OPINION: Social and the art of communication

In a bygone era, advertising mimicked reality. You know the ad, two housewives are hanging laundry in their backyard and one of them relates to the other on how their clothes were cleaner, fresher and brighter. That was probably one of the earliest incarnations of the 30-second TVC.

Then advertising tried to simulate a "reality" where consumers chattered about brands and how much they benefited form them. Today, consumers do this voluntarily... and it's amplified ten-fold by social media.

A few years ago there was this great guy-meets-girl commercial. The guy was the brand and the girl was the consumer and the stereotype was, the guy was more interested in talking about himself, which put the girl off and she stormed off. Brands need to be clear on who their valuable consumers are and what content triggers them. Understanding our valuable consumers and their content relationships are pivotal. Think of this as your talking points with the girls …

There are 9.8 million Malaysians on Facebook, and almost 88 per cent of the Malaysian internet population are on it. Brands are clamoring and are in a rush to get conversations with consumers. Some to good effect, while most fail as they are more interested in talking about themselves. Think of a guy on a soap box in a park making a speech to no in particular.

A great example of a branded conversation is Maybelline NY Simply Fabulous on Facebook. It’s the brand’s official Facebook page for Malaysia and has almost 75,000 members. The group is engaged with the brand and it’s a deep relationship that truly lives up to their promise of “Maybe she's born with it. Maybe it's Maybelline" tagline. The brand engages their consumers through two key ways: enabling and promotions.

'Enabling' revolves around the brand promise of Maybelline helping the consumer through tips and tricks on beauty. It engages them with how-to videos as well as just quick tips on making the consumers beautiful. The majority of the conversation on the brand’s Facebook page are actually the voice of the consumers, not the brand talking. The brand’s role is to help and guide them and in so doing, build real conversations with the consumer.

Five ways to leverage social marketing in communications.

Set clear goals. Most people set up their social outreach pages without a clear goal. Like any good goal, it should be measurable. Set high targets, especially if you think you can’t achieve it. An impossible goal gives you great motivation to achieve it. Have also clarity on which social platforms and the role of each of them, Facebook, Twitter and so on. Have them linked to each other so you can be as cohesive as possible to the consumer.

Brand content and relevance. What do your most valuable consumers like? Use your media agency well, they have great research on what content triggers your consumers. In-depth understanding of your primary and secondary consumers and the relevance and engagement they have on different content topics gives you clear idea on what to focus on in your communications. Plus it’s great to have them help synchronise with their above-the-line as that will give your social pages some impetus in terms of numbers.

Make it shareable and actionable. People are social animals and they love telling a good tip or story they pick up. This is a huge opportunity in Malaysia as the average Malaysian has 233 friends on Facebook and this is a great way for them to keep in touch. Your key influencers are opinion leaders in their topic and this will help you pick those that really love your brand as they will constantly engage with you. Once you know and identify them, the job gets easier.

Maintain and manage. This is not a one-time effort, the usual interest normally dwindles after the first launch and that’s why quite a few brand pages remain stagnant. Your media agency knows the full year’s calendar and the timing of your bought media. Have them responsible for your social pages so they can relate this back to your other owned media, like your websites and this will bring synergy between the two.

Continuously measure and Improve. It’s okay to fail. Now that your impossibly high goals have been met halfway you know what works and what doesn’t. Full conviction have been given to the plan and you genuinely know how tough it is. Now you can set real benchmarks and what you can achieve. Daring to dream have pushed everyone for the greatest outcome possible. Most of us don’t dream enough and push it.