Mike

This is an excellent post and dovetails well with the concept of intent that I have been formulating recently.

Social Media is — and can be — a very powerful tool for people, companies and brands, but the success of their efforts, is directly proportionate to the intent of their engagement.

In the scenario you highlight with #hohoto, it had a charitable angle, and their intent was to raise money for a good cause, an authentic intention that users can get behind and happily support — especially around the holidays. @epicchange’s #tweetsgiving fundraising event on Twitter also achieved similar, staggering results.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, the intent of #motrinmoms, for better or for worse, was to mobilize for purposes of expressing their dissatisfaction with the ad to McNeil, and negativity is, unfortunately, another very powerful motivator for the masses.

But those represent the extremes, so as you pointed out, the average brand attempting to harness the power of social media should not expect this type of dramatic response. However, what they can do to boost the success of their efforts, is to take a step back and define clear goals and objectives for their engagement. But goals and objectives alone are not enough if not rooted in an authentic intent.

If you’re a brand and you push one-way messages at users, riddled with sales messaging and links to your product or service, it becomes very apparent very quickly, through the transparency of the medium, that your intention is solely to promote yourself/sales with lttle interest in the wants and needs of those who comprise your network.

But if you’re a brand who engages in two-way, meaningful communication with your end users, listening to their wants, and addressing their needs directly, it then becomes clear that your intent is to build relationships, and while it may not spur the activities to the extent listed in the scenarios above, it will generate sustainable, long-term results through a community who become personally invested in your brand, and who are willing to serve as loyal ambassadors to spread your message through their respective networks. And that positive, ongoing momentum yields far greater results than one-off sales or a few clicks of your link-laden messages.