Well reams have already been written on this topic by thousands of experts the world over. I do not want to add a lot more to the already available literature but for my two bits, I believe that there are three things that we need to keep in mind to create a viable mash up between business strategy and social media implementation.
Creating a Mash up:
Business Strategy + Social Media Implementation = Social Business Strategy
In most cases till now, at least in India, most brands have utilised social media in a more or less tactical manner where the emphasis has been on point projects and not sustained advocacy. However, I distinctly believe that the need of the hour is creating a business strategy which incorporates the social approach of the brand.
Learn from your consumers:
I believe social media’s greatest power lies in the fact that it allows a brand to learn from its consumers. If we can efficiently use it, it can provide great value add in providing solutions to problems that consumers are facing or in creating products that suit a customers exact requirements. Brands can effectively use social media tools to engage with consumers in a two way dialogue to learn what works and what doesn’t. Very much like a Facebook status feed with a thumbs up sign reading, ” I like this”
Don’t make the brand the talking point:
This one is probably the most difficult to explain to clients but creating a social media community around a brand does little justice to creating advocacy around the brand. Brands are important to us, but they are not intrinsic to our lives. Food is, hunger is, lifestyle is, but particular brands per se are not. We need to understand that. Instead if we can create conversations around social themes and build communities and opinions around what is intrinsic to our lives and connect the brand to it, the returns are much more. People need to believe in something to talk about it. We need to find what they believe in and thereby strategize to connect our brands to that belief system
How should it work?
There was a time when the 8 oclock Doordarshan News was all that we had in terms of mainstream media. Those days seem very far away now. With the advent of satellite TV and the explosion in Indian news media, news has gained a new meaning in Indian television with 24/7 news channels screaming from the rooftops about breaking news and exclusives. But even that is seeming old now. The newest phenomenon is citizen journalism. India saw the power of it, during the Mumbai terrorist attacks where before traditional media could break ground, the average man on the street armed with a cell phone did a commendable job. From Twitter to Flickr, there was an astonishing amount of user generated news content which was topical, from location and engrossing, keeping the entire nation hooked. The “watcher” has now gained the power to become the “broadcaster” ushering in a revolutionary change in which journalism has been conducted in this country till now. And the media is taking cognizance of it.
As I sit down to pen my thougths, I cannot but help reflect on how PR as an industry has changed in India over the past decade. Traditionally even though in India, more than 80 per-cent of PR depends on media relations, things are changing. Clients are waking up to the prospect of new opportunities and tools that can help them connect with their target audience. To give a few numbers according to the
