What Is Your Brand’s Social Media Attitude?
All of a sudden what is the ‘one’ service you would find in every agency’s array of services? I think you got it right – Social Media Optimization. A new rat race is initiated…Every body….all brands, enterprises are all of a sudden flocking into this wave of change, talking about how Exposure Business dying its slow death, discussing the advantages of conversational advertising. To “feed the need” we see our social media ‘expert‘ friends coming up with a package…a “success mix” (so called – tested) of different social media vehicles like Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Flickr etc irrespective of the genre of business, brand positioning and brand attitude. Why not me?…..Thought of drafting this note with 4 easy ways of flaunting your brand attitude using social media as a guide – Discover your brand’s social personality, along with the keys to unlocking the potential within.
So far my experience have identified some for of them (confirmed by some of industry experts as well)
- Social butterflies- who gravitate toward the buzz-of-the-day
- Thrill-seekers- who take risks and stir things up
- Wallflowers - the cautious ones, while
- The Strong and Silent types focus on value and results
Let’s talk about Type 1: Let’s call them Social Butterflies
They are the ones who get drawn to those with the power to increase their popularity. Taking pride in being on the cutting edge, they were probably one of the early adopters of company blogs and Twitter handles. They like to be where the action is, darting from one trendy application to the next. On the surface, they’ve created an impressive following and have successfully led your organization through uncharted territories.
Fire to play with
Every marketer understands the thrill of winning the attention of customers. But while devising the same plan one needs to understand what comes next. “One million fans on Facebook” is only important to a business if one can effectively leverage those connections to drive to a conclusion based on your goals as a business. Consumer networks are constantly changing and highly dependent upon numerous uncontrollable variables. Social butterflies have a tendency to gravitate toward the buzz-of-the-day without considering the ramifications of “here today, gone tomorrow.” If you are doing this…I would say it is not healthy..
Brownie Points
You will gain some serious momentum when you can keep those 1 million Facebook fans engaged from one campaign to the next (which I am sure you are doing it). And when you’ve shown the rest of the enterprise how it, too, can capitalize — providing sales with new leads, or identifying customer concerns and proactively handing them over to customer service while the account can still be saved — you will be the enterprise’s rising star.
Type 2: The Thrill Seekers – I quite like the name (given by one of my friend, TOM, from iMedia)
Fun, carefree, daring, and unconventional, they’re the lives of the party. They like to take risks, stir things up, and keep their names top-of-mind — at any cost.
Fire to play with
you’re the source of some of those social media initiatives that have the industry talking: social takeovers, controversial ad campaigns, contrarian blog posts, viral user-generated content contests. But when the excitement wears off, do you even track back your achievements? what has been the brand impact?
Brownie Points
You can very well utilize this 5 minutes of fame into a life long achievement as the toughest part of goal is achieved – you have got consumers hooked on to your brand. Everybody is waiting, eagerly, to know what’s your next move? You’ve got what every marketer wants: the ability to capture the attention of a crowd. But now it’s time to up your game. Capitalize on the attention, and offer your networks something of more substance will further elevate your success.
Type 3: The Classy WallFlowers
Started embracing Social Media, but still kinda cautious, little confused, watching from a hid..I guess 80% of Indian Adertisers are still in this category..no wrong…you have got a start…you remain at the periphery of the action, speaking only when spoken to. You are content to sit back and listen to those in the spotlight, as long as the spotlight’s not on you.
Fires:
You are one a hidden agenda of listening, and listening continuously…but what about consumers..they don’t get to hear back..they DON’T get to listen to your brand? or do they? Without proactively developing relationships with consumers, you risk losing them — and the resulting revenue — to your competitors. It is proven that engaged customers not only spend more, but they can also become your greatest advocates..
Cherry a-top:
Social Media doesn’t change your business goals..it just changes the way you achieve them..and trust me it has been always for good..:-) Increased employee productivity, improved customer retention, reduced research costs, or more sales — social media can effectively fuel them all. But you gotta take an active stance for the same…isn’t it? Going social doesn’t have to move your enterprise too far out of its comfort zone. There are several social strategies that do not require a full-out shift in company culture, yet can have you trading in some of your passive nature for a more proactive approach. When you’re ready for external B2C engagement, an ideation campaign can keep the engagement focused around a single concept or product — without requiring your organization to reach too far out of the box. Latch on to it…out market your competitors.
4th Type: Strong & Silent
I would not be able to talk too much about this, as I don’t have too many real life examples to flesh out the characteristics of the same. How ever, will try to give a perspective about the group….they are the ones who are silent, yet watching , trying to learn from what ever they can. Generally they are successful, but don’t want to be boasting about the same…They focus on values and quality and only take calculated risks..Already adopted to Social Media..probably BestBuy is one of those examples who have already started transforming their businesses, using Twitter as a Customer Service Channel..but do we get them in India? I am still to come across such a brand…do you have some names to mention?
Awaiting some enlightenment on the same. 
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Very useful identification..but then what? how we utilize the brand identification and create social strategies? Can you throw some light on the same.