Digital Brand Consulting

Remember when you got started on Facebook? There was that phase a few months into it where every high-school friend was suddenly back on your radar, whether or not there as any reason to have remembered them in the first place. Waves of old and new faces would wash up on the shore of your in-box. Some of us indiscriminately accepted all. Some others took more time to approve or maybe ignore some of the more hinky ones.

Social Networks right now are merely dumps of nearly infinite connections, powered by XML and RSS. If the robot even thinks there’s a connection, it is programmed to go ahead and make it, hoping that you, the human, will sort it out later.

A common question I am asked by clients who are nervous about engaging in Social Media is “What about negative comments or flame wars?” It’s a valid concern. We all know instances where a negative meme picks up steam and spins out of control, leaving the brand scrambling to recover. And that’s where the failure was: if you’re not going to be actively engaged in your social media efforts, then don’t bother. Playing catch up is generally a losing game.

A recent study has found a linkage between social media engagement and financial success and profitability. In the first study of its kind, Engagement DB has provided the marketing community with some compelling directional findings. While the study findings can not show true causality, it's very exciting to see the linkage between deep engagement within social channels and the financial performance of some of the world's leading brands. Some key findings include:

I recently stumbled across (OK, it was Tweeted earlier this week by @JasonFalls) a job listing for a Sr. Manager – Emerging Media Marketing at big box retailer Best Buy. It’s your standard job listing that calls for everything you might expect to see from a corporate giant looking for a Sr. Marketer:

In tough times many are tempted to buckle down and stick to the basics; minimize risk and lay low until it all blows over. It’s a natural reaction and understandable when even General Motors is now on the government dole. But is that instinct to play it safe actually what led to GM’s problems and is the answer really more of the same? How does that relate to your business?

A recent AdAge article alerts marketers eye balling social media to the fact that the members of social networks may be getting sick of constantly being asked to install this app or forward that message to their friends. If we follow my party analogy, this shouldn’t surprise anyone

Ian Schafer at AdAge nails it in a short piece about social media and what it means to be involved from a branding standpoint. Contradicting the point of a colleague’s post urging companies to “stop thinking of the social web as media,” Schafer cuts to the core of WHY social media branding works.

How do you build loyalty outside of your business? Do you pay your friends for their loyalty? Do you provide discounts to your family members? Loyalty is developed over time and is strengthened or tested with each interaction. It’s no different for brands, despite the fact that many try to buy loyalty. But is it really loyalty if someone can simply buy it away from you?

I frequent the forum Modern Vespa which is an active social network for Vespa owners and enthusiasts. It has thousands of members that regularly post content and conversations about all things scooter related. The Vespa scooter, as it turns out, is a very successful social object. Although Modern Vespa is not officially supported or promoted by the brand, people still gather around this social object to communicate. The success of this community, independent of brand sponsorship, is due to strong roots
and purpose in a focused social object. When considering the creation of a community or a social media program for your brand, set it up for success by taking into consideration the different forms your brand can take as a social object.