You hear a lot of talk about the need for openness and transparency in the social-media space, but what does it really mean to be transparent? According to Charlene Li of the Altimeter Group, marketers need to focus on being as open as they need to be to make their marketing efforts on behalf of their brands effective. Needless to say, that takes a bit of advanced planning.

Here's how Li suggests you go about forging the right level of social-media transparency:

Define your "sandbox covenants." Every brand has a sandbox covenant—that is, a series of engagement rules that, if broken, have clear consequences, Li says. These covenants need to be clarified and understood in advance by all your social representatives, she notes.

Recognize that your users have a sandbox, too. The limits of the users' sandbox are defined by what they consider to be appropriate behavior with regard to your brand. For example, most users expect a "conversation" with a Microsoft representative to feel formal and corporate. In contrast, a "conversation" with an Apple representative, say at an Apple Store's Genius Bar, is expected to be more casual.

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