The thing that has struck me the most is that the concept of what ‘social media’ actually is seems to be getting in the way and making firms who have a firm understanding of who they are and what they do, suddenly very nervous. I sit there and wait for the nervous ticks to start, knowing that any minute the phrase ‘so, what’s this social media thing then?’ is about to be asked.

It strikes me the hurdle to understanding what it is, is the phrase itself: Social Media. It sounds so big, so serious that people panic. For me social media is just a delivery method, a set of tools like any other to be used as and when appropriate. After all, you wouldn’t swat a fly with a bar-bell, so why get involved with social media just because everyone else seems to be doing so

Ben made a very valid point last week, that most social media tools will align together in the coming years, which will make things easier to get a grip on. However, even the best social media doesn’t work without content, which still boils down to words and pictures. It’s just that the words are online and free to roam (so tricky to control) and the pictures can be photos or videos.

For many companies, the idea of not controlling the information, or conversation, is the main fear. The question you need to ask yourself is ‘what do I want to get out of it?’ For most companies, what they want is a new way of getting in touch with existing customers and addressing their concerns quicker. In many cases, this doesn’t need a social media strategy, it just needs the company to be a little more open, a little freer with information.

Then there is the problem that social media isn’t like a tap you can turn on and off at will – social media is more a spring, constantly bubbling away giving up information and ideas. One of the beauties of working on NokNok is that Nokia is open to the idea of what social media means – being open to people prodding, probing and asking awkward questions. Sure, it’s about talking about one company, it’s products and its services but by openly discussing it, those ideas are pushed around to other people, other sites and other influencers.

In the end, social media is a means of delivery, it’s not a solution in and of itself. As long as you’ve got your part right, starting the conversation, leaving the well-spring to bubble away with conversations is a job done well!

One of the best ways to do this for a brand, is to step inside the business and bring it to the outside. This happens day in and day out on Nokia Conversations, which works tirelessly to bring the myriad untold stories to the people who want to read them. This not only helps break down the barrier between a brand and its customers, but gives us as editors something to write about when typically there might not be. It also gives users a reason and an excuse to visit a brand’s website more regularly. And Google loves this.

We hear all the time about Search Engine Optimisation (Snake Oil) but with little real understanding of what it means. To us, it means simply having something worth searching for. For that, it must be both interesting and relevant. Typically, that which is either interesting or relevant is also previously untold. New. In other words. The days are long gone when you could create a site, stuff it full of “optimised” “content” and hope for the best. Today, a site needs to be living and breathing, updated daily, continually developing and evolving and backed up by a solid editorial strategy. The best way for a brand to do this? Open up. Tell the stories that don’t normally get told. Allow the outside in, and crucially, allow the inside to venture out.

See, Google (the search engine, not the company) likes it when sites are updated regularly, when they offer something new or previously untold. Those same tales will initially be read by the very interested few. Quite quickly some of them will write about them elsewhere (linking back to the original in the process) and the few will turn into a few more, when the whole process will start again and ultimately, the few more turn into many. All the whilst Google (the search engine, not the company) loves it even more as the more links pointing to the same story, the higher up the results page the story will go.

It can’t be faked, it must be real, genuine, interesting and engaging. To do that, brands need to get comfortable with the concept of opening up and telling those stories they wouldn’t previously consider telling, in an environment where people aren’t just welcome but actively encouraged to share, comment and react. It’s the very antithesis of the traditional closed corporate mindset. Sure, brands could put any old stuff up on their site and hope for people to come. But if people aren’t searching for it, they won’t find it. Telling quality stories, that reveal something more about a brand, in an open and honest way is a great way to be found.

And that’s how Google is changing corporate culture.