I met Debbie Laskey in 2009, when we worked together
virtually for MicroMentor, Debbie in California, and me in Kansas. Here’s Debbie’s
brief bio.
Debbie Laskey developed her brand marketing and communications
expertise while working in the high-tech industry, the Consumer Marketing
Department at Disneyland Paris in France, the nonprofit arena, and the
insurance industry. Since 2002, she has served as a judge for the Web Marketing
Association’s annual web award competition; and she’s been included in the
"Top 100 Branding Experts" list to follow on Twitter
@DebbieLaskeyMBA. Check out her website at www.BrandingAndMore.net and
her Blog at http://DebbieLaskey.blogspot.com.
Guest Post: By Debbie Laskey
There is no denying that social media has changed how brands
communicate. All aspects of business have been affected from technology to
human resources to marketing. Even more important, all employees have become
their own personal brands – some even major influencers – with their own fans
and followers. Therefore, in today’s social climate, who owns a brand’s
messaging?
Employees can post content to damage an employer’s brand,
and customers can post content to damage a brand. This has dramatically changed
how brands interact with and respond to their customers, prospective customers,
fans, media, and other stakeholders.
So, while many of your employees may understand social
media, does your brand understand its nuances? How well does your brand
navigate among the myriad of social platforms? How do you choose which platforms
to allocate time and money? Do you know where the majority of your audiences congregate?
And most importantly, do your stakeholders engage with YOU on social media?
While you may have a Facebook page or a Twitter account, if
you’re not posting regularly and conversing with fans and followers, you’re
wasting your time. So, in order for your brand to survive for the long haul in
today’s social climate, here are five tips.
[1] BE TRANSPARENT
If you’re launching a new product or service, make an
announcement and let your customers and fans know. If there is a delay, be up
front and also make that announcement. If there is a problem, make that
announcement. Don’t wait for a member of the media or, even worse, the
competition to discover the delay or problem. Their announcement will not be
kind. Own the news – that way, you craft your brand messaging.
[2] BE CONSISTENT
Maintain a consistent name for all social media platforms.
If a brand name is not available, use a familiar tagline. If “Nike” had been
unavailable, the company could have used “JustDoIt,” and everyone would immediately
have recognized that any account with that name belonged to Nike. With all the
social sites available to your brand, take time to conduct a social media audit
and re-evaluate the names of all your accounts.
[3] USE #HASHTAGS
Create and use hashtags with your brand name, your company
name, key employees if they are industry influencers, and more. And use these
hashtags on all your social platforms. You may even use them on traditional
marketing collateral, such as, business cards, letterhead, brochures, etc.
Hashtags are a way to stand out and introduce your brand to more audiences. Currently
on Instagram, you’re able to add 30 hashtags to a single post.
[4] INVITE FEEDBACK
If you only want certain feedback, otherwise known as five
stars, don’t ask for it. Some customers will be long-winded, others will be
positive, and some will be negative. To quote Bill Gates, “Your most unhappy
customers are your greatest source of learning.” So, as with the rest of your
social media strategy, which must be aligned with your overall annual marketing
plan, have a feedback plan. Instead of drafting a simple survey, think of why
questions and responses would benefit your leadership team. In addition, you
may decide to use a number of customer satisfaction tools to gauge customer
loyalty, company health, or brand health (for example, Net Promoter Score,
Customer Satisfaction Score, or Customer Lifetime Value) – if you do,
understand the value they can provide.
[5] LISTEN, LISTEN,
LISTEN
Set up alerts for your brand, company name, industry, and
more. This will let you know when others are talking about your brand or brands
and allow you to chime in when appropriate. You will also be quickly informed
if someone says something negative or untrue about your brand so you can
comment or chose to remain silent. You may also wish to set up alerts about
your competition and key influencers in your industry. The sites to use are
Google Alerts and Talkwalker.
There are a few important things to remember in social
media. First, there are so many Tweets, Facebook posts, Instagram posts, etc.,
that the likelihood of one of your posts going viral is slim-to-none. But then
again, you never know. With that in mind, second, make sure that whatever you
post would not embarrass your brand. There are too many stories about brands
losing spokespeople and market share due to a single tweet. And third, keep in
mind that once content has been posted, it will assume a life of its own. You
never know who might see it.
In 2009, soon after I joined Twitter, I shared a blog post,
and shortly thereafter, Maxine Clark, Founder and then-President of
Build-A-Bear, retweeted my tweet. We corresponded a bit on Twitter and then via
email, and soon afterward, we spoke about branding, marketing, and plush
animals by phone – truly, a Twitter success story!
Lastly, memorize my favorite tweet from customer experience expert
Vala Afshar and practice it every day. If you do, your brand will be a
memorable social media survivor! “Don't do social, be SOCIAL: Sincere, Open,
Collaborative, Interested, Authentic and Likeable.” – @ValaAfshar
For more about Instagram hashtags:
For more about NPS:
For details about 9 Customer Success Metrics to Boost Business Growth:
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