channels.
Beware of an overly simplistic approach to social media. Many firms that are unsuccessful in social media consider it to be just another channel to pump out traditional broadcast advertising.
Don't be cheap. While social media doesn't entail high costs of material or a significant expense to develop a "spot" and pay for airtime, it requires constant attention, which means dedicated resources and a long-term approach.
Don't be short-sighted. It takes a lot of time for social media to pay off, and many become assume it isn't working when they create a company page and don't have thousands of friends and followers overnight. It's a long game and you will have to spend significant time and effort to build an audience.
Don't be inconsistent. Similar to being short-sighted, constantly experimenting and testing with social media, latching onto fads and playing with the latest gimmick to attract attention. Not only does this approach fail, but it damages your brand to be so obviously desperate for attention.
Be interactive. Social media is a conversation, not a broadcast medium. You have to be willing to listen to others, respect what they have to say, respond when appropriate, and gently direct the conversation rather than trying to dominate and control it. Many businesses are not used to this, and cannot adapt.
Don't bite off too much. Trying to keep up a blog, a Facebook account, a Twitter feed, and constant video updates to YouTube is likely more than you can handle. Start slowly, picking the venue that best suits your ability to provide regular content, and branch out if you have the capacity to do well in other venues.
Finally, don't assume you need it at all. The social media is very powerful, but doesn't live up to the hype. More to the point, it may not be a good fit for your business if your target market isn't actively using social media.
(EN: To add to this point: enthusiasts are quick to point out that people from all walks of life "use" social media - but many demographics don't use it regularly, and some people will create a profile out of curiosity and then abandon it, but are still counted as "users" of social media. The statistics are highly suspect.)