McCann Worldgroup, a global network of advertising agencies headquartered in the United States, manages over 50 brand community pages with over 4 million fans.145 None of the communication strategies are same. The focus of the efforts is to make sure that a fully integrated campaign creates and maintains an engagement between the brands and the consumers.

In Malaysia, Facebook has over 12.5 million users and has become a vital channel to create deep and meaningful relationships with consumers. McCann believes that brands are beginning to realize that they need to invest in social media contacts with their customers.

Customers are becoming increasingly social media savvy and empowered, and every close brand friend they create can become a brand advocate. There is clearly a great deal of persuasion still required.

A study by Deloitte Digital and MIT Sloan Management Review suggests that 80 percent of brand owners recognize the importance of social media in creating brand communities, but the majority have no idea how to measure the effectiveness.146 What would you advise brand owners to do about social media and brand communities? How would you assess the effectiveness of campaigns?

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