Oct 13 2009
Innovate a media piece to get out of the analysis morass
Jump ahead of the “conversation”
In the morass that is analysis of social media, branding, and consumer sentiment revealed, I see one choice a corporate entity can make. Jump ahead of the “conversation” by producing a focused media piece which helps the public see that you know how to offer value through new media. By innovating your own media piece, you control its appearance – and may be able to quantify public sentiment directed at the piece.
For example, a large company might decide to create a specific social presence through new media, as a particular type of educator. This presence is, at first, an addendum to who they already are. (It’s not enough to have an F.A.Q. on the website, though it is a good start.)
Plan your own media piece
What the company can do is plan their new media presence around an educational product. Let’s say a solar company produces a short video suitable for school-age children, explaining how solar works. By including this in their branding, they may become more memorable and more approachable to parents and grandparents. This can be extended as far as the company wants to go. Note: Avoid any scent of company propaganda. Answer tough questions head-on. Think legacy.
Analysis isn’t very analytical right now
Rather than flail around looking for a lighted path on a huge and changeable ocean, companies can develop a special presence which inherently shows who they are and where they’re going. Trying to quantify how the public views your product or your company by looking at the conversation on Twitter, for example, is not yet proven to be worthwhile. Give your public a place to gather which is a real gift, not a sales channel.
A people piece helps people relate
Proactive innovation, making use of crowdsourced ideas and rewarding the crowd with recognition, could take a company closer to their goal. The goal should be to be “favored” in new media. Creating your own funnel of appropriate information allows you to measure views, participation, and sentiment. Monitoring becomes more focused and more meaningful.
Okay, over to your brain: Comments now being accepted!
Suzanna
] 
October 13th, 2009 at 11:45 am
Reminds me of Liberty Mutual’s Responsibility Project. It really made me pay attention to who they are. http://bit.ly/respro
October 16th, 2009 at 1:49 pm
“Give your public a place to gather which is a real gift, not a sales channel.” I love this line and I’d sure like to learn more about this from you Suzanna. My attention is to women leaders – what do women want in cyber space that feels like wise and feminine community and supports their leadership?
October 18th, 2009 at 8:52 pm
I appreciate your comment, Karen. In the classes that I teach on new media, I point out that, in my opinion, Twitter is a feminine tool. I mean this in the sense that the way women use it is – perhaps – defining and shaping communication for the present and the future. The organic expansion of Twitter naturally lends itself to an egalitarian, inclusive mechanism. I watch, and participate, with deep interest.
Suzanna