So the other day I was contemplating on what the essential ingredients for a sound social media strategy are and came up with the acronym C3PO. Indulge me and you will see how each piece fits in and builds on the the other.

Content: The phrase "Content is King" is such a cliche but as with all cliches, is built on a truism. Unless there is something for people to do/ read/watch it is unlikely they will stay on your Fan Page or stand-alone site. All of your marketing and SEO efforts will be a waste, and unless users can be engaged in a meaningful and sustained manner they will not keep coming back.

Community: For organisations, the primary value of Social Media is building a community around their brand. However, social media platforms dramatically alter the power equation between brands and their fans. Everyone has an equal voice, fans aren't there simply to monetize their numbers, but if brands foster a respectful and meaningful engagement, a real relationship develops and fans become advocates.

Commerce: In most cases commerce comes after a community is created around a brand, but sometimes social media can provide a convenient platform to go beyond building awareness to actual commerce. Stand-alone sites do this well and as social media companies or independent providers perfect monetary transactions on social media, we see commerce increasing dramatically. Currently, social media platforms provide gateways to commercial opportunities.

Personal: Its all about ME - not aggregate users or demographic slices - most people are interested in their individual user experience with the brand. The unique lens with which each individual interacts with the brand colors their opinion of it. They might even carry an off-line experience and use the online forum to vent (causing brand damage). The key is to pay attention - first, design the experience to allow personalization and in the event that negative opinions are expressed - reach out to mitigate. By reaching out to the individual, not just do you have the opportunity to change their opinion, but also that of the whole community.

Ownership: Yes, all of this is hard work - yes, most organizations do not have the resources to create and nurture their social media presences. But its an effort thats well worth it. On-going engagement can turn fans into advocates, who draw others into the fold for sustained brand engagement and ultimately sales growth. And isn't that the end goal of all marketing efforts.

Finally, another C3PO connection. As background, C3PO is a protocol droid who boasts of being fluent in six million forms of communication. C3PO's main function is to assist with etiquette, customs, and translation so that meetings of different cultures run smoothly.

How appropriate!