Branding yourself and your organization via social media

Social media is a great unknown in marketing and public relations and anyone who claims they understand it is flat out wrong or trying to throw one by their client. Like any new methodology of marketing or communications, social media has both its pluses and minuses. To hear social media evangelists speak you would think that we are at the dawn of a new age and this is the greatest thing since Gutenberg started printing the bible.

The fact is that, like most things, social media brings both positives and negatives and the potential for both risk and reward to the marketing mix. First of all, from a personal perspective, people see their Facebook pages as intensely personal outgrowths of their personalities. As a result they will post what ever catches their fancy. However if an employer or family member sees these posts, the wrong idea can quickly be established. A social media posting should be seen the same as any other public posting. Once you post it, the subject is out in the open for all to see.

The same holds true for organizations and social media. We're seeing a rush to jump on the social media band wagon that reminds me of the rush to have a web site and have all the latest cool tools on web sites that still dominates web theory. Very little, if any, thought is given into how these materials integrate into an overall marketing and branding strategy. Rather, in classic cart before the horse methodology, the Twitter site or Facebook page is put up and then the powers that be try and figure out, what next?

What I have found fascinating is that senior level executives will parse and argue over what wording to use on a news release, but then allow anything to go on Twitter or Facebook or even worse yet, have no idea or policy about what their staff is saying online. No company will ever let an engineer post a news release yet few have any firm policy on what they can say via social networking sites.

My recommendation is that social networking be treated as all other essential communication tools. There should be very strict rules regarding what can be posted on them and who can speak on the company's behalf. Also, social networking should join web development and other marketing communications functions as key components of the overall marketing plan. By using this methodology, companies should be able to successful navigate these dangerous shoals.

In non-related news there was a bank robbery outside of Boston yesterday. The robber tried to escape in a bright red Vespa. Well as one might have guessed he did not get that far. I hear this story and I am reminded of the old joke of the undercover cop told to go into a crowd and be inconspicuous. His superior then saw him dressed in a gorilla costume. When asked why he disobeyed orders the officer said, "I didn't, who is going to be looking for a guy in a gorilla costume?"