Social Web Power Quote: BabyCenter

Tina Sharkey of BabyCenter states:

"A brand is not what a company says about its product.
It’s what a friend tells a friend."

Social destination sites like Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, Twitter, and FriendFeed are enabling connected consumers to shape brands...with or without official brand involvement.

Many brands are realizing they need to understand how to participate in the Groundswell, as Forrester describes it. I agree with Forrester that it is important for brands to spend time on the social destination sites and engage consumers in whatever way is appropriate.

I also believe that it is critical for brands to figure out how to make their own websites social. I am not necessarily talking about adding Forums and Blogs to the website. If that makes sense for the brands, then they should do that.

I am talking about socializing the actual web pages and content that consumers interact with directly. Facilitating friend-to-friend connections and conversations around specific website content helps consumers get valuable input from friends...which directly impacts brand value.

Source of Quote:
TNS Media Intelligence Report