Who's Telling Your Story?

Ian Schafer at AdAge nails it in a short piece about social media and what it means to be involved from a branding standpoint. Contradicting the point of a colleague’s post urging companies to “stop thinking of the social web as media,” Schafer cuts to the core of WHY social media branding works.

The first era of advertising was all about brands telling stories to consumers. It was a one-way dialogue that was all about positioning. In this new era, we aren't just storytellers, we are arbiters of "fan fiction". We are providing consumers with a platform to share experiences, provide input and create content -- both actively and passively -- that dictate what our brands are….we need to get creative about media.

It goes back to the argument over who owns your brand and the truth is that while you own the properties associated with your brand the perception is (and always has been) in the eye of the beholder so why not create an opportunity to engage your customers in how they develop that perception? Not only does that give you incredible market research but it creates ownership in your customer base. That sense of ownership translates to loyalty, which translates to sales.

Do your customers have a part to play in your branding efforts?