"Adding value" as a strategy? What a concept. That's definitely one for the list. Though I would venture that many would have no concept of what that even means, and would ultimately need to be made more specific. I try to do it, and I request that you guys call "bullshit" on me if I am not. It might come out in dribs and drabs, but hopefully it comes out eventually!

In the meantime, I'll throw out another perspective just for kicks from a @copyblogger tweet: "How about you add value instead of engaging in veiled 'conversation' that you mistakenly think makes you look good?" Whoa.

Another great post. iThink that keeping the conversation is the greatest single strategy of all.

As far as brands, it always does depend. Is Toro, going to embrace people on Twitter? Not likely – but will something like a locally owned start-up, Street-za? Absolutely.

Street-za actually has an added advantage when it comes to engaging their customers because they can respond in near real time. Toro is far to huge to do so near real time. So even though both can embrace technology, only one can build their brand around it effectively.

So the challenge remains, and i'll let someone else take the torch… and keep the conversation going.

What are your thoughts?

Like any tactic, a social one is always best when integrated with the brand strategy. I L-O-V-E your idea of disintegrated social communication "pixellating" the brand!!! That is absolutely brilliant. Thanks for sharing it with us.

While social media can help move people closer to the organization, and vice versa, social media tools, used without thought to the strategy behind them run a very great risk of "pixellating" a brand. If outposts–and more importantly, the purpose and messages of those posts–aren't coordinated with an eye toward the larger picture, people's interactions become so focused on individual parts that the larger brand image gets fuzzy, or even lost.

What's most important is to figure out how the tools of social media can best be used in a way that supports and amplifies aspects of a brand: personality, values, etc. While many brands may not stand for community as Threadless does, community may be a core value for them–and in that case community building and interaction (with social media is a very useful tool.

By having a very, very clear vision of what the organization does and stands for, you're in a position to envision how all the pieces fit together to form both a larger and more focused image (the brand) in the minds of the people an organization serves.