The Shift from "Doing" to "Being" - Uwe Hook - MediaBizBloggers

Brands are good at doing. Developing new marketing strategies, jumping on the latest marketing bandwagon, adjusting tactics to meet the quarterly profit projections. That worked well in the old marketing reality of broadcast, reach and frequency. Doing something showed that you're still around, that you're still a player, that you're there to win the game.

The Social Web is different.

Just doing something (even if it's funny or intriguing) will only get you so far. Maybe you can accumulate a lot of followers, get a "like" here or there but does it mean anything? Brands are often caught up in plain doing (because that's what we all learned to do in school and college) for the sake of doing.

The Social Web wants you to be something.

Brands have to take a long, hard look at themselves: Who am I? What am I standing for? What are my core values? How can I demonstrate these core values to people? How can I establish an authentic brand narrative?

Let's face it: The Social Web is getting crowded and it's going to be hard for brands to stand out. Silly tactics and stunts might get you a quick spike in attention but it will fade quickly. The better solution is to focus on who you really are and expand that narrative to all platforms that make sense to your brand.

Character is what you know you are, not what others think you have.

Do you know who you are?

Uwe Hook is the CEO and Co-Founder of BatesHook, Inc. (www.bateshook.com) and a veteran of the advertising and marketing industry with the goal of building connections between people and brands. Uwe can be reached at uwe@bateshook.com.

Read all Uwe's MediaBizBloggers commentaries at Subversions - MediaBizBloggers.

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