4 Keys To Building Brand Social Value

We sometimes forget that with social media, it is not about the destination, it is about the journey; a journey that is defined by the goals a brand hopes to realize when it engages a network of individuals. Viewing “social” as an “emerging communications” medium is like calling water wet. Let’s lay it out here: We are social.

We are seven billion individuals dynamically interacting within scalable groups exhibiting similar behaviors and patterns. Out of these interactions, new behaviors emerge which cannot be inferred from individual components alone.

Our worth in groups is far greater than the sum of us as individuals.

So then, what motivates individuals to join networks? Consider these four primary relational motivations:

1. Competition (especially games, high-feedback environments)
2. Excellence (think badge value and bragging rights.)
3. Curiosity (think creativity – stories, photo albums, etc.)
4. Affection (think human beings who need social relationships, all of us!)

Arranging the four into a diamond – take a look at what is revealed for Facebook, then Facebook with games (as presented by Davide ‘Folletto’ Casali in a talk on Social Experience Design).

If a brand is to truly surround customers with relevance, then it has to go a step beyond what is trending at the “entity as a group” level, and look into what is happening with the “entity as an individual”.

When crafting an objective to change the emergent behavior, take into account the relational motivations that exist within the individual components. It is an understanding of the intrinsic needs of the individual that will allow brands to maximize the 1:1 dialogue that is at the heart of any social relationship.

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