We just had a really enjoyable lunch with friend of Display, Dean over at madmedia, when the conversation of big brands and social media came up. The rantings and ramblings there seemed like gold for a blog post. 2 hours later and here it is (how’s that for productivity on a Friday afternoon?).

This blog post is very much a starting point for lots of hopefully quite-useful insight, anecdotal thoughts and experience from products I’ve worked on – and it’s very much a work in progress, and will evolve over time both to reflect new learnings and the constantly shifting internet landscape.

Undoubtedly, big brands are fearful of making their first moves into the social space, some are doing it well, others are potentially joining a conversation that doesn’t need to happen. And, playing devil’s advocate, they have reason to be scared. Historically, their marketing activity has consisted of delivering short term campaign messaging, borne out of delivering an end goal, and the ability to control exactly how that message, or story, is created and disseminated. They’ve worked like this for years. It’s sort of the anti social media.

However the realisation is occurring that not only does social media deliver genuine business value – visibility, buzz, engagement and relationships with consumers, feedback and market research – and sales – but frequently brands have no choice. People are already talking about them and, in many cases, going further and creating and curating brand content, as a result of their own passion.

Some brands aren’t right for social media, some aren’t ready and some just want proof it can deliver business value and isn’t anything worth being scared about. I’ve tried to address some of these issues below, and will extend upon them on future blog posts.

When your brand shouldn’t be encouraging conversations in social spaces

• When you have nothing valuable to say – don’t join the conversation if you have nothing to add
• When you’re not prepared to engage with people to build relationships – genuine and meaningful relationships take time
• When you’re fearful of your messaging being manipulated, redistributed and altered – particularly if you have traditionally used broadcast media because your messaging is controversial or open to debate / if your output isn’t necessarily a true reflection of what the brand is about
• When you’re interested in your aims rather than the aims of your client / consumer – so it used to be all about you. Sorry, that’s changed

4 life-changing tips for brands delivering messaging in social spaces

1. Remember it’s about the users’ aims not just the aims of the brands

Longterm, meaningful relationship are difficult to build. Most importantly social media isn’t a broadcast platform. You are building relationships with consumers. It’s an environment built with the aims of users first and foremost, the brand is a guest and should act appropriately. Create something valuable for users and you shouldn’t outstay your welcome. What is value?

2. Listen first

Not that I’d know, but I’ve heard that a great party guest listens before joining the conversation. It’s misguided to jump right in delivering messaging to people without understanding what’s valuable to them – and to do this you need to know them and their world. That means listening. Whether you’re talking about your product, your passion for creating it, or something else that your brand has aligned with (which undoubtedly some brands must do) – investigate the influencers and people in this space, listen, understand and appreciate and then find your place. It helps if you genuinely care about what they have to say.

3. Try it

Yes, get going. Rather than over planning and meticulously strategising the messaging you’re going to deliver and how, it’s better to make small moves and see how they are greeted. Be confident in who you are, what you’re about and why you have something worth saying – but don’t be arrogant. Appreciate this isn’t like broadcasting – people can and will disrupt your messaging. Accept that and deal with it. This is the starting point. Have fun.

4. Listen and evolve

So how did it go? This isn’t the end of the campaign relationship, it’s the beginning. Listen to what people tell you, and use analytics and other insights to see how your social media work is helping you achieve your business aims.  If it’s not working, try again, evolve and get better.

And that’s it. The web creates a unique opportunity to engage more closely with consumers than ever before, and for very little investment. Work with this, not against this, and the results could be both rewarding and enjoyable.

I’d like to know your thoughts, leave a comment below and share your thoughts…