By Sailesh Wadhwa, Strategy Planning Director, Lowe and Partners

The phrase that has ended, many a budding one-sided romance, something the Facebook love-struck Brands seem to be oblivious of. Sure the good old ‘AIDA’ model looks like a misfit in this random ‘Likes and Dislikes’ world of Social Media Marketing; unfortunately most of these campaigns continue to struggle to impact both: consumers and balance sheets. The truth is, unlike the AIDA model which compelled customers to ‘Take Physical Action’ in the end, ‘Likes or Fans’ fail to rise beyond ‘Social Sharing’.

So is there any hope for brands to move from the ‘I Like you’ to ‘I Love You’ situation?
Will Smith’s character of love guru in Hitch would have advised “Any guy can sweep any girl off her feet, he just needs the right broom.”

Brandsneed to find the right Social Broom that makes them love worthy. Sure Engagement in the form of Entertainment & Activism in the online space is all good but that alone wouldn’t sweeten-up the chances of blossoming into love.

Like in love, brands need to show genuine interest in what their lovers [consumers] are passionate about. Sure consumers seem to be passionate about their respective social networks and social media on the whole, but to them being part of a social network holds a deeper meaning than just social sharing. The truth is that they have figured out the purpose of being on social networks far better than brands. Here are a few examples of how customers as individuals like you and me, who are leveraging the power of their respective connections, their social networks.

The Social Broom

Try and look beyond my lips: There is much more to Social Media than just Facebook, Twitter & Youtube. Our customers know this it’s time we train our campaign strategies to look beyond.

I kiss on Facebook, but still make love somewhere else: Facebook is like Starbucks, sure our customers tend to hangout there but when it comes to indulging themselves they go someplace else. Sure your consumer insights will help you follow them, but it doesn’t guarantee a coffee upstairs after a hot date.

My Love doesn’t come with exclusive rights: Being on her social network friend list doesn’t guarantee anything. Remember the social network is not about your brand, you are just another member there. However active demonstration of you passion for the group would you row closer.

Don’t sacrifice realism for prose in courtship: Our customers are real people with real expectations from their social networks and brands, sure they love the occasional flirtatious/romantic moment now and then, but they don’t seem to lose sight of the purpose of what they want to achieve from their connections. As Brands we should also not sacrifice purpose for prose/entertainment Our campaigns should be designed to take Online Conversations to Offline Real world actions.

I want to wake-up next to you every morning: There is a difference between going to bed with someone and waking-up next to someone every morning, our customers know and value this. Thus our Brand’s Social Media strategies shouldn’t be one-off and tactical, but something which we invest in with a long term horizon. Just the way we do with people we love, before the ‘I like you’ turns into ‘I love you’.