Jesse Pickard's Thoughtstream

Should Brands Join or Build Social Networks?

Here’s the post I put up within Jeremiah Owyang’s thread on Facebook.

Wow, a lot has been said so I’ll try not to repeat anything.

Brands should definitely join and only build if they actually have some solid benefits to offer.

Although building a lifestyle network sounds great, it must be executed PERFECTLY to have a chance. Because the second consumers get the slightest whiff of a brand’s ownership/influence on a “lifestyle” soc network, they often run for the hills.


Unless you’re dealing with an affinity brand, you need to take some time out for a reality check before building a network. The likely situation is that A) People don’t care that much about your brand and B) People think your marketing efforts are evil and untrustworthy.

Now, combat A and B with real consumer benefits and honest communication delivered to the right niche, and your network might have a chance.

One last thing, when a brand does have multiple social networking executions, I’m always astonished to see how isolated each effort is. A Facebook page and branded social network can be deeply integrated. How about building a place for alpha-fans, and also joining a large network to talk to your prospects. Now, build in functionality that deeply integrates the two, and you can have your brand advocates influence potential consumers.

I think building can be an amazing thing, but needs to be more than just launching www.My[insert brand name].com