There are many, many perspectives out there on the why and how of social media’s impact on marketing, communications and reputation, and plenty of opinions on what you should do about it right away. Many of the perspectives trumpet the revolutionary nature of the change, and it is absolutely true that social media is bringing substantial change to these areas of practice. However, in thinking about where we are going, it is important to know where we started, and to map a solution that will take us beyond the immediate horizon.

One place to start is with Theodore MacManus, a copywriter for General Motors at the turn of the 20th century. In his fascinating history of advertising, “The Mirror Makers”, Stephen Fox describes MacManus’ approach as follows: “Cars like Buick and Cadillac were expensive items that customers bought infrequently, usually after careful planning and scrimping. So…he aimed to build a durable image of reliable quality, year after year, that would send the consumer to General Motors whenever the big decision to buy was made. …in the same unhurried way that two people became friends, he aimed to build a relationship based on a slow accumulation of favorable impressions.”

MacManus described the effect of his advertising at the turn of the 20th century as surrounding his products with “an invisible cloud of friendly, favorable impressions”. Well, of course, here we are at the turn of the 21st century, and those clouds of impressions are now visible, and not always favorable. Impressions good and bad can be drawn from the tag and content “clouds” that represent the conversation about your brand in the digital information landscape, with those conversations having some impact – amplificatory or adverse – on the favorable impressions you are seeking to creating through your marketing, PR and delivery.

In blogs about brand and social media, and in conversations with our own customers and other practitioners, there is pretty solid agreement that the traditional mechanics by which brands are developed and cultivated to influence sales is changing. Whether for marketing or communciations, we need to think carefully about these questions, and look for solutions that don't just fill an immediate gap by letting us watch the clouds, but instead give us a long term forecast and let us understand which way the wind is blowing.