Social Networks provide great opportunity for advertising as well as promoting the brands. The fact that you can present your brand in front of over 200 million people who are participating in the discussions at various Social Networks provides a different dimension to the concept of advertising.

It is important for us to remember that Social Networks are essentially different from traditional media channels. While traditional media channels are purely one way communication channels where the viewers have no choice, the Social Networks on the other hand provide for consumer participation, active discussion and thus promotes the building of the reputation of the brand.

Social Networks thrive on connections with others, discussions as well as conversations about experiences of the people and provide platform for expression of opinions and reviews. This process of how the reputation and opinions are formed on the Social networks holds the key to building a successful brand promotional strategy on the social web.

While the bigger brands and proven brands may be present in the same platform, there is sufficient scope for a new emerging brand to make its mark and create a buzz amongst the viewers, which then is likely to spread across the networks and thus help grow the brand reputation. Understanding of the communication process and human psychology would help in positioning a product or brand in the social web.

One of the major noticeable characteristics of the Social Networks is that people often make their comments and give opinions based on their experiences. The normal conversation tends to be centered about what one did or experienced.

For example, if the topic of the conversation happens to be the Wimbledon matches, it is quite likely that people who have been travelling to the place are likely to talk about the weather as well as the hotels. They are likely to provide real and authentic feedback about their stay.

When the hotel becomes the topic of conversation, the others would also join in and share their experiences as well as comments thus forming a collective opinion. If the particular hotel were to be present and contributing to the conversation, it is likely that they can help influence the discussion and help gain good brand publicity or reputation.

The fact that the hotel is present and is able to participate officially lends credibility and the participants will accept whatever is presented by the Hotel as authentic and official. Thus the interaction between the participants and the hotel can help build loyalty and a good reputation amongst the community. Further on, the same sentiments are likely to get dispersed to other communities as well.

When Companies wish to introduce a new brand into the market. Social network provides the right platform for launching the same.

In fact Companies are known to engage with consumers over social networks for a long time before the planned launch and build an online community around the same. Thus they are able to present their plan, understand and evaluate the reactions of the consumers which gives them a huge insight into the psyche of the market and understand the consumers better.

If used intelligently such online communities that have been created around the specific brand can be used as a launch vehicle which will help the marketing and advertising immensely during the actual launch.