• by Gavin O'Malley , Staff Writer @mp_gavin, May 15, 2012

Social media is… "a core behavior," according to Matt Goddard, CEO of digital agency R2i. Specifically, it’s a risk reduction tool, Goddard explained during a morning panel at OMMA Social. Therefore, marketers trying to reach consumers within social environments should ask: What is the decision-making behavior? What risk are users seeking to reduce?

Taking a slightly different approach to social, Tim Fogarty, Senior Strategist at M80, says his “entire job” is telling brands to “matter more.” (Isn’t that why they hire agencies in the first place?) His point is simply that, in our increasingly consumer-controlled media world, brands that don’t matter can’t rise to the top.