As I was thinking of a title for this blog I considered using the “… is King” analogy but it seems the CMS industry has beaten that term to death.

It’s clear with the major success of sites like MySpace, Facebook and LinkedIn that community and social networking is big business. The marketing world is working hard to find ways to leverage this model for clients. It’s no doubt that when community and social networking tools are thought through and integrated successfully the investment can pay for itself rather quickly by connecting you directly with your customer to grow a relationship that allows you to gain amazing insights.

There are a lot of different concepts to consider when looking at social networking for brands. Instead of listing them all I’m going to borrow from (and summarize) the framework provided in Razorfish’s 2008 Digital Report using their “The six “C’s of social influence marketing” model.

• Content
  Content can come in many forms: video, wallpapers, badges, avatars, widgets and information. Authenticity and transparency is critical. Allow your content to be de-centralized (Syndication via RSS or embed).
• Customization
  Include elements where users can define themselves. Allow users to generate and customize their own content (blogs, comments, threaded discussions, etc). Empower consumers to express themselves.
• Community
  Give users a reason to interact. Provide unique content, value or engagement. Leverage relational social networking content on brand sites.
• Conversation
  Build a network of advocates. Using advocates to build new relationships = sales. Accept negative feedback and conversation. Intervene in a problem before it escalates.
• Commerce
  Must be soft sold. Consumers do not want a hard sell; any integration from your e-store must be subtle not blatant. Offer coupons, related content or links to store.
• Commitment
  It requires ongoing customer communication. Solicit feedback on products & services. Add more value to customers. Enhance brand reputation. Enable brand advocacy.

Before looking to embrace the benefits of community and social media you need to consider a solid strategy. A commitment to community requires an all or nothing approach. Provide your customer with a framework and tools that enable conversation and interaction. Don’t forget to invest in updating content that is rich and authentic and adding features that will keep your users coming back.

I recently did a presentation to the Milwaukee Internet Marketing Association on how brands need to leverage the web to help build loyal consumers and convert them into what we call “Brand Champions.”

It was interesting pulling this presentation together because the thoughts I captured are at the heart and soul of what we as a firm work to deliver for every brand we work with when we create any program. Creating Brand Champions requires a discipline and focus that extends far beyond the marketing department. From product development, to service, to sales, to dealer relations there isn’t an area of an organization that doesn’t impact a brand’s ability to create lasting, meaningful relationships with their consumers. Steve Rubel wrote a post on Micro Persuasion “Preaching to the Converted” almost three years ago that I believe extends to how brands should approach all their work online.

1. FIND where your target consumers and brand champions are interacting online
2. LISTEN to what they are saying to better understand what they want and need from your brand
3. ENGAGE your users in a dialogue and create new ways for your consumers to interact with your brand
4. EMPOWER your Brand Champions to create stories and lead conversations about your brand to actively influence others

I cover these in my presentation with examples of how LISTENING, ENGAGING and EMPOWERING your users within a Brand’s site can help create Brand Champions. Check out my presentation and I would love to hear your point of view on the topics covered.