Using social media to build a brand
Social Media can be a powerful tool when building a brand and shouldn’t be left out of the marketing mix, in fact I believe it should be considered right from the beginning of the planning and design process. As a starting point I have put together Brio Group‘s tips on integrating social media so it can be part of your next marketing strategy.
1: Choose the right channels – it’s important to get clear on who the target market/s are that you want to attract. Make sure you research the new ways this market embrace when they are communicate. Next, list out the communication channels that are being used.
2: Be creative in your approach to using social media channels – don’t just copy what everyone else is doing on social media. There are many opportunities at the moment to stand out by using social media creatively. Consider how are you engaging with the audience, what you want them to do, how the message can be spread and how traditional media can leverage your use of social media.
3. Define your tone of voice for your brand – social media channels give you the perfect platform to define your brand’s voice in the market. Is the brand fun loving, serious and detailed, or conversational? Use social media to ‘speak’ to the target audience on a personal level.
4. Listen to your customers and engage with them – social media channels lets your brand interact with your customers so you can find out what they like most about your product, service … or even team members! Listen and respond regularly to the comments and have a contingency plan in place to deal with negative feedback. At Brio Group, we call it a Social Media Policy. This important document outlines different scenarios and how to respond to negative feedback so it can be dealt with professionally and promptly by any team member. Update your Social Media Policy regularly with any new scenarios that are experienced.
5. Don’t be pushy – the biggest mistake that we see businesses doing with social media is to just push their product or service onto their target markets (fans). That is not the purpose of social media. I always say, “people will buy from businesses they know like and trust”. Social media channels give you the perfect forum to build up this awareness, personality and trust in your brand and should not be exploited with pushy and quick sales tricks and promotions.
We recently developed a new brand and marketing strategy including website build for SpareTicket.com.au. We integrated quite a few social media components into this project with a pre-launch teaser and launch campaign through social media channels that was supported by press releases and traditional media interviews and stories. We also set specific measurable marketing goals since the launch that we monitor weekly. The word of mouth spread of SpareTicket in the first month since launch has been phenomenal, mainly due to the power of social media. If you want to find out more about this project have a read of our case study. If used well, your next campaign can also be a success if you harness the power of social media.
Yours in social media marketing,
Belinda
