Mack Collier writes a great post about companies targeting the wrong people in social media. Mack suggests that pitching social media creators who are influential but who are not really customer evangelists for a brand are the wrong people to target.
I agree with Mack, though I'd add something to the discussion, in that I'd suggest that a brand should start off by focusing on customers, solving their problems and asking their opinions for innovation. Once a brand has successfully built those relationships using social media, and there have been some real changes on the part of a brand, only then should a brand reach out to the social media influentials who comment on social media successes.
Dell I think is one of the best examples of a company that focused on customers first, made the changes that needed be made with customer service operations and product innovation. Once there was a story to tell, Dell went out into the community of influentials to describe what happened, and through those bloggers help to set the wider traditional media agenda.
I think there is a role for the influentials to play, where the story is of interest to them, but brands should remember not to forget the true influentials there customers.
