(Tom Ksiazek)

In the age of Web 2.0, marketers have scrambled to figure out how to best use various forms of social media ,such as social networks, wikis, rating/review sites, and MMOGs (massive multiplayer online games), just to name a few. Yet consensus remains elusive.

Is tapping social media a walk on the dark side for marketers where they risk losing control of their brand identities? Or, do they look on the bright side and view social media as an opportunity to truly engage consumers and allow them to experience the brands in new and innovative ways? My gut tells me the latter, but let's see what the insiders think.

A group of about 70 marketing professionals, academics, and students gathered for the Social Media Marketing Symposium, which consisted of multiple keynote speakers, as well as roundtable and panel discussions on a multitude of social media marketing issues. These ranged from how do we define social media to how do we measure social media use to what are the current best practices, and finally to what the future holds.

Throughout the day, two broad themes permeated the discussion: the dark side and bright side of social media marketing.

The globally recognized McCormick Tribune Professor of Technology at the Kellogg School of Management, Mohan Sawhney, kicked off the day with a thought provoking presentation on the state of social media. Sawhney defines social media as "digital content created, shared and/or organized by consumers - to inform, entertain and connect with the goal of enhancing their social capital." He explained that marketers can utilize social media across concept development, product development, brand positioning, marketing communication, and customer support. Sawhney concluded with seven steps for leveraging social media:

1. Decide stance
2. Define scope
3. Architect the appropriate social media platform
4. Acquire social media
5. Engage target audience in the conversation
6. Monitor
7. Measure results

Sawhney posed a set of questions for discussion. Questions pertaining to the dark side included: "To use social media, must marketers give up control of brands and messages?" and "How can marketers deal with the 'dark side' of social media?" In response to the first question, members of the symposium suggested that marketers do not need to concede brand control to the consumer. Instead, the effective marketer must negotiate the gap between the brand concept and how the consumers experience the brand in these social media environments.

Responding to the second question, members agreed that it is unrealistic and perhaps adversely effective to attempt to control the conversations in social media communities. Instead, marketers need to listen and respond. They need to guide and influence the direction of the conversation, without being intrusive or overbearing.

Many argued that there is actually more risk in staying out of the conversation, citing a number of business-world examples. In fact, discussion of the dark side eventually led to looking on the bright side. One panelist asserted, "The dark side is only dark if you don't engage and influence the conversation." Others emphasized the opportunity in these social media communities to engage in Customer Relationship Management, or CRM. Sawhney summed up the discussion by claiming, "It's not an option not to get involved in the conversation."

(There is no doubt that marketing professionals, as well as academics and students, see incredible opportunities in social media. It offers a way for companies to truly understand how consumers experience their products. It is a way to engage and communicate with their target markets. Yet, how exactly one goes about measuring these experiences and various levels of consumer engagement is much less clear. Sawhney argued, "We need to think about metrics that measure depth."

Mark Kingdon (CEO, Organic, Inc.) led the second session of roundtables and panels. His presentation focused on the future of social media marketing, specifically on the trend of social media going niche and the implications for advertising and marketing. Similar to above, the potential is recognized, while the measurement techniques seem uncertain. Again, the panelists emphasized the need to develop metrics for measuring experiences and engagement. They see the bright side, yet realize the need for better measurement techniques.

The Media Management Center conducted the Online User Engagement Study in 2005, identifying 22 unique consumer experiences with online media. The center has also conducted similar research on TV, magazine and newspaper experiences. Social media marketers would do well to take a cue from this type of research.

Let's take Yelp for example. Yelp acts as a social forum for posting and reading reviews on everything from restaurants to financial services. Now, let's say you work for a marketing firm representing product X. Similar to previous engagement/experience research, one could imagine coding all of the reviews of product X and then identifying unique experiences and levels of engagement consumers have with your product and brand.

Social media has been around for decades, yet recent advances in technology have changed the manner and frequency with which people engage in social media activities. What results is an exciting space for new and innovative marketing techniques, taking advantage of new contact points, new segments and sub-segments, and new opportunities for integrated marketing. However, as my colleagues at the symposium stressed, the first step is to recognize the dark side, engage it, and look to the bright side of deeper understandings of consumer experiences with both products and brands.


(Note: The Social Media Marketing Symposium on May 9 was co-hosted by the Media Management Center and Kellogg School of Management. Tom Ksiazek is a student at Northwestern University's School of Communication. For more insights into social media issues and possibilities, go here for 19 excellent white papers and a bibliography about various facets of social media and here for Limor Peer's thoughful commentary on social media and the news media.)


What do you think? Please share your thoughts, experiences and reactions by clicking on the comment button below or by e-mailing Media Management Center at v-vahlberg@northwestern.edu.