It’s 3 AM and Channel Signal is in the middle of a social media crisis for a customer. This customer wants to learn of every single conversation going on about the issue and what everyone is saying.

Here’s the problem with that approach. It’s like going to a cocktail party and deciding that you want to listen to every conversation on that topic at the party. Some of the conversations will be silly. Some will have the facts wrong. Some will even have the names wrong. Some will be blowhards. Some will have had too much to drink.

And once you get into these conversations you find a doorway to get you out. “Hey, good talking to you. I’m going to grab another beer.”

The same with brands. They should listen politely and record the conversations surrounding an event. But don’t engage. It’s misplaced time and money.

Here’s why. Let’s say  the social media mavens inside a company report to senior management that there were: “10,000 conversations about the issue. 7,000 were negative. 1,000 were positive. And 2,000 were neutral. Here are some examples of the negatives. And some examples of the positives. And we engaged in conversations on our Facebook page and on Twitter.”

And, if a member of senior management, I would ask, ” Are we turning opinion to our favor?”

And the real answer would be…”we don’t know.”

Recording the buzz is a good thing, and should be measured.  Turning the buzz into a positive, or at least a neutral,  is harder to accomplish.

When an issue comes up in social media brands must know the Influencers. And that is accomplished with sustained concentrated listening in specific markets… over a period of time.

Simply put, brands must earn Influencers. How? By having an active social media policy in place before an issue arises. Do Sweep Searches of a vertical. Listen for the Influencers. Identify them by their traffic and the quality of their content.  Follow them. And then engage them honestly. Supply good content. And build the relationship.

Then when an issue appears, a brand can immediately consult its list of Influencers and listen. Are they picking up the issue? Should the brand introduce the issue to them and tell its side of the story first?  Should the brand wait to see if the issue goes away.

Influencers can powerfully help implement strategy.

The goal of social media engagement should be sustained positive engagement with Influencers. They are a brand’s third party messengers who gather large crowds and speak with authenticity.