Social media provides opportunities for brands to engage with potential customers. Some key lessons from top brands include: 1) Engage with customers about their interests beyond just selling products like Starbucks does through its stores. 2) Address customer problems in real-time through social media to improve credibility like Dell does on Twitter. 3) Leverage existing social media functions and create unique experiences for customers like IKEA did through gamification.

1. Bridging the Social Media Divide Opportunity: your company/ brand could be engaging with potential customers right now! Challenge: you’re not sure how to leverage social media to benefit your business. Solution: look at brands which have used social media to engage with consumers and find inspiration in the potential of the future. S. Trunnell

2. Connect. Collaborate. Innovate. Starbuck’s provides a space for people build relationships with each other and the brand—a space to share ideas and engage in learning experiences. Lesson from Starbuck’s: the customer experience is happening outside the store on topics other than coffee. Engage with individuals and their interests.

3. Lesson from Dell: commit to solving problems and improving brand experiences using social media. Disaster Control brought to you by real-time communication Dell’s approach to social media falls into what the Harvard Business Review coins the “predictive practitioner” in its July-August 2011 issue. This strategy is the most conservative type according to the authors, which named four based on the risk involved and reaction sought. When Dell’s products were creating a brand image disaster, a social media strategy emerged to manage customer unrest. @DellCareslistens and responds to complaints on Twitter and reacts with a Tweet that usually apologizes and provides the steps to a forthcoming solution. By addressing problems in real time, Dell improves their credibility and brand equity. So, what the customer hears from Dell is “I get you” and “I can help.” When executed properly, social media may become your best retention tool.

4. Tangible, real life rewards for fans on Facebook. Immeasurable buzz. Best practice: Benefit from your knowledge of human behavior Lesson from IKEA: use an existing SNS function and create a unique experience (in this case, gamification).

5. Lesson from Ticketmaster: when dealing with humans, you must act like a human. Integrate into people’s lives in a way that shows caring. Best Practice: Using Social Media to Create a Better Transaction for Customers If live events are inherently social, why not create a check-out experience that focuses on the fun of gathering with friends, thus improving the transaction? Like we’ve seen in other examples, tagging friends is an ever popular online activity—why not leverage that behavior to encourage more sales volume and a happier sales experience? By granting concert goers and their friends control over where they sit, ENGAGEMENT starts at the ticket buying experience rather than the show. Ticketmaster has distinguished itself from the competition by tapping into human behavior, and is likely to see new and returning customers as a result.

6. To engage is to participate. Best practice: Listen to what people are saying about your brand. Lesson from Gatorade: listening to online conversations and learning from user generated content will yield insights necessary for communication and innovation.

7. Lessons from Brands participating in Social Media Engagement Provide a Communal Space for People to Gather and Connect Define Your Objectives/Know Thy Purpose/Have a Plan Listen to Conversation/ Know Thy People Create your rules—a strategy to keep your approach consistent Sharing is Caring: Fix Problems, Improve Lives, Build Relationships Exercise Transparency

8. Social Media: Rules of Engagement Have a plan. Ask yourself what you want to get from engaging online. Whether it’s awareness, customer service, sales, SEO, define what success looks like and then decide how you will get there. Decide which social media network(s) are the right space for what you need to achieve (i.e. Facebook for loyalty, Twitter for acquisitions or retention). Listening will always be your first step in communicating online. Search your brand on Facebook, Twitter, Google, YouTube, etc. What are people saying? Get to know who you’re talking to and take time to dig below the surface. Listening doesn’t only improve communication in real life (and it may aid innovation). Transparency means showing compassion. Openness and honesty is rewarded and expected on social media networking sites. Attach a name to a Tweet like Dell or share pictures of your baristas at work. You’ll get what you give. Remaining relevant in an always-on-the-go, information-inundation culture isn’t easy. Your best bet is to customize solutions to individuals and make a commitment to constantly improving and innovating. Don’t forget to update your definition of success as you achieve milestones. Maintain a consistent strategy and tone. Update. Improve. Evaluate. Repeat.

9. Now that we all can SEE each other, we actually give a damn! So what’s the story? Participating brands Alone. Selfish. Me. Competitive. Narrow. Cultural Localism. Benevolence. Peace of mind. Before Fastest. Best. Always On. Always On the Go. Social Media After Collaboration. User generated content. Fewer pauses. Less fulfillment. Phenomenon Access. Democracy. Community. Curiosity. More actions. Fewer connections.  Connecting. Sharing. Trusting. Learning.

10. ONLINE BEHAVIOR IMITATES REAL LIFE BEHAVIOR Your challenge is to behave humanely  The Social Media Landscape: 2011