Posts Tagged ‘branding’

You wouldn’t know it by the way I run my mouth off sometimes, but I spend lots of time mulling over ideas of image, presentation, and messaging.  Today I’m thinking about authenticity…that hard to define, je ne sais quois that every company wants but not everyone can achieve.  All too often, I’m struck by the almost-right-but-oh-so-wrongness of a company’s message…the communications equivalent of a creepy pageant contestant who looks great but just doesn’t act like a normal human.  And an inability to communicate with genuine credibility is often to blame.

What’s authenticity? To me, the word “authenticity” defies a dictionary definition.  It’s the perfect balance and blend of truth, transparency, and individuality.  It evokes trustworthiness and comfort.  And it doesn’t shy away from warts, wrinkles, and hard-to-discuss subjects.

What do businesses and brands gain from authenticity? An authentic voice establishes credibility and familiarity, lending a “known quantity” feeling to a brand that creates trust.  Authenticity has a holy grail kind of feel…you want your message to come off clearly, simply, and truthfully, and you probably want even complex or crafty messages to sound unforced and truthful.

What’s the catch? The catch is that, by default, marketing and PR communications involve a level of thought, planning, and skill that at its core can come off as inauthentic.  Simply telling someone you’re great isn’t enough…in fact, it could be the worst possible thing to do.  Instead, there’s a complex balancing act that comes into play when creating authentic communications.  You have to imply your greatness (or funness, or usefulness, or whatever value your brand brings to customers) through demonstrable actions (results, benefits).  The problem?  It’s not enough to appear to be genuine. Yes, it’s okay to think through your communications strategy (um, a bit more than okay)…but if it comes off as forced, it won’t work.  Consumers smell inauthenticity.  They see it coming.  It’s the marketing equivalent of a blind date sensing desperation or a dog picking up on your emotional state.

So how do you foster authenticity?  Here are a few recommendations:

• Keep it simple.  It’s way easier to drive home one point at a time.
• Get your values in line.  Speak from a place of true conviction and passion.  If the underpinnings are right, you can’t help but nail it.
• Remember the humans.  Customers and clients aren’t just dollars…they’re people.  Fix a picture of your client or customer firmly in your mind…then talk to them!  No bull allowed.  It is shocking how many companies — big, well-funded, supposedly brand-savvy companies — seem unwilling or unable to acknowledge the needs, wants, desires, and realities of their customers as they are, not as they want them to be.
• Don’t hide. Develop a habit of facing objections, challenges, and pitfalls head-on.  Does that mean you need to broadcast all of your problems at all times?  No, but you need to be willing to address them in a straightforward and transparent manner.  Let the truth be your guide, even when it’s challenging.
• Practice.  Try out your message and see if it rings true.  Not hitting the right note?  Solicit feedback, tweak, and try again.

What’s your take on authenticity?  I’d genuinely (har) love to know.  – Erin

One of the things I love most about my line of work is the insider’s glimpse I get into a variety of business models and modes of operation as I help companies hone in on their brand, get clear with their messaging, and reach out to prospects and potential customers with effective tools.  Sometimes the view is a tidy, happy one…and sometimes it’s anything but.  And all too often, companies make mistakes that directly damage the brand they have worked so hard to establish.  Here are five surefire ways to do just that:

Be right all the time. I struggle with this myself all the time.  There’s a certain line between conviction and inflexibility that can be hard to distinguish and even harder to return to once you’ve gone too far.  The need to be right, have the last word, get 100% on the test, and bat near 1000 is endemic to entrepreneurs and high-powered business personalities…but it can also be a damaging trait for your brand.  When you need to be right, you close yourself off to information, input, flexibility, change, and evolution…and that can undermine all of the hard work you’ve put into your brand to date.

Plug your ears. It’s scary to put yourself “out there” as a businessperson or as a brand.  “You say social media’s about conversation,” say potential clients.  “But what if I don’t want to hear what’s being said?”  My answer is always simple:  criticism and frank dialogue will happen whether you want to participate or not.  Would you rather be part of a dialogue or miss out on the opportunity to create your own message?  When you plug your ears, you fail your brand by avoiding opportunities along with challenges.

Waffle. There’s something to be said for flexibility…after all, didn’t I just tell you not to close your business off to opportunity?  But waffling is something else entirely.  When you fail to commit to a plan of action, no matter how small, you fail to start on a path toward progress of any kind.  I’ve seen brands that are debilitated by their decision-makers’ inability to make a plan and stick to it…even a tiny plan with plenty of flexibility built in.  Let me put it this way:  if you’re busy waffling, your default mode is “on hold.”  Do you really want to convey that to your customers?

Play it safe. Yes, the economy sucks, yes, your customers are a finicky, picky, and easily-offended bunch.  But why do you think companies like Crispin Porter + Bogusky and the brands they represent are on top while many other agencies have faltered in a tough economic environment?  Like their in-your-face tactics or not, CP+B exemplifies a fearless approach…a commitment to find ideas that resonate and then make them stick.  If you’re too afraid of your clientele to even try out a message that’s anything but ordinary, you could be compromising your brand in an insanely competitive environment.

Lose your values. The number one mistake I see in businesses of every size is failure to recognize and adhere to a set of core values and tenets.  When you lose sight of your company’s values, you have nothing to translate into your brand identity…nothing to stick to, nothing with which to differentiate yourself, and nothing to stand for.  A quick values check before committing to any plan, approving any copy, or making any business decision can go a long way towards enhancing your brand.  And looking the other way while your values go buh-bye is a great way to flush your brand’s integrity and uniqueness down the toilet. – Erin

Welcome to the last installation of Social Media Week!  Hope you’ve enjoyed this look at common misconceptions about social media.  Today’s myth is similar to when your childhood friend claims, in doomsday tones, that if you swallow your gum, it will take seven years to digest…the dreaded Myth of the Fatal Flaw.

The myth goes something like this:  the Internet is forever!  Google is king, and can ferret out every word I’ve ever said and every action I’ve ever taken!  Hence, there is no point in engaging in social media, because it puts me at too much risk for permanent reputation damage and exposure.

Not so.  True, consciousness of the fact that social media is sticky and searchable is absolutely key if you’re going to be blogging, responding, and conversing with others.  But blame the user, not the medium, for imprudent use of social tools.  Having a Facebook account or a Twitter handle isn’t carte blanche to insult, flame, and badmouth everyone in the world.  What it is (and this is way more scary) is a challenge to be authentic and transparent, to balance what you make public with what you choose to keep private, to choose your words carefully and well.

The world of social media can seem like a jungle full of screeching baboons and lurking hyenas (wait, do hyenas live in the jungle?  Oh well, let’s continue with that simile anyway.)  But being in the jungle doesn’t mean you can’t be savvy…or have fun!  To stress over every word because you know that users travel in packs and express their opinions loudly and often is to lose the entire point.  Just as it’s not here to save the day, social media isn’t here to expose your every flaw. And you’ll be amazed again and again by the generosity and grace offered by your fellow travelers…if you’re willing to fess up to your mistakes, own your words, and take responsibility for your actions.

Myth busted:  savvy self-expression is the name of the game…and mistakes happen. Free-wheeling, fast-moving social tools are what you make of them…and they’re just begging to help you test, play, make mistakes, evolve, and be real. – Erin

Welcome back to Social Media Myths Week!  Today we’re covering a myth that becomes even more pervasive as individuals flock to social media in droves.  It’s The Myth of Quantity over Quality, and it’s one of the biggest controversies I know of in “the field.”  The myth goes something like this:  “If only I get X number of followers, I’ll start to get more business” or “X has Y number of followers, she must be more credible than Z.”  Whoa, Nelly, not so fast!  Contrary to popular opinion, quantity does not denote quality.

Does having a sizable audience matter?  Sometimes.  It’s all about your goals.  Here are a few observations about the quantity over quality conundrum:

For some, there is a baseline threshold of what constitutes credibility.  For example, some people will not follow someone they don’t know (italics important) who has less than a certain number of followers because it shows them that few people have chosen to devote their time to that user.

Followers are cheap…and fickle. If you lower the bar to followers or (gasp!) resort to get-thousands-of-followers-quick schemes, you compromise something in the process.  And don’t think that your real followers won’t be turned off by your constant “I got 135315325235235235235 followers in three days…click here to do it too!” tweets…they will, and they’ll leave for a more personalized experience.

Follower counts mean a bigger audience…sometimes. If you have thousands of followers on Twitter, you have a bigger chance of being retweeted, and a RT from an account with a large following means an even bigger potential sphere of influence.  However, if 99% of the RTer’s followers are bots and MLM get-rich-quickers, it probably won’t make a difference. 

“How” is always more important than “how many.” How did you get a follower?  How do you communicate with them?  How do you use social media?  These questions are always more important than “how many.”  A small audience of hand-picked, responsive, communicative, and engaged followers is always better than a huge “audience” of unengaged, uninterested followers. 

Follower counts are just one metric. Clickthrough, conversion, conversation, Web traffic…these statistics should always go alongside follower count.  Allowing follower count to trump actual results is extremely shortsighted…the equivalent of letting your obsession with Nessie (who will never appear) interfere with your awesome vacation to Scotland.

Myth busted:  It’s all about quality. The obsession with follower counts obscures the true power of social media…facilitating conversation and democratizing content creation.  Yes, follower counts are a great way to gauge your social media account, but focus on adding value and creating quality with every connection and you’ll thrive whether you have 2 followers or 20,000.

This week, we’re covering social media myths and misconceptions.  Myth #2 is one of my favorites.  As mysterious and elusive as the Loch Ness monster, it likes to shapeshift into different marketing and business functions.  It’s The Myth of the Silver Bullet, and it’s the bane of businesses everywhere!

Somehow, somewhere, this myth originated from the desperate desire of business owners, boards of directors, presidents, and bosses to find a tool that fits all three impossible categories of cheap, fast, and good.  This mythic tool can bolster even the most lackluster brand, sway even the most lazy and uninterested prospect, and produce untold wealth for all who use it regardless of skill level, budget, or strategy.

You can see where I’m going with this.  Social media’s cheap…heck, even inexpensive.  It’s predicated on lightning-fast communications.  It’s even been used well by businesses big and small!  Could it be the silver bullet you’re looking for?

Myth busted:  Like the Holy Grail, the Silver Bullet just doesn’t exist. Even super-flexible, super-fun, super-sticky-and-now social media tools can’t make up for weaknesses in your business plan, flaws in your content or failure to execute.  Even the most expensive, well, researched, well-planned and flawlessly presented ad campaigns sometimes bomb due to factors large (human nature) and small (one word that doesn’t resonate).  Think about it:  if merely throwing up a few social media profiles and calling it a day could make us all rich, would any of us be reading this blog right now in an effort to improve our brands?

If you give in to Silver Bullet thinking in your business, beware…you’re in for a lot of disappointment.  Does that mean that social media is incapable of providing great value to your business and returning amply on investment?  Of course not.  But reasonable expectations and goals and benchmarks that are tied to larger business goals are key if you’re going to make social media a sustainable, valuable tool in your arsenal.  So do yourself a favor:  focus on the realistic instead of the mythical…and stop placing all the strain on the back of poor social media already!

As a social media strategist and consultant, I run into a ton of myths about social media.  This week, I’m going to bust the most common ones…one misconception at a time.  And so, without further ado, I bring you Myth #1:  The Cookie-Cutter Approach.

I can’t tell you how many calls and emails I get that start out “I know I really should be tweeting…” “I know I need a Facebook page…” etc. etc.  To which I always respond:  “Waaaait a minute.  Not necessarily!” Somewhere, somehow, many business owners got the idea into their head that everyone, everywhere should use every social media tool and that they’re all a great fit for every business.  And that’s a myth.

That’s not to say that an understanding of social media isn’t important…it is.  In fact, anyone who disregards social media as an agent for change, a milestone in the way people communicate, and a harbinger for ongoing transformation in terms of conversation and marketing does so at their own peril.  But that doesn’t mean everyone needs social media now, and it doesn’t mean that every service is a great fit for every company.  There’s a time and a place for case studies, imitation, and emulation, but in the end, no strategy will be 100% effective 100% of the time…and the most effective strategy is always the one you can actually execute.

Myth busted:  There’s no one-size-fits-all approach. In fact, social media strategies should be different from person to person and from business to business and should reflect the unique makeup of your goals, customer base, and capabilities.  You wouldn’t let the masses dictate your business plan or your investment strategy, so why would you allow the “shoulds” and “musts” of the many dictate the way you interact with your clientele?

Stay tuned for more social media myths all week!

Um…how is it the end of the week again, let alone the end of the month?  Oh, well.  Time to round up what we’ve noticed in the realm of marketing, social media, and brand strategy the week of January 25:

Hyperlocal:  I finally gave in and joined Foursquare this week, amid a huge buzz around the growing power of hyperlocal social media applications.  This coincided nicely with Twitter’s (Denver-snubbing) rollout of local trending topics,  Yelp’s rollout of sundry cyberstalking technology for its app, and an extremely thought-provoking article by Andrew Hyde on the implications of this technology (and why he’s opting out).

Hyperhyped:  In case you were in a remote cave this week, I’ll break the news…Mac announced its iPad technology on Wednesday  to great hubbub and furor.  Cue the inevitable Mac/PC mockery and bickering between me and Juli (a Mac evangelist who eventually bemoaned the technology’s lack of camera and lame failure to properly use the space of the tablet).  And cue rabid fanboys, drama about its ill-conceived and poorly-tested name, and users delighted (hey, maybe it will improve AT&T’s sucky service!), bummed (wait, it won’t save print media?), and confused about various features and prices (or lack thereof).  Which all begs the question…isn’t the hype kind of the point?  Success or failure, the iPad controversy/expectation/spin machine has people talking, speculating, and refreshing their favorite sites.  Oh, for an audience of millions.

Hyperhelpful:  As websites cut the b.s. and pare down the heavy Flash and SEOverload for more nimble, flexible content management and simpler messaging, we’re encouraged to see more focus (and buzz) about helping others.  More and more, the businesses who catch our limited attention and keep it are ones that have honed in on the ways in which they serve their customer bases.  When you get away from service, you get away from your voice and your value…and even worse, you risk alienating your base.  Here’s a great article on how the helpful effect actually boosts credibility in the social media sphere (via today’s excellent SmartBrief on Social Media, one of the must-reads in my crowded inbox).  Want some ideas on how to leverage social media and Web tools to the advantage of all?  We’ve got your back.

What’s your favorite story of the week?  Let us know!

It can be easy to drown in the news surrounding marketing, social media, and brand strategy.  This week, we dredged through the good, the bad, and everything in between to bring you what we think is the most interesting marketing, social media, and brand strategy news of the week of January 19:

Social Media For Good:  With the destruction of the Haiti earthquake only beginning to be uncovered, social media and viral marketing played a huge role in fundraising and awareness-building for Haiti.  It’s been a bad week for the world, but a great one for social media, which is only just starting to live up to its potential.  Mashable points out five social media lessons from the Haitian relief effort. One writer urges us to “focus on impact, not shiny objects.” In a media void, organizations like the BBC are planning on offering podcasts in Creole to Haitian individuals and news outlets.    And the “Hope for Haiti” telecast will be available on the Web tonight as well.

Take the Tablet:  Rumors are swirling about Apple’s mysterious tablet computer.  All over the Web, Mac whores and interested ancillary parties discussed what it will look like, how much it will cost, and whether it’s already played out.  Can it cook dinner for you?  Help broker world peace?  Break the longtime AT&T monopoly on Apple cellular devices? We shall see.

Big Changes Afoot:  No matter what side of the political spectrum you fall on, you’re bound to be affected (and soon) by the recent Republican victory in Massachusetts, the closure of influential talk radio station Air America, and the Supreme Court’s landmark decision to open up campaign financing by rolling back corporate spending limits.  Expect to see huge changes in the health care debate, fueled by evolving marketing tactics on the part of both smaller interest groups and big business.  Our prediction:  the landmark shift in social discourse that began with the contentious 2008 election was just the first step in a new marketing climate that relies on niche and multichannel tactics to mobilize and organize constituents and influence decisionmakers.

Got great news to share?  Let us know in the comments below!

Spring 2009 is all about social media education, and Twitter is on the tongues of everyone from devoted power-users to confused newbs who can barely use a mouse.

Despite all the hype, news programs and even devotees haven’t quite hit their mark.  I keep running across the same question over and over again…why should I care about Twitter?  Who gives a hoot about whether you had a croissant for breakfast, anyway?

In lieu of writing a thesis on the subject (and if you really want to hear the advanced reasoning behind my use of Twitter, pretty please come to my new Twitter class June 25 and July 9), I’ll give some simple answers.

Why should you care about Twitter?

It’s all about conversation.  If you aren’t having a conversation with your potential clients and colleagues via social media, you’re missing the boat.  Twitter doesn’t just give you an unprecedented chance to engage with your base…it allows you to start, shape, and exert a degree of cotrol over the conversation that just can’t be achieved by a press release, a sound bite, or an advertorial.  And the options are endless:  you can talk directly to your base, ask them questions, gauge their opinions, solicit their feedback, be helpful and offer advice.

It’s happening.  Whether or not you like it, Twitter has taken off in a big way.  Does every business need Twitter?  No way.  But don’t dismiss it because it’s new, trendy, and admittedly overhyped.  The amount of creativity and excitement generated by Twitter is truly energizing and engaging…if you know how to use it properly.

It’s opportunity.  Opportunity to find out what your customers and your colleagues care about.  Opportunity to make mistakes, hone that brand, and get deep into voice and vision.  Opportunity to dip your toe into a huge conversation and watch it morph before your eyes.  Opportunity to be on the cutting edge before it changes into something else (just look at the evolution of hashtags over the past few months). And, yes, opportunity to get business.  I can count twenty or more instances in which Twitter has brought me business or allowed me to refer business to someone else in the last two months alone. Now that’s opportunity.

Sure, you may think you don’t care about whether your client had a donut or a croissant for breakfast…until you use that fact as the launchpad for a personal conversation.  Twitter can seem scary:  it’s immediate, vast, and fast.  It’s also vibrant, thrilling, exciting, maddening, and hilarious.  Go ahead…dip that toe in.

Readers, why do you care about (or shun) Twitter?

Photo courtesy of godsmoon

Thanks for hanging in during the hiatus…I’m feeling much refreshed after a severely needed vacation.  We will return to our regularly scheduled blog postings on Monday.  In the meantime, here’s a drive-by glance at this week’s two biggest stories in marketing and brand strategy:

Twitter is on fire:  You know Twitter’s hitting the bigtime when a Twitter race between two public entities is front page news, the local news starts running fluff pieces on Twitter, and Oprah, ambassadress of all that will be embraced eventually, finally relents and throws a few Tweets to her followers.  (We’re loving Twitter here, but all this coverage is a huge sign to be on the lookout for The Next Thing…)

Crisis management is a whole new ballgame, folks:  The nasty Domino’s YouTube scandal is only the latest in a series of online gaffes and frantic scrambling.  (Remember Tropicana, the Motrin Moms, and the Whole Foods CEO’s lame astroturfing?)  Ironically, the big D apparently plans to use social media and SEO to improve the image spit upon by its own employees.  Though the best offense is always a good defense, it’s fascinating to see crisis management adapt to these let-it-all-hang-0ut times…who will be the next victim?

What was your favorite story this week?