Imagine this scene: tick, tick, tick…and the clock strikes 12. The men at Sterling Cooper advertising in New York City huddle around a boardroom table; scotch in hand, cigarette smoke fresh in the air. Crafting the latest ad campaign, their matching black freshly ironed suits flood the room. But what appears to be a scene from the popular AMC show, Mad Men, is also the world of advertising on Madison Avenue, long before the online world, and long before Twitter released its first tweet.

Photo courtesy of Russellmoore.com

Twitter users have turned the tables on Madison Avenue. With user-generated content taking over the web, and social media particularly gaining more popularity every day, big brands are paying close attention to what their customers are saying online.

Overnight Ad Success-How Samsung Succeeded By Listening

For instance,  Samsung’s latest television ad, which mocks Apple Inc.’s new iPhone, got over 32 million views in just 2 weeks. Samsung credits the success of the ad to their team tuning in to comments made by consumers on Twitter. The lines from the script were pulled directly from “hundreds of thousands” of tweets making fun of features of the iPhone5. Samsung is “pulling conversations that are happening in [their] category and reflecting them in ads,” as noted by the company’s Vice President of strategic marketing, Brian Wallace. Social media has not only provided massive visibility to the 30 second ad, but created strategic direction for Samsung in the first place. They are not only tuning in to conversations on their own brand, but their competitors, and capitalizing on the opportunities leveraged from listening in.

Procter & Gamble – Ad Proves They Listen To Their Followers

Procter & Gamble has leveraged social conversation to devise new TV ads for its Duracell Powermat, a device that allows smartphone charging on the go. Duracell decided to use the little red and green battery signals in its ad after reviewing social media analytics. Data indicated that “70,000 people had commented that their battery was red while over 55,000 talked about their battery being green” (Networked Insights Inc.). Social analytics and tweets like “that moment when your phone battery is red and dying and you still use it like it’s on green” have helped the marketing giant integrate social data in to their ad creation process. Scenarios creating frustration for users create conversation on social networks, and brands and their advertising agencies are listening in. Ads that take into account what people are saying online showcases an ability to react positively to consumer requests and complaints. Companies like Procter & Gamble push user-generated content front and center, becoming more relevant, sharable, and socially savvy in the process.

Madison Avenue ad execs have long relied on gut instinct. With social media always changing, brands will have to learn to evolve with the trends, pay attention to conversations, and shift strategy to stay relevant. While filming the Samsung ad, dialogue was being changed on the spot! Stakeholders have found their footing on Twitter and although some Madison Avenue insiders are still skeptical of how influential Twitter comments truly are, more brands are using social media data in their ad planning. Another example is Revlon, who eliminated words like “hypoallergenic” from their ads, which has not been a major conversation online. The word will play a lesser role in 2013 (Wall Street Journal).

Advertising has long been built on the customer always being right, and in the age of digital these customers are turning to Twitter to voice their opinions and connect with brands. As the doors close to the board room, Madison Avenue will need to take a look at user-generated content online to stay ahead and stay in line with the long recognized slogan, the customer is always right. Let’s hope their gut instinct leads to Twitter.

When it comes to businesses having a presence in social media, there is a fine line between too much and not enough. Networks such as Facebook and Twitter are great platforms for reaching a large audience, especially with the ability to zero in on a certain crowd that takes an interest in your product. With the correct amount of engagement done in the proper way, a company can build a loyal following for its brand that will hopefully result in new customers and more sales. Unfortunately, with the huge shift to internet marketing, many businesses have outdone themselves when it comes to trying to create a large social media presence, and have actually hurt themselves rather than helped. Following 5 guidelines, as described by Nellie Akalp in her article, can be a good start for any brand to get its name out there without causing damage.

1. Social Media is not for Selling Product

However instinctual it may be, a company’s Facebook page is not the place to be advertising a product and pushing a customer to buy it. Users are not on social sites to purchase items. They would go to purchasing websites for that. Users are looking to  be informed and to see compelling and interesting content that will entertain them. “Social media is all about building relationships and growing trust”, says Nellie Akalp. News from around the industry or interesting stories that have something to do with the product can be good things to post on. Creating a discussion that will cause interaction with the customers is a good way to build a following. According to Akelp, self-promotion should only be about 5%-10% of any company page.

2. Social Media is Not About Self Promotion

Similar to the previous rule, a company’s social site should not be all about self-promotion. Posting only on products and advertisements does nothing to create discussion and will only discourage customers from engaging. Once again, interesting content that will grab a user’s attention will build trust and a loyal following. Nobody wants to hear someone talk about themselves the whole time.

3. Pick and Choose Wisely

With so many social sites it’s very easy for a business to quickly register on all of them, considering most are free, and spread itself thin when it comes to updating them all. Especially for smaller businesses, its better to pick a couple main ones that you will be able to update regularly, rather than a bunch that you will never update. Especially with such an emphasis nowadays on a company’s internet marketing, staying up to date is very important for keeping a following. It will reflect poorly if there is no engagement on the site.

4. Go at Your Own Pace

Companies that have huge budgets for marketing have many resources and time to continuously update and engage in new social site trends. This may pressure a smaller company to want to try to keep up and do the same. It is important that smaller businesses do not play this game as it will only fail when resources are not at the same level. Choose certain sites and do very well in those areas to create loyalty, and then decide whether to move into other sites. It is better to be really good at a couple than not so good at a lot.

5. Consider Resources

Social media is not free. Despite free sign ups and add-ons, it takes employees and time to produce positive results in the social world. Interesting content takes time to create, and planning is necessary when building a base of loyal customers. This is something businesses should keep in mind when assigning tasks and deciding how they will go about social networking.

Despite how daunting a social media campaign may be, the proper amount of work and correct procedures can produce very successful results with a larger brand following and loyalty that will result in more sales.