Social has tended to be spoken of as "something brands should do". For me brand cannot do anything...they can only be a representation, a perception by others.
Also we speak about social being at the heart of what we do in a social web based world...as if social is a new concept? However for me social is and has always been, at the core of any good business. For example
- Strong communication of why the business exists and what you want to achieve by the leadership team.
- People working together to deliver that vision.
- People enjoying seeing other people thrive and grow
- People who think outside of the corporate walls and talk to customers, suppliers, thinkers about how the world is changing and how to lead the way.
Think of a good business and they are always social - social marketing is not about giving sociality to the brand, it is about the brand expressing that sociality.
Brand is not at the centre...social is. It is not how do we grow our brand, it is how are we going to grow our social skills?
If you like the DNA of the company should be the social....the external viewpoint of how that is perceived is the brand.
Therefore I believe now, as always has been, the brand is the outlayer not the inner core as many people see it...what do you think?
