Social media means you don’t own your brand anymore!

Max Valliquette is a social media expert who helps companies understand how to communicate via this new medium. Max spoke at the recent Canadian Marketing Association Next: 2010 National Convention in Toronto recently. You can watch more great videos from the CMA National Convention here.

According to Max, social media sites are no longer destinations, but channels of access. Social is a media we do not control even if we create them. Social media to the young is their language. It’s not news that kids learn computers and technology faster and easier than adults in general. It’s almost as if this is a native language they’ve been waiting for all their lives.

Social media is a conversation which never ends.

Social media has shattered the illusion of control for brands and marketers – we no longer have total control over a brand. Young people have always pushed against authority and boundaries and thinking we can maintain control in today’s world is a misconception and a dangerous one at that. Control has shifted from creators to consumers.

Kids grow up thinking that they own their brands and they can draw Mickey and Donald, put it on their fridge and do with it as they will. Now those same kids are making mashups of TV shows, sports and movies.

We don’t even control the channels where people discuss our brands. You can’t even really control what people find when they search for your brand.

You can’t simply transplant your old marketing plan onto the web. You have to involve young consumers in the marketing process and seek their feedback or you will alienate them and they’ll hijack your branding.

Takeaway: You can try and fight this. You can hire lawyers to send cease and desist letters every time you see something negative posted on the web about your brand, but your time would be better spent engaging young consumers and involving them.