The Impact of Social Media on Branding
While chatting with people on Twitter I asked what people thought about the impact of social media on branding. A response, that is dead on, came back with the following comment: “Your brand is not what you say it is, it is what ‘they’ say it is. So, against SocMed for Brand is tough, need to monitor” (Mitch Lieberman, @mjayliebs). I wanted to share my thoughts on why social media is critical for branding (corporate and personal).
Think of your company as a raft on a river. The current perception of your company, your brand, is the water flowing in the river around you. You, and the people in your raft, represent the people in your company. The oars are the tools being used to achieve your goals, in this case the oars are social communications and your goal is to reach the island of branding Nirvana.
Companies that are new, relatively unknown, have it fairly easy. There is no existing perception of the company, the water is still. People can enter the boat and simply row, hopefully in the right direction. The only waves they encounter are those created by themselves.
Now, if there are other companies in the same space, they are also in the river, paddling away. It becomes important that your teammates are at least paddling in the right direction. It is not critical that they execute flawlessly of course, they must simply row faster, with fewer errors than the competition.
Most companies enter the river with existing perceptions of who they are, their brand is defined for better or worse. If you have a positive brand the water is flowing in the right direction. Just paddle, don’t make major waves, the river will carry you to your goals. If, however, you have a bad brand in place, the river is flowing against you. You have to not only paddle hard but you must also paddle in unison. You can make it to your goal but you will have to:
- Communicate clearly where you are going.
- Ensure everyone shares this vision and understands the tactics you’ll employ. If you are paddling in sync you are more powerful than the boat that is out of sync.
- Keep checking around you, measure and watch. You might find smoother sailing by following and utilizing some channels, you might encounter problems if you go off message and paddle into the reeds.
What do you think?
John
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July 12, 2009
John, after reading your post, I was just wondering who in the corporation is best at paddling? Is it marketing, public relations, customer service or product marketing?
When it comes to social media, I think customer service and product marketing people are often really good at engagement because they are used to the dynamic of listening and responding to customers. Also, they have the processes in place to make sure they do respond to everyone. A communications professional in contrast does not always have the immediate answer, and must go through an intermediary. Those professionals are probably good at follow through, but still waiting for a response is too slow. It’s a little like seeing a squall and calling for the oarsman to appear right after the tempest has past.
John Cass
July 7, 2009
It is a really good question and one that I actually feel there is no 100% right answer too. It is situational, depending on the company’s goals and the customer questions that are being asked.
The most important thing is a prompt, honest, response, though. I think waiting for a filtered answer, as time ticks by, is more negative in most situations.
John
John Moore
July 7, 2009
Being new to Twitter and having already been entangled in the reeds – a bona fide Twitter Stalker! – I think your analogy is apt.
Twitter is fun, but you clearly have to be very security-conscious.
Ellen
ellenbrandtphd
July 4, 2009
Very interesting analogy, and a good message: know what type of waters you are wading into before you go in.
I think that the strategy will be markedly different if you are going into rough waters and against the current than if it is a calm river and you just go with the flow.
One thing to make sure you emphasize though: just because the water is calm right now does not mean there is not a Class V rapid around the corner. Knowing where to go into the river, what to do, and what to watch out for is the key to easy navigation.
Creating the strategy should answer all those questions, and keep the vision constant as you move through the rough spots. No strategy? no problem… just hope you can scream and swim at the same time.
Esteban Kolsky
June 29, 2009
John,
This discussion just never gets old to me. Mostly, I think it’s because I see so many companies trying desperately to get the world to see their brand through their eyes, rather than trying to understand and embrace how their customers view and support their brand.
Not only do those insights help guide you about what’s resonating with the people actually buying your stuff, but it’s a continuous guidepost for the possible hidden potential in your brand (and an indicator of the angles you’re pushing that might not be sticky in the least).
Thanks for the continued discussion.
Cheers,
Amber Naslund
Director of Community, Radian6
@ambercadabra
Amber Naslund
June 29, 2009
I like the metaphor – but I think the most revealing point is that a brand is what it is, not what the marketers define it to be. Maybe it’s a bit like saying a river is not something you can define – it’s where the water happens to run.
John Bottom
June 29, 2009
Well said John.
John Moore
June 29, 2009
I like this post very much – as an ad agency president and marketing professor, it always helps to have these kinds of good metaphors for students and clients. The one comment I would make however, is that the advent of Social Media has just thrown about 300 oars (FB, Digg etc.) into our boat to help us now deal with the changing brand currents brought via Social Media exchanges. This has changed the way we steer – and for most companies, an additional 300 “rowers” is not possible. So, we navigate as best we can, accommodate confusion and adapt to new currents…always conscious of how others perceive our brands…not ourselves.
Charlie MacLeod
June 29, 2009
Excellent and creative post, John. For those who don’t understand the basics of branding, the scenario you painted was extremely easy to grasp and comprehend. An amazingly simple analogy, but it is true that you are creating your brand everyday with how you “row” through social media. Every tweet, every comment, every blog post will affect how people see you. I have been blogging about this myself with respect to social networking sites, especially LinkedIn. Feel free to check it out if you are interested in similar perspectives on the journey: http://linkedinquestionswordpress.com
Looking forward to your future tweets!
Cheers,
Neal
Neal Schaffer
June 28, 2009
Nice post, John. I think social media removes any last remaining excuses for pretending you don’t know what customers think about your brand. I also think that part of building your brand involves helping your customers help you build your brand — maybe to even take a product in new directions you never could have anticipated? In this respect, I think social media would be great for established brands looking for new markets, new niches. As a humorous example:
COMPANY to SOCIAL WEB: Hi, I have a rock. I think it has potential as a thing to weigh down papers. But we’re getting a lot of competition right now from drinking glasses and soda cans, which seem to do the job just as well. Help us, please.
SOCIAL WEB: What if you made it into a pet?
COMPANY: Please explain.
SOCIAL WEB: You know, a *pet* rock.
COMPANY: You’d buy a pet rock?
SOCIAL WEB: You bet we would.
COMPANY: Consider it done.
By the way, beyond paid tools like Radian6, etc., I came across @socialmention, which looks pretty useful in relation to this for SMBs — it’s a step beyond plain social search.
Matt Donnelly
June 28, 2009
Great feedback Matt. I love the thoughts on the pet rock.
John
John Moore
June 28, 2009
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June 27, 2009
Crafting the brand message and living out the brand promise must become one in the same especially as information is pushed out to the world via social networks. In order to do this companies must first fundamentally understand their value proposition and the values by which they live. Just like with a family you can only create a persona for so long. At some point everyone in your family knows the way you really think and live. Social Media allows everyone to become a part of the family so you better live what you speak.
Many companies define their brand promise by what they think clients want to hear or what competitors are doing. It’s easy to make the promise but harder to deliver especially if you don’t really believe in the promise. The new brand paradigm will require truth telling.
The best way to create a brand you can live out is to take hard honest look at your company and then carefully define your brand. Once you have done that then you can start to create products, services and staff that believe and live by those promises. I’m sure I am over simplifying but when that happens social media is less of a risk and more a tool to spread your good news.
Chad
Chad Nelson
June 26, 2009
John,
great post and evocative metaphor here. One thing I would add, as it applies to companies that already have a brand perception out in the marketplace, is that there is often a disconnect between how a brand is perceived by consumers and how it is perceived by employees. That can be a big disconnect to get over, which is why I like your third bullet about measurement. Getting an existing company to listen – to find out how people view them – may in a lot of cases be an important precursor to collectively rowing in the same direction in terms of brand building.
thx
Stephen
StephenBoni
June 26, 2009
Great addition, thanks for joining the conversation.
John
John Moore
June 26, 2009
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