Alright, so maybe this is a little contentious as a heading,
but I’m going to argue that it doesn’t change things as much as some might have
you believe.
You see at the end of the day, what existed before, and
after, the arrival of “social” is a brand trying to reach a customer/potential
customer. And for things to work they need to connect, understand one
another and then transact. All being well that transaction will be a
success and so starts a long term, meaningful and rewarding relationship for
both parties.
So why should they connect? Well the brand will have a
set of values and a clear proposition that the consumer relates to. These
will set it apart from its competition and as such create the unique space for
a relationship to form and grow. The way in which the brand behaves and
the how/what it communicates will be consistent and appealing to the consumer.
Our job as a marketing communications agency remains the
same; namely to identify which channels are going to be the most effective at
engaging the consumer and how they compliment one another in order to deliver
the message and enable a meaningful relationship to develop. Talking
broadly and traditionally, TV gave you stature and numbers. Press gave
you the opportunity to communicate more detail, radio offered frequency whilst
direct mail was the tried and tested response platform. Social is simply
another weapon to be added to the arsenal. Don’t get me wrong, the mind
blowing opportunities it offers, inconceivable just a few short years ago, will
have a profound and irreversible impact on the way we do things. Who
would have thought that we would hear back from consumers? That they
would be engaging with brands (look to the BT wedding for an example)? It was
all pretty easy when we simply broadcast our chosen message to the masses, but
now that they each have a voice….
However, without a clear understanding of the brand, what it
stands for, how it differs and what its unique proposition is, social is just
another channel to be misused and abused by marketers and agencies. And
this is my point. The web is littered with examples of brands (often led
by eager agencies) jumping on the social band wagon with no real understanding
of why they are there or what they are trying to achieve…in the same way that
TV is full of advertisers swept up in the glamour of being on the box when it
was never the right place for them to advertise. If there is no
understanding, there can be no direction. It’s a bit like trying to stage
a firework display with all the fireworks still in the box. There’ll be a
huge amount of noise, light and energy (and you’ll waste a load of money!) but
no direction and no discernable display. Better that you take the time to
understand the individual fireworks and how best to use them together to create
a memorable display. And whilst there may not be as many examples, look
again at how powerful the correct execution of social can be – Cadbury’s
Gorilla or more recently the T-Mobile Royal Wedding video. These demonstrate
an acute understanding of the brand, the consumer and the channel.
So as the headline of this article states, social doesn’t
change anything. Unless you have a fundamental understanding of what it
is your brand stands for and its proposition, social will simply provide
another opportunity for you to waste time, energy and budget. Sadly a lot
of the so called experts are technically very talented but lack the fundamental
ability to understand and utilize the power of brand…and in a tough economic
climate that can be all that separates the weak from the strong.
So my parting thought. Beware of rushing into the
exciting new world of social just because everyone else is doing it.
Rather, take a breath, understand your brand and what it’s trying to
achieve. Then look at the communication platforms that are available to
you and utilise them in a planned and appropriate way…and I’ll be gob smacked
if social isn’t a massive & influential part of that mix!
