2. The Dawning of a
New Era?
In year 20 of the Internet as we
know it, we see the rise of a
whole new world. It's a world of
exploding connectivity — which
sounds great for marketers.
But this world was built for
people, not brands.
Is your brand on Facebook,
on Twitter? Are you happy
with what you get?
The opportunity is said to be
huge. But what is it? We
suggest it's: Sharing Surplus.

3. He, Look at Me!
I'm the Brand that
Makes You Happy.
Brands want to stand out from
the competition and connect
with consumers. That's their
job. And their job description
doesn't change just because
people find new ways to
connect — unless they change
the rules of the game.
Are social media a game
changer for brands?
Books have been written about
the "new rules" in the "network
economy". What's the reality?

4. The Broken
Economies of the
Star-Brand
System.
Brands used to connect with
consumers via one-way media.
And still today, nothing reaches
hearts and minds more
effectively than a benefit drama
in technicolor. But the costs of
staging the drama and
maintaining consumer's interest
keep rising.
Can social media fill the gap
between what brands need
to do and what they can
afford?

5. Hello, I'm Your
Consumer.
I Don't Want to Be
a Target.
"Markets are conversations"
opened the Cluetrain Manifesto
in 2000. Since then, social
media have given consumers
an even stronger arm over
brands and their policies.
Do brands have to be in
social media to open the
consumer dialogue?
Turns out, people don't have so
much to talk with brands —
and social media might just be
the new service hotline…

6. The Strategy of the
Clueless
Cosmonaut.
We are all like clueless
cosmonauts, teleported into an
unknown corner of the space-
time-continuum.
At this moment, trying to
understand the grand
design might not make us fit
for survival.
Right now, it is more important
to check the oxygen supply —
or selfishly ask: what's essential
for the survival of my brand?
And can I find some of it in
social media?

7. Brand Essential 1:
Quality.
(Since 3000 BC)
Trust marks must be as old as
our civilization. Specimen of
quality branding can be found
from the rubbles of Babylon
and Pompeji to the Golden Age
of Madison Avenue.
Today, after Kaizen and Six
Sigma, however, quality
appears like a problem
solved.
But consumer expectations go
far beyond "doesn't break"
now. Their idea of quality now
is built-in excitement.

8. Brand Essential 2:
Position.
(Since 1950)
The late 20th century brought
moderate wealth to all — and a
new challenge for brands:
hyper competition.
As a response, marketers
looked to gain competitive
advantage by better
understanding the psychology
of buying.
"Consumer insight" became
a brand's most valuable
asset.
This is where most brands are,
today.

9. Brand Essential 3:
Sharing.
(Since 2001) NE W
Actually, it is not true. People have
talked about brands, used them
to demonstrate who they are or
aspire to be, long before the
Internet and social media.
Brands have always been part
of our "Social Graph" (as Mark
Zuckerberg calls it).
But the importance of sharing has
grown in proportion with our
technical reach. Where once one
person's good- or bad-mouthing
of a brand only reached a few
mates in the pub, it can have
global repercussions now.

10. The Rocket Science
of Branding.
So we have three levels of
branding: the functional (Quality);
the psychological (Position); and
the social (Sharing).
Of these three levels, marketing is
most familiar with the first two.
Therefore, they receive the lion's
share of attention and budgets.
The third level, though not as well
understood, is a missed
opportunity for one simple reason:
Since sharing has value for the
consumer it has economic
value, too. The question is how
to convert it.

11. The New Brand
Value Equation.
EURO
On the first two levels of
branding, we assume that the
value for the consumer lies
totally in owning and
consuming the brand.
The consumer could be
alone on an island with the
brand and its value would
be the same.
Very obviously, this is not true.
An increasing share of a brand
buyer's R.O.I. comes in the
shape of social feedback.

12. Introducing the
Sharing Surplus.
Why do we call the — not so
new — reward that consumers
get from sharing their brand
choices with others, a surplus?
Because, before the arrival of
social media, it was only
available to show-off luxury
labels. And because, through
the reach of social media, it has
grown to an economically
serious size.
Sharing surplus can create
windfall value for brands if
they manage to tap it.

13. Not All Brands Are
Equally Sociable.
Not all brands can benefit
equally from a sharing surplus.
In some product categories,
consumers may always prefer
to keep their choices private.
But many more brands will be
positively surprised by the
willingness of people to placard
their preferences in the digital
public.
It just depends on whether
the sharing helps them grow
their own social capital.

14. Introducing the
Social Capitalist.
In social media, people — like
brands — are in the business
of collecting thumbs-up.
Nobody will advocate a brand
in his circle of cynical others if
the endorsement doesn't earn
him a social reward. And what
triggers social rewards is much
rather an office joke, a funny
video or just a useful piece of
inside information, than an ad.
What brands need to
critically understand is that
in social media, brand fame
comes as a trade-off of user
fame.

15. How Can Brands
Help Their
Customers Collect
Social Rewards?
Brands can leverage the power
of social media only indirectly:
by providing that users who
share brand-related messages
with their peers will get positive
feedback.
Before starting to plan a social
media strategy, we should have
a better understanding of the
nature of social reward and
of the ways in which brands
can trigger it.

16. Social Capital in
Four Flavours.
When you look at it from a
bird's eye perspective, there
are only four kinds of social
reward that people can get —
and that brands can help them
getting.
What flavor of reward your
brand dispenses is not simply a
matter of your choosing. It
depends on the nature of the
relationship that your brand has
with its customers.
So the key question is: what
flavor of reward can your
brand help consumers to
win from their peers?

17. The Social Profile
of a Brand.
What kind of social reward your
brand dispenses depends on
how it relates to its customers.
Underlying every relationship
are 2 dimensions:
1. The power dimension:
Is the brand in a dominant, or a
supportive role for the user?
2. The emotional dimension:
Is the relationship colored by
emotions, or purely rational?
The key question guiding a
Social Brand Strategy is:
What is the role of your
brand in the relationship
with its customers?

18. A Navigation System
for the Clueless
Cosmonaut.
The relationship perspective
provides us with a basic grid for
navigating the confusing world of
social media.
The grid may be simplistic. But it
lends structure to the planning
process and helps master some
avoidable pitfalls.
Social media planning will still
be trial and error — but with
much less error.

19. The Dawning of
the Social Brand
The future is bright for brands
that manage to earn their
Social Surplus. Customers,
investors and talented
employees are gathering
around brands that are good
company.
Great ideas are and will be
the heart and soul of great
brands. – But social skills
are their hands and feet.

20. Is Your Brand
Ready for the
Conversation?
Really?!
Are you ready for a meaningful
conversation with dozens,
hundreds, maybe thousands of
involved consumers?
For significant investments
without immediate measurable
returns?
For giving away control, in
exchange for endorsement by
anonymous web crowds?