Know what social media, Alphonse Karr, and a wagon wheel have in common?

As the Alphonse Karr quote goes….

“the more things change, the more things stay the same.”

The same is true when it comes to using social media as a way to connect with your consumer, client, or fan.

Recently I came across a blog post I published in 2009 that was inspired by an Advertising Age article written by Mr. Tom Martin. By early 2009 when the article was written, I had been active on Facebook and LinkedIn a couple of years and Twitter for 6 only months. Even so, Twitter had quickly become my social media platform of choice for communicating my thoughts and perspectives in 140 character increments at a time.

The Ad Age article talked about celebrities who were not managing their own Facebook pages. This meant in many instances the Facebook page was solely marketing-focused instead of communication-focused. A day before Mr. Martin’s perspective was published, I tweeted the following:

Great minds think alike, right? Social media should not be seen as a one-way street or a place where only one person talks and everyone else listens. You should instead view social media as a multi-way platform for engagement. As an avid traveler, I immediately envision the Shibuya Crossing in Tokyo, Japan when thinking about this concept.

However back in 2009, I likened a brand’s use of social media to that of a wagon wheel. The core of the wagon wheel is the brand, each spoke is a line of communication and the rim is the population of social media users. If any piece isn’t fully engaged with the others, the integrity of wheel (brand equity) will come into question.

This is one of the reasons why we encourage our clients to speak to and converse with their consumers, clients, or target audience on social media. You start with a simple comment, post, tweet, +1, or pin to a social post, but it can turn into so much more. The social networks may change and evolve from time to time or you may not be as technically savvy as the next person, but the act of active listening in order to nurture relationships remains the same.