We believe that authentic, effective social dialogue demands that brands and organisations engage with people directly and transparently – not just through agencies or other middlemen.

Six principles inform how we operate and advise our clients:

    Brand ‘personality’ cannot be faked on the social web
    The penalty for fakery is can be serious
    Authenticity is the new baseline
    Truth and transparency may be awkward but are not negotiable
    Being genuine = competitive advantage
    Social is personal … who are you and how do you add value?
    Legacy and size no longer define authority in online communities…
    …but they do create a presumption of contribution
    Past initiatives are not laurels to rest upon
    NB. The crowd is not always wise short-term
    It has never been easier or more important
    Learn something but also be seen to do so
    Not listening is arrogant
    Active listening = engagement
    Integration with other research essential
    Know how social marketing assists/affects organisational objectives
    Identify the short, mid, and long-term return
    Measure it against real KPIs using appropriate metrics
    Integrate ‘social’ with everything – functions, processes and channels
    Put the right internal and external resources in place
    Sustainable social organisations contribute to the social media environment consistently and with real purpose
    Policies and plans need to encompass the many changes still to come
    Social policy and practice must be fully integrated with organisational policy and practice
    Long term dependence on agencies for social media support is unsustainable
    We are all both world citizens and members of niche communities
    The long tail is local – around the world
    Usage of media and platforms varies widely – nobody knows it all
    Different cultures and languages can be barriers – or opportunities
    Organisations need to think big and global but often act very small and local