The power to define and control a brand is shifting from companies and institutions to individuals and communities.

Social media is an integral part of the interactive internet.  It encompasses a wide range of tools that allow people to connect, share, comment, request, complain and generally vocalise. As social media has developed so have a number of techniques, conventions and protocols around its use.  It is a very easy medium to enter, but it is a hard medium to excel in and can be just as destructive as it can be constructive.

A key point to always keep in mind is that you do not control social media.  It is not a tool which you can wield to achieve a particular effect, but if you use it well, and use it carefully, you can turn it to your advantage.

A good analogy to understanding social media is that it is your frontline reception desk in a shared space.  Sitting at the desk you can hear the conversations going on around you, some of them are about you, or relate in some way to your areas of interest, the vast majority are absolutely nothing to do with you.  Some conversations are directly with you, someone has walked up to our desk to ask a question, make a comment or make a complaint.  Some conversations are started by you, you have stood up and made a loud announcement.

• Everyone, everywhere, can hear the question asked, and the response given.
• Everyone, everywhere, can hear the complaint made and the resolution offered.
• Everyone, everywhere, can hear the compliment given, comment made or the request to join the fan club.

Not only can they all hear your conversations, they can all join in, with a word, a sentence or a speech.  They can take what you have said, what they have said, and tell 300 of their closest friends, within seconds.

Then there are the conversations that aren’t directly with you, but are about you, or about your subject matter.  Everyone can hear those too, and everyone can form their own opinions about those conversations, and about your responses to those conversations, or the lack of response from you.  People can see you sitting there, they expect you to be listening to what is said around you, and they expect you to respond.

You must always have someone, a real person  who represents you, at the front desk.  Ready to answer the questions, resolve the complaints, jump in and add value, point out how you are relevant to the matter at hand, move the conversation through to a booking, smile.

It is too easy to say the wrong thing, be too quiet, shout too loud, use the wrong language.  It is therefore important that you are clear about why you are there, what you want to listen to (everything to do with you) and what you want to say.

Using social media is having a very loud, very public conversation. The conversation is not:

• controlled
• organised
• “on message”

The conversation is:

• organic
• complex
• a human voice

Social media is not a strategy or a tactic – it’s simply a channel.  A channel that requires very clear strategies and tactics.