In the business world a company will often declare something as "The Next Big Thing" and say they need it without really understanding what it is. Enter today's latest marketing revolution - social media. Companies are jumping on the twitter bandwagon because everybody else is doing it. We know what you're pushing against - getting left behind by the competition. But what exactly are you pushing for?

Instead of taking a "leap before you look" attitude to social media, USA Networks is rising above the pack by offering two social media applications with genuine value. First is Character Arcade, a collection of minigames that tie-in to USA Network shows and offer fans a cute way to spend time with their favorite character. Second is USA's recently launched iPhone app, Letter Matrix. Letter Matrix isn't tied to any TV shows, but rather builds of the network's impressive progress in the casual games space to create a new franchise and revenue stream. Most importantly it adds another critical touchpoint for USA Network to interact with the consumer.

USA Networks was ahead of its time when it launched Character Arcade in 2007; now the top games on Facebook get more than 30 million users a month. For companies looking to extend their brand into the social media space, it seems clear that an integrated effort is key. In other words, they have to create social media and mobile applications that offer unique value, appropriate to that particular channel, instead of a FaceBook page which merely offers the same sort of 1-way static information flow provided through an official corporate website.

Written by Alexander Liss

Research Analyst, Professional Services, VMS