Strangers when we meet.

Advocacy and the changing face of communication.

panos papadopoulos, december 2011

Social media has irrevocably changed the rules of engagement in communication.

In the not so remote past, one-way communication was the lay of the land.

Though content has always been king, it still had to pay lip service to one-way communication.

Brands could get away with murder. Communication that lacked substance, but was packaged right, could potentially win the day. Brands blared out their messages to a more or less captive - and mute - audience.

In the social age, communication is fast changing. Consumers chat and groupthink, criticize and talk back. And they expect brands to be part of the conversation, to listen and respond.

It follows that if a brand wants to play an active part in the social space, its communication must be relevant. Engaging. Emotional. Unconventional. It must be social. A brand must be able to start and sustain conversations.

Otherwise it will be ignored. Or at best it will be scoffed at as “old school”.

Stating the obvious. Brand communication has shifted irrevocably from one-way to two-way. It’s called a conversation. Today, we live to share.

If you can’t make me talk about you, you’re not on my radar. You’re nothing.

To make a long story short. Communication without social content condemns brands to social purgatory.

Nonetheless, for the majority of brands, the move from “let me tell you” to “tell me what you think” is proving to be dramatically difficult. That’s because it requires a related change in the mindset of both marketeers and admen.

Communication professionals are proving slow in adapting to the revolutionary rule of the social regime.

Both agencies and marketeers are eager to dive head-first into the exotic waters of social media without first contemplating a few basic starting points.

Have we moved our mindsets from one-way to two-way communication? Are we trying to start conversations with the consumer? Are we speaking in a socially relevant manner? Are we REALLY listening?

Or are we still treating social media as if it was old-school, one-way communication?

The truth is that social media has revolutionized the communication landscape. But not the way we work on brands.

Instead of investing time and effort putting old wine in new bottles, instead of serving one-way communication disguised as social content, we should take a step back and contemplate a fundamental question. Why do we want to enter the social space?

There is a golden rule for marketeers who want to embark on the social adventure. In social media, the higher the risk, the bigger the pay-off. And the ultimate pay-off is the creation of brand advocates.

Never before was the possibility to create brand advocates as real, as tangible as it is today.

Never before has “not doing it right” irreversibly botched such an opportunity.

In the social space we have the means to plant the seeds of advocacy, water and then harvest them.

Back to the start. What is advocacy?

It is the unsolicited conversation about a brand.

What does advocacy do?

It helps convert previously indifferent consumers into brand crusaders (who will in turn convert more unbelievers).

The magic of advocacy lies in that multiplication effect - advocates beget advocates.

So, what is an advocate?

An advocate is a true brand evangelist. He’s bent on putting his reputation on the line to: Convince others. Defend and support his favorite brand.

As a true guardian of the faith, an advocate is willing to forgive the occasional sub-par season of his favorite brand. Nor will he easily sell out to the competition that vies for his attention.

More importantly, an advocate is always keen to distribute brand content and provide voluntary praise for his favorite brand - online and in the real world.

What’s the ulterior motive behind brand advocacy? We only speak positively about brands that make us look good.

How can we create advocates?

Two major routes:

“Start from scratch”. Go all out in social media, with relevant, engaging content. Cast a wide net, and start building cells of fans.

“Clay pigeons”. Identify influencers on Facebook, Twitter, blogs and forums. Engage them with conversation starters, and use them as vehicles to propagate your brand content.

Still, no matter how you go about it, it’s all about starting and maintaining a conversation with consumers. Then listening and acting upon what’s being said.

Advocacy will remain a forbidden fruit unless both marketeers and admen change the way they approach the social space. Using social media to hard-sell your brand or your products, or even to promote traditional media content, will shortchange you in the end. Always.

panos is a planner, fringe traveler and wannabe free thinker

papadopoulos.panos@gmail.com

twitter id: Strategist3171

thanks to kurt beren geiger for his always helpful comments