How you approach social media is a key part of brand building
The decision of engaging your customs is a lot like floating on a raft in the ocean. You know where you want to go and need to go but whether you get there or not is contingent upon a good current and strong wind blowing in your direction. If you don't have the current and winds with you than you need to change your course to get into the slipstream so you can reach your destination. However it's imperative that you have a clear course plotted and know exactly where you want to go.
Branding is one of most misused terms in marketing today. Today a lot of brands are finding that the way they used to grow brands, with heavy ads and promotional discounts, is nor working. Brands today need to grown organically through customer personalized interactions. Organizations can't lead if they continue to take on the role of brand builders. The control they had as brand builders just doesn't exist anymore. They have to facilitate the role of the brand as conversational agents.
Branding is also a lot more than conversations. Branding is actions, your actions or inactions. The process of using fancy logo's and mass media to brand are quickly coming to an end because customers no longer want to be interrupted by advertising and they don't trust your messages. In using social media as a branding tool the leverage that can be applied to your brand is the strength of the conversation you have with consumers. If you try and take advantage of that conversation, through selling or not listening, the conversation is going to be over in a very short time and you're going to lose a customer.
Today brands need to speak to consumers with
honesty and trust rather than trying to tell
consumers to "buy me". I know giving up control
of the conversation is scary but you need to
realize that there's nothing to be gain as being
viewed as a salesman who spews sales pitches to
unresponsive consumers. A conversation is not a
single voice.
A social brand is one that is able to actively
listen and win consumers with trust and honesty
over time and through consistent actions. They
meet, date and then form a relationship that can
lead to loyal customer behavior. A good brand is
one that understands that all consumer touch
points have to exceed customer expectations. This
includes everything from customer service and HR
to your CEO. It is a mindset through the
organization of putting customers first and
listening before saying anything. It is a move
away from mass market communications to
engagement at the micro level if necessary.
Evolve or perish is the rule for business, more
today than ever before. Brands that are able to
react in real time and respond to customers are
going to sustain growth. Those that depend on
mass market thinking are going to suffer
declining sales and market
share.
