Michael Leis

Where do brands start in social media strategy? With a brand cause at the heart of their efforts. Here’s what I’ve developed working with brands to focus effective efforts.

Looking at the major players in social media, contrast in color and user experience controls creates meaning for the creator and the browser. How much is too much, and how can brands take these lessons back to their own Web strategy?

Social media has been especially perplexing for clients who have made their hay over the years in direct marketing channels. To help clear things up a bit, here are a few key points from my place consulting these clients:

An era of upheval: the dominant systems of broadcasting are scrambling. What is this new media that’s popping up? Everyone seems to be gravitating towards it, “traditional media” giants are getting pushed out. Brands wonder how they’ll have a lasting affect here; how can they stay in the discourse.

There’s nothing worse than the sinking feeling when someone with a large following blasts your brand. But it’s not a crisis, it’s an opportunity: to demonstrate that the brand is human, engaged, and helpful. Here are a few guideposts I’ve developed to turn the tide when your brand gets slammed:

As print magazine readership fades, Facebook applications are becoming the place where people are indulging their flights of fancy and building stronger ties with friends.

For this generation of senior employees and the brands they represent, it becomes very important to understand where the personal comfort level is, and work with that, as opposed to trying to ramp up everyone to where you think they should be. This is where the community manager becomes crucial.

You may think of your avatar as “the fun you,” or, “the serious you” or “what’s most important to me” because you’re considering this picture to be in the context of your life. But to anyone looking at it, the avatar is you. That’s it. During that visitor’s experience of looking at your avatar, you’re not standing next to them giving them context.

From Google blog search, to SocialMention to Twitter search to backtype; if you’re trying to monitor your brand mentions in the social space with or without the aide of professional tools, you’re quickly buried under a tabvalanche.To avoid the Tabvalanche, I recommend Netvibes as a way to make your own social media dashboard.

If you’ve ever wanted to hear the opinions of 100 leaders in the social media space crystallize their thoughts into 400 words and donate to cancer research, here’s your big chance. Connect: Marketing in the Social Media Era does all of that, and more: You’re bound to find a number of perspectives and insights into your own marketing you haven’t yet considered.