Today another brand makes its first strong venture into the world of Social Media. Hanes Brands Inc has released its new website which it hopes will become the center of interaction between its customers, fans and the company. Called the Social Mix Hub, it features stories about the products, links to Hanes presence on other Social Networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, Flickr & Youtube. It also has profiles of a group of people who act as both brand advocates for and social media advisors to Hanes – called the Comfort Crew.

For full disclosure I must of course announce that I am associated with this project in that I am a member of the Hanes Comfort Crew. I was approached at the end of last year to become involved and have continued that association. I’m actually very proud of the association, I love the products and I think Hanes have taken an interesting path into Social Media.

So why is this site any different than any other brands venture into Social Media ? Firstly, Hanes has taken their time about doing this. They didn’t simply jump on the bandwagon and start pushing out their marketing message in the hopes that it would look like social media.  They gathered a group of people who they felt had something to tell them about social media and they asked a lot of questions, most importantly they listened to the answers.

This first iteration of the website is a good start. They have built a platform and, through the use of other sites they are attempting to create a place where people can gather around a favorite brand. They have in fact followed the much promoted Hub & Spoke model. Establishing a core site but also being very aware of where their customer base is currently.

Contrary to popular belief Social Media isn’t easy, especially for established brands who are used to more traditional models of communicating. That Hanes has made this step in a considered, measured way leads me to believe that they are taking it seriously and not treating it as just another advertising campaign. Hopefully other brands will follow this model.