Social Passion?

I recently came upon a study of whether active online engagement through social media channels provides a financial benefit in terms of revenue, gross margins, & net margins. The top global brands were then measured based upon their engagement with social media channels including blogs, branded social community, discussion forums, external networks (Facebook, MySpace), Flickr/Photobucket, Customer Community (for innovation), Wikis, Ratings & Reviews, Twitter, & YouTube. Engagement was measured upon depth and breadth to gain a more accurate understanding of online engagement.

The brands that performed best in the study were those which were most engaged in the channels they existed in. The results varied from industry to industry. The retail industry performed remarkably well, whereas service providers had a much harder time of it. The brands that were in six or more channels and were highly engaged in all of them performed better financially based upon earnings of the previous year. In fact they did substantially better. According this study, it pays to be active online.

Activity alone is not enough, however. Brands must emphasize quality over quantity and not get lost in the maze of online content. One cannot simply create a Twitter or Facebook account and expect it to flourish. The same is true of infrequent blogging. If you choose to engage, quality content must be posted consistently. Much like a magazine, you must gain regular readers who will come back to your pages again and again.

Asking one or two people within an organization to manage all of these interactive media channels may not be adequate. A small team will not be able to manage all the requests and therefore will risk leaving Web users with a negative brand experience. For social media channels to be manageable, everyone across the organization must be involved. The appropriate people must be assigned to the appropriate channels to ensure that online responses are timely and provide thoughtful answers. If a Web user is forced to wait an extended period of time to get the right response from the right person the opportunity to foster that relationship is missed. Give your consumers direct access to the appropriate people. This will ensure quick responses that will be satisfactory to those who are inquiring.

Engaging in all channels may not be sustainable for your organization, but it is important to be involved in some way. Your marketing strategy will vary based upon your industry and the online channels your audience engages in. These factors will help determine whether you start with a bang, or with smaller and slower steps. By engaging online, organizations are challenged to be transparent. With that transparency comes a healthy dose of accountability, but if that accountability does not produce results, those you engage with online will lose trust and the relationship will be damaged.

There is no single formula for how to engage your audience online, but by choosing not to engage at all, you are likely to fall victim to your competitors. Not only will you fall behind in your industry, but also in your audience's general online experience. As interactive media channels evolve and grow, consumers will begin to expect more from brands online. You must carve your own path, thinking strategically and thoughtfully about where your brand should exist online. It is also important to understand each online space for its own merits. Just as psychology shows us there are hidden rules in the upper, middle, and lower classes of society, there are hidden rules that exist within these varying online spaces. These rules are not complex, but a lack of online social awareness can cost your brand its credibility.

If you lack the resources for high online engagement, start small and be consistent. If you only engage sporadically you are not likely to reap the benefits. The rewards will be found when you truly care about what your audience believes about your brand. The idea is simple: be in conversational relationship with one another. Caring and being involved online will reap rewards.

The companies that are leading the way in interactive media channels are already brand leaders according to Interbrand's Top 100. These organizations are filled with passionate and thoughtful people who not only enjoy their jobs, but who want their audience to enjoy their products and services as well. These companies are highly involved in interactive media channels, but more so, they are engaged in all aspects of their company, and interactive media is simply one of them.

As essential as it is to be relationally-engaged online & actively listening, it is much more imperative that the people inside your organization are passionate about what they do. Passion breeds followers, and followers are what make up a brand. Mixing this passion with some thoughtful and strategic planning will provide a foundation on which to build revenue through social media.

Further Reading
To learn more about the research that was mentioned in this article, please go to www.engagementdb.com. A lot of credit goes to them for the information above.

Posted by Brent Loosli