Mike Arauz wrote an excellent post on ‘How to Become a Social Brand‘ last week. He describes a five-step process for putting a brand into a more social sphere and succeeding with social media:

1. Define Objectives
2. Identify a Compelling Topic of Conversation
3. Participate
4. Identify Friends and Fans
5. Foster Relationships

As strategists, we see the first two steps as being all important and place special emphasis on identifying a compelling topic for conversation. Arauz points out that we need to identify a compelling topic…a topic that people care about personally and are willing to get engaged with.

When we’re in conversation at a dinner party (revealing my age here), it’s easy to find something that stirs people. But brands have traditionally lived in less compelling territory. We typically don’t find ourselves speaking about brands at dinner parties, or at least not ones we remember.

Civil Branding is about identifying a core brand narrative that people think is worth talking about and engaging with. The three major tests we put to these civil narratives are:

1. Is it inclusive? We look for topics that bring people together in conversation and unite people in discussion on different sides of an issue. For civil brands we want to raise topics that are above tribes and erase social strata, as segregation erodes society.
2. Is it important? We identify topics that these groups agree are worth discussing. While a new formula to make your hair shiny may affect purchase at the shelf, it’s not going to be the topic of conversation.
3. Is it influential? We find effective ways to create wider conversation and to change the social agenda. We need a compelling delivery vehicle to get the conversation going and raise the initial awareness.

How much structure and freedom should kids have in their play time? How can we help young women improve their self-esteem? How can we reshape our ideas around  money and take a more healthy approach? How do we promote unity and respect for other people’s perspectives?

These are topics that people find worthy of discussion and are major topics for well known global brands. When we discuss these topics, we build upon the fabric of our society and create progress. When our brands help to begin and then carry on these conversations, they are put on a different plain to competing brands.

It just so happens that the major criteria for a successful civil brand are the very same criteria that define what will make an important topic for a social brand. Of course, there are less important topics that can be discussed for a short time, but the bigger the topic, the more a boost to the brand and the more potential to shift the agenda on an idea that affects society.

As brands continue to become increasingly relevant to society, social media will mature and marketing departments restructure, dismantling silos that make social media strategies difficult to implement. Meaning to society will become an important measure as leading brands look to increasingly engage people beyond the quality and functional benefits of their product. Brands that can been seen to contribute toward progress will create a halo that will increase loyalty from customers, engagement with staff and trust from shareholders.