I am putting the finishing touches on a university assignment on marketing management and reading Steve McKee’s excellent book ‘Power Branding‘ for reference material. While covering social media and blogging, Steve touches on something important that all brands need to accept: If your brand doesn’t understand social media, social media won’t understand your brand. Regardless of whether your brand is corporate or personal, this has become an unavoidable truth.
Understanding social media
The reason I started Social Strategies is to help businesses get their head around the basics of social media and then connect with and do business with their target audience. It’s safe to say that everyone who uses the Internet or a smartphone is exposed to social media today. However watching YouTube videos and sharing a friend’s photo on Facebook is a far cry from understanding social media. Everything you do on social media is forming a profile of your brand. How that profile is perceived can impact everything from financial security through to brand equity.
A great way to understand is to listen
One of the best things I have learnt through my current university studies is that listening is the key to understanding. Even if your brand doesn’t have an official Twitter profile (like Apple), or even an active Facebook page, one of the quickest ways to get an understanding of how your brand, market and competition are impacted by social media is by listening. Even though Apple doesn’t have an official Twitter profile the brand is still being talked about in social media. And guess what? I reckon they’ve got a pretty good idea of what’s being said. Successful brands like Lego are taking it to a whole new level and developing products based on community input and understanding how social media can connect them with their customers.
The best way to get ahead is to get started
So how can your brand better understand social media and how to leverage it for your business? Here are three ways to learn some of the kind of things your brand needs to know for a better understanding of social media:
1. Follow social media thought leaders on Twitter & Google+
Start having a look around on Twitter and Google+ to identify social media though leaders who are constantly posting tips, advice and insights. By reading blog posts and the articles they write and share you will quickly increase your understanding. Here are a few to follow to get you started:
Kim Garst
Follow Kim on Twitter
Follow Kim on Google+
Robert Caruso
Follow Robert on Twitter
Follow Robert on Google+
Brooke Ballard
Follow Brooke on Twitter
Follow Brooke on Google+
Deborah Lee
Follow Deborah on Twitter
Follow Deborah on Google+
2. Keep an eye on what your competition are doing.
You should be doing this in real life already, however observing other players in your industry on social media will help you understand all sorts of things. What they’re doing wrong, what’s important to your market and often what is being said about your brand.
3. Take note of brands that are clearly getting it right.
You know who they are. What ever you’re into you’ve already got a picture in your head of a brand that’s smashing it with their social media strategy. Make a short-list brands like this, take note of things you think they do well and consider how your brand could apply similar tactics to connect with your target audience.
Now social media can understand your brand
No one said social media was going to be easy. If someone did say that they were either naive, lying or had no idea. Even just the pace at which social platforms and technology are developing means brands need to be paying close attention. I believe that understanding is the first step. Even before engaging in social media activity. Need further help understanding where to start and what your brand needs to know about social media? If so please CLICK HERE. I’m here to help. It’s the mission and purpose of Social Strategies. If you have enjoyed reading this article, or found it helpful I’d like to encourage you to share it to help brands understand social media so that social media will understand their brand. Thanks for reading and sharing.
If you enjoyed this article you might also like:
Everything you need to know to set up social media profiles for a business
Personal branding as part of your social media marketing strategy
How to use social media listening to understand customers needs
Image credit [Flickr]
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