You may have read this week that consumer brands Lucozade (fizzy drink), Maplins (electronics) and Horlicks (hot beverage - I didn't know that it was still going!) have commissioned a specialist online agency to handle their digital public relations. They join a number of forward-thinking brands that have taken the 'leap-of-faith' and actively engage their consumers and customers via online media such as blogs, forums and social networks.

I say 'leap of faith' because so many brands that we have spoken to are, at best, reluctant, at worst, downright resistant to engaging with their customers in the kind of open discussion that social media allows. The main objection is that they are fearful of generating negative comments that will harm their brand.

Its an understandable reaction but the consequences of burying ones head in the will almost certainly result in gradual disengagement with the customer - a recipe for disaster.

So how do we get them over the initial barrier?

A useful first stage will be to encourage brands to monitor what is being said about them on existing social media. Although there are some services available that automate the process (i.e. Market Sentinel and Onalytica) these can be prohibitively expensive, especially for the skeptical client.

There are however a plethora of free tools that will allow you to identify and quantify your brand's existing 'buzz' in social media from Google alerts and bookmarking sites (e.g. digg, reddit, technorati) to more in-depth analytics that track blog comments and forum posts. By educating sceptical brands about what their customers are saying online you may be able to persuade them to take the next step and start participating in the debate.

For advice about setting-up a system to monitor social media buzz or information about Handmade Media's online PR services call us on 0845 397 4017.