Prediction #5 - Brands will become more like media companies
Social media has the capability to allow brands more control over what is sent out into the world about their brand and affords them less reliance on PR firms and press releases to respond to criticisms.
Recency is an important asset for any brand - if something negative is presented about a brand, social media will help them do two important things. First, because social media is dynamic, brands with social listening and monitoring tools can quickly find out when their brand is mentioned - either positively or negatively. The second pro of social media is that it allows brands to respond quickly, efficiently, and to a wide audience. One often hears about companies who blunder the opportunity to respond to criticisms quickly, but with social media teams devoted to such tasks, companies have a better chance of responding quickly and making it count - hopefully with a diminished impact on the brand reputation.
By focusing on the core message that a brand wants to send each time they utilize social media, they can quickly begin to figure out what works in building their brand and what doesn't work, using analytics and monitoring tools to gauge the public's response. However carefully crafted these measures are, Mashable makes the point that maybe the future of this type of branding lies in "redefining relevance" - that is, redefining what a company should update their Facebook status about or tweet about, and looking more at what works.
The Mashable article mentions that Skittles hired comedy writers to keep the content on their Facebook fan page humorous and replete with fresh content. By asking a simple question, such as "What is your favorite flavor of Skittles?" the brand may be able to gain more customer interaction with their page, which hopefully translates into more customer loyalty.
In the past year, I have certainly seen an increase in Facebook fan pages and have even been compelled to act as a result of a fan page. By building a company's brand in this way, it feels as though it may be easier to 'humanize' the brand, which in turn allows one to interact with and feel affinity towards the brand.
I have definitely noticed an increase in social media participation for advertising/branding!! One that has actually been driving me nuts is Jell-O. Yes, I liked their page. Mistake. They make a useless post about random things multiple times a day--
ReplyDeleteExample 1-"Is it just us or is JELL-O Gelatin just delicious??"
Example 2- "A "LIKE" is a terrible thing to waste ;)"
Example 3- "One small "LIKE" for JELL-O, one giant "LIKE" for JELL-O-kind."
I'm far too annoyed to actually say their strategy is working. I 'liked' their status one time, but since then want to punch Jell-O in the face and have blocked their posts.
They really aren't building their brand, they're annoying people. I have no desire to interact with Jell-O from a social media standpoint (nor does it make me want to purchase more Jell-O products).
I think its difficult, from their standpoint, to make their brand stand out by creating status' for an inanimate object-- but they need to figure it out soon.
It's definitely interesting to see how some companies over-use this type of advertising, and doing it well is a consistent challenge. It seems to me to be a situation where the company has to have a constant presence without being annoying or overbearing
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't recommend punching Jell-O in the face... I don't think it would do much to their gelatinous being - but your fist would be quite tasty afterwards. Hope for cherry!