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When discussing brand management on social media platforms,
take a cue from Reinhold Niebuhr’s “Serenity Prayer,” because you’re going to
need it:
“God, give us the
grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, courage to
change the things that should be changed, and the wisdom to distinguish the one
from the other.”
It is, perhaps, one of the few times that brand managers
may consider a higher power than themselves, but the differences between
traditional media and interactive media requires a relaxed grip. Put away your lexicons and logo specs for a
moment and consider three thoughts:
Do we have the appetite for community brand management?
We hear it all the time:
Brand “ownership” online is a myth; the consumer is the brand
manager. How free love. In theory, everyone is game, but when the
keys are all thrown in the bowl and it’s time to get busy, people have to face
up to the strangers they’ll be sleeping with.
Your brand’s Facebook page is not actually yours; it’s the users’ Facebook page about your brand. Though you may do your best to make sure it
adheres to the same standards you prefer to apply to print ads and commercials,
it will (if you’re lucky) be rapidly co-opted by the user base and reflective
of their perception of the brand.
Comments will not draw on your usage standards. Photos will not match your image palettes. By the way, “the community” includes the
platform—i.e. the developers who may “upgrade” the functionality and interface
at will. Abstain or play safe, it’s your
choice—but be honest about what you’re willing to accept.
Shouldn’t we beta-test our brands online?
It’s important to experiment quietly prior to announcing
your brand’s newest leap into social media. You cannot mandate how your brand
will be represented in social media environments such as Facebook. The
functionality, framework, and user interface will place parameters on not only
what is possible, but also what your ideas look like when they’re executed.
Speak softly about your efforts until you’re sure you can live with the
compromises the technology will force you to make. Only when you’re sure you can live with it
should you bring it from “beta” to “release.”
Will we keep up with the community?
There’s a lot of talk about how social media is a
“conversational” environment in which you’re in dialogue with the
consumer. This is not entirely
true. A lot of the activity on social
media sites is better described as exponentially growing monologues. People talk less to each other than they do
about themselves. It’s really not as bad
as it sounds—it’s this form of communication, i.e. Twitter and Facebook status
updates and wall postings—that allow people to stay “in awareness” of one
another without the overhead of
deeper conversation. The good news? You don’t have to respond to every
contribution to the community. The bad
news? You’re outnumbered by your
community, often by thousands-to-one.
The only way you can steer your brand in this environment is to remain
in participation. Every day.
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