Let us make genuine Social Media efforts

Late last-night, on my way back home on an empty seven train (NYC), I overheard an argument (well not really the whole discussion… just what she responded to what he had said. Which I don’t know what it was) that made me think, once again, how much brands are -or at least should behave- like humans. Well, at least, apparently like this man being yelled at by his girlfriend.

“…You know, the thing is that you never have time just for me. You give me all this bs of wanting to look after others well-being and this and that, but all you want is the recognition from those around you… you’re not going to admit it, but I see how you get when you get all those e-mails congratulating you, or when we go to dinner they all tell you how much they like what you’re doing…”

Ok, I don’t know exactly what she was referring to but I do know, however, that it sucks that looking “after others well-being” had become such spectacle within the network one interacts with, to the point of undermining one’s initiative (whatever it may be that benefits others) by concentrating the attention on him/her, rather than on those being helped. The reason why this has become so, is because we’ve been living in a world in which looking “after others well-being” is so rare, that if someone does it, everyone goes crazy admiring the nice idea/initiative, running down a message that may have been genuine. Or some others flat out say, he/she (or it) is just doing that for the attention…

So my point is that we’ve lost some of the innocence that make us humans believe that there are people (or brands) that could be, genuinely, driven to benefit others; so if we all, as a group, start heading in the same direction, looking for others well being, that idea will become a common denominator of us all and it would be normal to want to make our communities a better place to live; and shift the attention to those ripping the benefits (the audience/market) rather than on the messenger, the “benefit creator”, the brand.

Brands in Social Media must understand that it is not longer about them, but about their followers; and the more brands think about this, the easier it will become for everyone, the more legit your message will seem and our society can evolve with a sense of innocence that it is always nice to, legitimately, believe someone is doing something positive for the sake of doing it and not just for the attention… well, if sales, profits and/or positive brand recognition come with it all, so be it.

Aroldo Nery
Strategist/Brand Director @ The Re Agency