As part of my work as a mentor for MEGA, I had the privilege recently to meet with Sandra Cook. Sandra runs a website called Journey Beyond Road Trauma, an online social network that brings together those affected by road trauma. Officially launched this past Easter, it has rapidly grown into a community of 400+ who lend support to each other, share stories and honour the memories of loved ones lost.
As marketers, we spend so much time thinking about what this new technology means for our business that we lose sight of the bigger picture. Social media is more than just a new way to observe and interact with our customers, but a total revolution in how we as a society communicate and connect with each other. It empowers tribes to form and mobilise around a common cause. While some are nothing more than pure novelty, there are others that have the power to truly change our world for the better.
The tribe that Sandra has built is well and truly the latter and a reminder of the true power of social media.
Late 2009, AdAge guest columnist Michael Werch conducted a social media experiment where decided to impersonate a famous brand and see how long it would take for them to notice and what the resposne would be.
For two weeks, he 
posed as a Twitter representative of Heinz under the username @HJ_Heinz where he shared information about the brand as well as recipes and tips when using Heinz products. In other words, he was an advocate for the brand. Once Heinz got wind of the account, however, it was swiftly shutdown and Werch’s username changed to @notHJ_Heinz with a stern warning that he had violated Twitter’s rules.
In contrast, @Adelaide_FC started life as the unofficial Twitter account for the Adelaide Crows with an unnamed fan tweeting regular updates and news about the team including links to the Crows official website. Once the Crows found out about it, however, they did not ask Twitter to close the account but instead reached out to @Adelaide_FC and asked if he would continue tweeting officially for the team.
Today’s digital tools have empowered consumers to spread the word and share their passion. However, it is up to brands themselves to decide how much control of their brand and their message they are willing to cede to their customers.
How much control do you think an organisation needs to keep over their brand?
Do unofficial brand advocates need to be kept on a leash to prevent them from saying something damaging or are brands better served letting them spread the word authentically and without interference?
