photo by [chronism]

More often than not, social media is discussed as a means for communications—a conversation or a open line for chatter—but viewing social media exclusively in this way means that marketers miss out on a huge opportunity to become a valued, trusted service in their consumers’ lives.

Foursquare as an application is a product built from social media. Pepsi’s new geo-based loyalty program, Pepsi Loot, guides users to establishments that sell the products and employs social media. YouTube’s Call-to-Action feature is a branded utility on the media platform. Each of these may seem like a product, because ultimately they are, but they are also key players in social media.

When it comes to social media success, there are many avenues to go down. Create contests. Distribute discounts. Share exclusive content. Offer consumers the opportunity to co-create goods and communication. Each of these methods have a place in social media, and countless examples can be given of the success of brands using these strategies, but as with any innovative platform, the way to leverage new media opportunities is to help evolve them and set the bar for future innovations.

For example, your social media accounts can act as services, like @ComcastCares or Best Buy’s Twelp Force. Consumers who use these kinds of branded utilities soon realize they would rather not be without. It’s much like cell phones; a few years back, perhaps you didn’t feel the need to have a cell phone, but once you’ve experienced having one, being able to be connected at any time for any need, you’ll notice you feel naked and even somewhat uncomfortable without it. Social media platforms introduce the opportunity to play a similar role in your consumers’ lives through unique social media services.

Better yet, you can use services like Twitter that have an open API to create your own branded service using the capabilities of the platform. For example, TwitPic was created by a third party source using the open API codes, integrating into the product through open innovation. Since its creation, TwitPic has come out as the clear leader in Twitter picture posting services, leaving Bright Kite, yfrog, TweetPhoto and others in its wake. But what if Lomography had taken up the charge to create a TwitPic-like service, or Kodak? What if Polaroid had created one that mirrored their highly-successful iPhone app? These companies would have enjoyed vast brand impressions for a fraction of the cost of a traditional media campaign for the same number of eyeballs.

Though not every company can develop new code for branded utilities or launch a full-service, 24-hour a day account like @ComcastCares, those that find a way to provide value through a social media-driven utility will be rewarded handsomely for their efforts by a loyal, committed consumer base that will not willingly walk away. Can your latest campaign do that?

Claire Grinton is a brand strategist and writer based in San Francisco. Find more from Claire or contact her at claire[dot]grinton[at]gmail.

Tags: applications, Best Buy, branded utility, Bright Kite, ComcastCares, open API, Pepsi Loot, Twelp Force, TwitPic, Twitter, utility, yfrog, youtube