A recent Media Post article, Who Is Your Brand's Social Media Voice? raises important points regarding the inner organizational process of selecting and preparing committed, capable social media gurus to spread the brand story throughout the growing available social media channels.

Every company has a story, however, putting this story into a concise, relatable narrative takes some time and focus. In entertainment industry jargon, this would be a company's elevator pitch. Preparing a brand story and making it available for use within an organization is a critical part of any social media engagement strategy. 

As the Media Post article points out, 

"There are many reasons brands need to have a clear, concise story in place, and this is one of them. A successful social media effort radiates from this story. When you already have one in place, your brand is much less likely to stumble. If you don't know your story, figure it out before you even set up a Twitter account or Facebook page."

In other words, getting one's story straight puts the company vision, their reason for being and their public persona firmly in place. From here, telling the story can grow and expand as it proliferates throughout social media channels. 

A New Way Of Communicating With Customers

It is no longer sufficient enough to have the old-school one way conversation of selling to consumers. Today, with the advent of social media, powerful search tools, and peer review sites like Yelp, Citysearch and others, an open dialogue is essential with customers and potential customers who are using social tools to seek out and select the brands with which they want to affiliate. The hard-sell model falls short in this environment. 

Instead, a two-way conversation is required. As the article goes on to point out, 

"Social media can help you communicate your brand story by giving you a forum to talk to and listen to current and potential customers (emphasis on the "listen"). This is not a platform for the hard sell. If you've selected the right person for the job, they will understand the importance of creating a conversation through your selected social media channels. They will be able to respond to what's being said about your brand in a positive way, and know how to rectify issues that might arise."

This is true engagement strategy. With so many options available, what tips a customer in a certain direction (ideally toward your product or service) is the experience had at critical touch points. Here is where the brand frontier becomes one of relationship building, dialogue and ultimately the building of lasting brand relationships. A powerful narrative is the foundation for this effort.

When we tell a story, we take an important step toward giving consumers something with which they can connect and relate. 

As this pertains to finding a social media guru, it's vitally important that companies select passionate brand advocates with social media competencies that can lead the charge into the social media arena. They can also act as a catalyst for enlisting others within a company to likewise engage their own social media channels to provide layers to communications. As can be seen in successful viral campaigns, the more social media engagement, the greater the potential exposure.

So, choose wisely. This is an important role and one that will only grow in scope and necessity as more and more advertising and marketing dollars move online and into social and emerging media resources.