I am a BIG lover of the Ford brand. What they are doing on the social media space simply raises my heart rate above 100BPM!!! While GM and Chrysler are following a more traditional brand voice, Ford are truly reaping the rewards through their social media strategy.

Recently, Scott Monty (head of social media for Ford Motor Company @Ford) gave a talk on social media marketing at OMMA Global New York.

Scott and his team have really taken onboard all the human aspects that assist a social media strategy to propel forwards, injecting this into the big brand. Quite simply put, they have seized as many opportunities out there on the web to engage and interact. The difference being that real, passionate people interact with you as opposed to auto responders and plain speak marketing messages.

Soak up the presentation Scott gave at the end of this post, I trust it will get your brain stems tingerling!

The presentation is jam packed full of Fords Social Media experience. The strategy is extremely simple and focused on making the company human – the key on this space. They have executed it with passion and creativity – the two hot ingredients when releasing a social media strategy, and haven’t they done well!

It runs through some of Fords best Social Media campaigns. It also highlights that the strategy is only 1 element, you need to bring the strategy to life by engaging and interacting with your customers, adding value all the time.

Due to Fords authentic, real marketing and community building efforts through social media, they have also gained some hefty media attention in traditional media avenues. TV and print are now lapping up Fords social media efforts, assisting them to release a powerful story to share offline – this is a win win for Ford, building the brand to an all time high.

So come on then, am I the only on raving on about this wonder brand? What have you got to say?

We are blessed with some of the hottest connection tools to date! Twitter,facebook,blogs, youtube..even trusty blip.fm …the list goes on. Social Media is hotter than the sun right now, as it’s the difference that makes the difference when marketing your business and building strong relationships.

Yeeeharrr!!! That’s a fantastic thing as with the tools you can get closer than you have ever been able to get before with your friends, colleagues and target market online – plus build up a sturdy support network.

But wait…..its not all about the tools, really its not. Some people think now that they are on twitter or have made their own facebook fan page that business should start to pick up for them on these platforms. Quite the opposite. The tools are just like scissors, they do a job, yet its the person thats operating the scissors that matters.

Remember, the personality behind the tools is going to enable you to stand out. Let your character ooze out and your passion for your work, and life to shine through.Love your reader base, clients included, listen to them, interact with them and deliver! CARE is the biggest thing you can do.

Show you care by putting effort into everything you do online. If it means replying to every comment made about you on twitter, then do it…answer every email with thought and respect – step up everyday and give in this space. The more you do THAT, the more you get back.

The tools we have available to us now are mind blowing in connecting with people yet without the personality they are nothing.