Jacoub Bondre on getting started in social media, five rules to live by, and the good old-fashioned power of brand stewards.

There’s a lot of smart thinking going on in the social media marketing space these days. One needs only look as far as their local Facebook page, Twitter feed, or favourite blogs to see social media marketing hard at work. But there’s also tremendous opportunity to improve our understanding of what social media is, and what opportunities may lie in its heart.

I’d like to start this series on social media by reviewing exactly what “social media” is. So . . . here goes:

In its most basic terms, social media is any media that allows conversations to take place between multiple parties. That is: brand-to-consumer, consumer-to-brand, and consumer-to-consumer.

Let’s break down a basic social media interaction from a brand to a consumer.

Brand: Here is a message or an idea about our product or service.

Consumer 1: Cool! This message is awesome. Hey Consumer 2, have you seen this?

Consumer 2: News to me – and it’s interesting. I should pass this along to my friends.

Now, I don’t know about you, but this seems an awful lot like good old-fashioned brand stewardship.

Your Uncle Bob
Everyone has an aunt/uncle, cousin, brother, friend, or other family member that is fanatical about a brand. My mother, for example, loves Hyundai. Any chance she gets she tries to convince her friends and family to buy one. When any of us point out something we don’t like about the brand, she adamantly defends it.

This is the basic behaviour of a brand steward. Not all are as dedicated as my mother, but you can see this behaviour to varying degrees in everyone you know. And why not? It’s basic human nature to identify with a group, and to want to be a part of it. In the case of my mom, it’s Hyundai drivers. Some people don’t associate with brand groups, but with other interests. Take your Uncle Bob who loves horses. And because he loves horses, he loves everyone who loves horses.

Bob online
Social media is, at its heart, a new venue for communicating with and harnessing the power of brand stewards. I know that sounds easy, but it’s not – and there are rules. As our own Dave Hamilton writes: “Because in this new and powerful channel, brands are no longer sponsors underwriting the cost of programming. They are fellow citizens and they’re expected to behave and conduct themselves accordingly.”

The rules of engagement:

Rule 1: Accept all customer feedback.
There are some realities that a brand needs to deal with before they venture into the world of social media. First and most profound of these is that the brand CAN NOT control the discourse in the social media realm, no more than they can control the conversation around my mother’s dining room table when it turns to cars. As soon as you create a Twitter account, a Facebook page, or even just start allowing comments on your site, you must acknowledge that not all conversations will go exactly as you want them to go.

Rule 2: Trust your stewards.
There is a group of people on the Internet known ominously as “Trolls.” Trolls like nothing more than to wait for an opportunity to upset either an individual or brand by pouncing on a conversation with negative comments, whether or not those comments have any basis in truth. Trolls are not as big of a problem for brands as you might think. Trolls do not care about the brands they attack – but stewards do. Your brand stewards will seek out the brands they love and will be eager to participate. They will also be the first to put Trolls in their place, and the first to defend the brand. Under no circumstances should a brand attempt to censor or moderate an active conversation. Immediately, it is seen as if the brand has something to hide. It is seen as disingenuous and will be seen negatively even by the brand’s stewards. For example:

Brand – Brio is on sale!
Troll – I hate Brio, it tastes like old pennies . . . boo Brio!
Steward – Dude Brio rocks, what are you on?
Steward 2 – If you don’t like Brio, why are you on the Brio fan page, you Troll.
Steward 3 – Ya, go back under your bridge *enjoying a Brio while I’m typing this*.

The protecting power of your brand stewards is often overlooked by brands who are hesitant to embark on their social media journeys. A negative comment that’s refuted by brand stewards often has more benefit to how that brand is seen in the social space than a brand that never experiences a negative comment.

Rule 3: Be clever and agile.
Every once in a while, the brand will do or say something that everyone disagrees with. Even the brand stewards will dislike a direction, decision, or comment made. This is not the time to panic, or even to back-pedal. This is the time to be agile and clever. Quickly identify what it is your consumer base is unsatisfied with and fix it. I know sometimes that’s easier said than done, but when done well and quickly, the results can be positive overall.

A recent example comes from Virgin Mobile on the consumer-watch show “Marketplace.” Virgin Mobile Canada was recently rated as having one of Canada’s worst cellphone plans. The situation involved a dispute between the company and customers over charges. After several months Virgin turned out to be at fault, but during that time it cost the customer significant time and money. From the time Virgin’s upper level staff were informed to the time the episode of Marketplace aired, Virgin had made a simple, yet widespread policy change: From that point forward the customer was right until proven otherwise. Any disputed charges would be removed from the customer’s bill immediately, only to be returned should, at the end of an investigation, the customer is proven to be wrong.

In the end, my perception of Virgin Mobile is one of a company that listens to customers, admits mistakes, and takes responsibility. This is not the first time, nor will it be the last that Virgin turns negatives into positives.

The point is, if you are doing something your customers really don’t like, change it, communicate it, and your reputation will be stronger for it. The social realm is the ideal place for these types of agile customer transactions to happen. But the key to success is to be honest.

Toyota is currently trying to use Digg to assure customers that they have a fix for the issues that ail their cars. The problem is that they have been caught lying about the extent and severity of the problems. So right beside a Digg article about “How Toyota is Fixing the Problem” is an article about the US government investigating Toyota over consumer protection fraud. A disastrous combination.

Rule 4: Be genuine.
The most successful brands in the social space have two-way conversations with their customers. They allow their employees, or the agency that facilitates their conversations, to interact with customers, to go beyond the initial communication.

For example, a brand will post a question:

Brand: What did you think of last night’s game?
Customer1: It was awesome.
Customer2: Ya, but Crosby seemed off.
Brand: Crosby really has to step up his game.

Especially now, in a political climate of populism, it is incredibly important for your customers to see you as a collective of people, rather than just faceless corporations. The above discourse illustrates a human connection behind the conversations.

Adobe does a great job of this. Adobe has several “Brand Evangelists.” These are long-term Adobe employees, that have intimate knowledge of the brand and the business behind the brand. They also believe in the brand. These evangelists are now paid to run blogs, comment on other people’s blogs, tweet stuff and go to conferences. These evangelists also have power to influence the company to a certain extent. The feedback that the evangelists collect in their travels makes it back to the decision makers in the company. This allows Adobe to be agile in delivering consistent solutions for their customers when they launch new projects.

Rule 5: Be brave.
The benefits of entering the social space far outweigh the pitfalls. Brands should not check the water with their toes first (so to speak), but rather jump right in. Social media is not the type of environment where participating half way will result in much benefit at all.

Conclusion
In this post, I talked about the basics of what social media is, and the basic rules for engaging in that space. It’s a new and powerful venue for brand stewardship. In the posts to come, I’ll delve deeper into trends and opportunities – and social media beyond the web.