Randall Stross wrote a great piece last week describing the rush to social networks like Facebook by brands who want to make friends with their members. The net net of what he wrote is that brands who treat Facebook as simply an extension of their marketing channel, expecting members to declare their loyalty by friending brand fan pages will be (and have been) extremely disappointed. Having a fan page with a handful of friends like the 19 fans Shaw’s Supermarkets has or the mere 1,100 fans US Airways boasts (a fraction of their customer base) is probably worse than not having a presence at all. But, that has not deterred thousands of brands from trying.

His article underscores what we have observed for some time now: push as a strategy on social networks doesn’t work. Sure, it’s possible to have a fan base develop on social networking sites – just look at the millions of people who have ”friended” causes like breast cancer and autism awareness on these sites. But that is (a) the exception and (b) the result of Facebook members signing up willingly because they found the appeal compelling and relevant. Hard to imagine having that same sort of sentiment for toothpaste or shaving cream.

We think that the future of social isn’t about pushing marketing messages to people who really aren’t there to be marketed to but rather about using social as a way to develop/adapt products that adds value to the experience that people seek when visiting those networks. In fact, we think the essence of a Social SAVVY^tm strategy is first figuring out how you can enable or enhance friendship first, which will then pull thru demand for your brand. Sounds squishy, at first, doesn’t it? But step back and think about all of the efforts and massive amounts of money that have been spent trying to do it the other way and maybe you’ll be persuaded. For more on what we view as the critical elements of a Social SAVVY^tm strategy, check out the five forces of social networking.