Social Media - Why most biggie companies get it all wrong

Pin It Now! There's something very fundamental about Facebook - it's certainly not for a make-my-logo-bigger brand or corporate entity. Neither is it for a brand or corporate that comes on strongly, which in social terms is offending, to put it mildly. That might have worked even in the late nineties. Certainly not today. But like the vestiges of the Raj still linger in the corridors of power, “trader mentality” still lingers in the biggie, oldie corporate corridors.

In the world of Facebook, you cannot talk just about yourself. That’s not a conversation.

I suppose this is a fact that's completely lost on the biggies. And brand guidelines are to blame to a large extent. These dated guidelines are a big damper to getting the best out of Facebook. The reason might be because Facebook or even social media wasn't taken into the picture when these guidelines were made.

Facebook is a liberating medium founded in the Age of Conversation. And therefore, like all social media platforms, it is a platform for conversation - NOT ONE WAY COMMUNICATION. Big brands need to understand this, APPRECIATE this fact and move with the times.

Yes, in the process there will be conversations that make brands uncomfortable. (Isn't that bound to happen in a conversation with millions?) But today, in 2010, you as a brand or corporate entity need to focus on delivering an exceptional customer experience through your social media platform without acting as the mouth piece of your marketing department.

That’s how you’ll garner the respect of your community and get a huge following. Otherwise, there’s another option, the old school way of doing things - without the social media component. Pin It Now!