The social media fervor is pushing people, brands, government and hosts of others on a frenetic pace to build cult-like followings.  The risk here is witnessing the failure of these purported stakeholder relationships when these followers look behind the curtain and find Oz is a crusty old man spewing nothing but false promises.

History is littered with companies failing to adapt quick enough as consumers and markets change, and not engaging with stakeholders in social media is the next black hole.  Social media, however, is but one means – albeit increasingly powerful and important – of building relationships with your audiences.  It’s another tool in your communication arsenal, and long before you even think of dipping your toe into the pool, re-examining your brand and how it plays out both offline and online is the second most crucial step.

The first is accepting that consumers are in charge and they’re expectations are on the rise.  They demand more choices – in products and services, where they shop and eat, and where they get their information. They engage in conversations about products and issues – hardly paying any attention to the old school, one-way message marketing tactics – and more often than not, those discussions don’t directly include you, me or any other brand.

Couple the power of consumer control with the realization of the dynamics of a changing marketplace with intense global competition, and brand strategies should become a more frequent priority for any company.  But, please, for the love of whomever you pray to, a brand is so much more than a logo or tagline.  A brand is your competitive advantage that differentiates you from your competition.  News flash: It’s how others perceive you, and you can leave it to them to shape your brand or proactively do it yourself.

Think of this about your brand well in advance of spending 30 seconds to create your Twitter account (what’s more, long before executing any marketing tactic, including the news release):

•    A brand must consistently deliver on expectations
•    At the core of a meaningful brand relationship is a compelling story and a memorable product experience that is attractive enough to repeat
•    A brand is more about what people say after you’ve left the room than what you say about yourself

Successful brands reflect character – who you are and what you stand for, and clarifying that character is paramount.  It’s the centerpiece of an authentic and transparent brand proposition.  Following that, look at your vision for success, scrutinize your markets and competitors; then identify your points of differentiation and build your brand proposition that is strategic and salient, authentic, transparent, and credible.

Ready?  Not quite.  Have you taken the time to listen to how your stakeholders perceive your brand now and how, or if, they’ll engage with you in the future?  When you’re ready to get this far, listen to them and, here’s the catch, fix your vulnerabilities – from operations to marketing – dip your toe into the pool and deliver value.

Related posts:

San Diego Social Media Symposium: It’s About Genuine Consumer Experiences

Social Media is About Staying Relevant

Message to Brands: Be Quiet and Listen

Jumping Into Social Media Without Strategy is Preparing for Doom

Social Media 101: Customer Satisfaction is Key

Take Action: 5 Reasons to Provide Customer Service Via Social Media

Considering a Blog? Some Favorite Quotes and an NST White Paper

Why Public Relations Should Drive Social Media

Social media is changing the way companies and brands connect and interact in real time with customers and consumers. Specific social media platforms may be fads, but social media itself is here to stay and any company that wants to attract new customers and build their sphere of influence needs to learn how to use it effectively and responsibly.

Currently, there seems to be a whirlwind of confusion blowing through the marketing world as to who should manage social media initiatives and develop the strategies that drive a company’s participation in the Groundswell. What’s more, the recent rise of social media marketing in a struggling economy has created a mad dash for dwindling marketing dollars among PR, interactive, Web marketing and traditional advertising agencies. With traditional ad spending projected to drop considerably over the coming year, the competition to manage a client’s social media marketing initiatives is starting to heat up. Here are three reasons why the public relations industry is best positioned to spearhead and manage social media marketing efforts.

1. Social Media is a long-term commitment to listening, conversing, and understanding customers and consumers – which will cultivate brand advocates. Only with a clear sense of internal purpose should a company enter into this online/real time conversation. Thus, social media marketing should start with and revolve around positioning and messaging – both cornerstones of the public relations industry and its strategic planning process. If there was ever a time for a company to step back and understand who they are, what they believe, and what they can deliver – this is it.
2. Strong branding has always been about influence rather than control. The way to achieve influence is not through one-way advertising channels, but through observing and participating in two-way conversations with key audiences – something PR professionals practice daily. Social media should be used to help shape influence and opinion rather than attempting to control it, and its the storytelling element of Public Relations – making a company’s vision and values come to life through powerful stories – that translates most effectively in this area.
3. Although many view social media as technology-driven, it is unmistakably communications-driven. Social media is still “media,” and PR professionals specialize in working with those that create content or “editorial,” – and the opportunities or issues (crises) that may arise from such content. Interactive agencies may have a strong handle on the technology that drive the individual platforms, but at the end of the day it’s the conversation, message or call to action that matters – technology is only the vehicle that enables such. Like writing, pitching, client counsel or crisis management, social media is another important communication tool. Without competent communication skills, the tool becomes useless and the social media marketing initiative will fail. In many ways social media is simply public relations in an online setting.

As blogging is a form of social media, and social media is about information sharing and community dialogue, I’d like to end each NST blog post with a musical recommendation. Spevak’s “Hot Pick” for June is The Felice Brothers. If you like Dylan, The Band or just plain darn good songwriting – check these guys out!