Find Ways To Create A Positive Social Value Exchange
In the social media age, sharing and liking content is a key means by which we define and explore our identity, our sense of belonging and our role in society.
But to put social thinking at the centre of marketing doesn’t mean just creating content and having a presence on Facebook or Twitter; it means developing ideas which involve and add to the interpersonal relationships that people care about, in a way that also adds brand value. This isn’t just limited to spending money; brands can harness assets such as time, effort, ideas, content, influence and distribution among others.
The way to do this is to change the way in which you understand your audience. Look for social insights; human truths based on people’s interpersonal rather than just individual motivations. Then use this understanding to generate social ideas that have the power to drive social behaviour.
For example, feminine hygiene brands tend to take a functional, product-benefit-based approach. Always turned this on its head with its #LikeAGirl campaign. It championed continued pride in being a girl at the critical time of puberty, when girls are at their most vulnerable to social pressure. The result is a hugely powerful brand campaign, which has social thinking at the heart of it and creates a new type of value exchange.