A Battle for Social Web Traffic: Brand Pages

So Twitter joined Facebook and Google today by launching 'Brand Pages'. So what, right? Well, if you're managing a brand or doing so for a client's brand, you're going to want to jump in on the action.

You see, brand's need social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and Google+. They need to connect. They need to fuel the push and pull action that takes place between the people with products and services and the people that want them.

However, brands are very conscious about their image. They want "some" control over their presence on these networks. Brand Pages provide a false sense of brand security in that the social network dictates how your brand will be presented. There are a certain amount of spaces to fill with creative. There are certain places to put in your company info. And of course, there's always a segment of the network where you pump your sausage, i.e. your news.

This isn't control. These aren't "brand pages." They are apartments. Brands are renting these spaces and are generating loads of traffic (and ad revenue) for the social darlings of the web.

My advice is to take advantage of brand pages in order to avoid squatters, but don't forget YOUR website. Remember that thing right? The online face for your brand that you actually have 100% control over? Well, don't forget to use that and in fact, socialize it. Make your website, your SOCIAL website. Make it the center of your social hub for your target audience. Then, all those other brand pages will be just that -- pages -- whereas your website will be a brand experience.

Just sayin'.