Empowering change through collaboration: the power of communication

The power of social communication to effect change is in no doubt.  Whether this is enabled and enhanced through digital technologies or is more simply through real world networks of friends, families and colleagues… it happens.

I’m interested in how these digital technologies can be harnessed by brand marketers.  Can the same methods that overthrow dictators really be used to sell more beans?

There is a pressure on brand marketers to deliver two things – increased sales and increased reputation.  And that reputation is not just for the brand, but for their team and for themselves.  This inevitably leads into forays into the world of new communications technologies.  You know the ones – they deliver a new audience in a new way with a massively decreased cost  and look great on your CV.  They also tend to be ‘unplannable’, because they break all conventional media planning paradigms.   They present the promise of fame, glory and riches but also present high risks both in terms of effectiveness and the risk to damage reputation.

Risk is a funny word though.  Risk comes through lack of understanding.  Lack of understanding of consumer behaviours, wants and needs and lack of clarity about what a brand stands for.  So here’s my seven step process to success in Social:

1.Understand existing consumer behaviours in the real world – This is the bit we all know about, right?  But even in this area do we understand the impact of the ‘internet in your pocket’ on purchasing decisions? 25% of US consumers use their mobile to check prices and information while in store.

2. Understand existing behaviours in the online world – It’s never really been possible to segment the online world into self-contained neat compartments like search, social and ecommerce, but now more than ever a holistic view of Total Digital eco-systems is the only way to truly understand consumer behaviours online.

3. Understand available consumer behaviours – So what can we do as a brand to really engage with consumers?  Make them laugh, make them cry, help them…or even sell them something?

4. Understand influence(r)s – OK, the ‘I’ word.  Influencers could be critical to your brand, but who are they and how should you engage with them in a really effective way?

5. Understand the potential to enhance experience through social technologies – The underlying technologies that drive social communications can generate brand new ways of thinking about consumer engagement and new ways of activating and spreading campaign messages.

6. What about the brand? – What is there implicit in the character of your brand that can guide and inform the creation of ideas?  How do you extract the emotional glue that binds consumers to you?

7. What about a service? – Can the product have a complimentary service that can become a critical part of the product and drive loyalty, and even open up brand new revenue streams?

This combination of behaviour + brand + service is what genuinely delivers risk-free Social success.  Well, actually it delivers a great idea.  The next step is to do the planning, and planning the unplannable is what we do in digital – it always has been.

An ROI model that spans the entire digital eco-system is not only achievable but essential to managing risk and delivering results.

We’d love you to share your thoughts. Any examples of when behaviour + brand + service come together in outstanding social activity? Any examples of when the forces aren’t aligned? Comment away!