What Are Social Media Good For? Putting a Face to a Brand
In his recent Ad Age article Chris Malone suggests brands should exude competency and warmth, and consumers will respond.
He addresses “how to most effectively use new media that have aptly been named “social” — those virtual gathering places where people interact with each other and, increasingly, with brands.”
Mary Meeker of Morgan Stanley has identified a $50 billion dollar gap between time spent online and advertising dollars. Considering that 77% of U.S. adults are members of social networks (with 67% in Facebook alone) this gap represents the most significant opportunity and may come to define the Internet.
Malone points out that few (brands) have been able to figure out how to monetize all the friends, followers and fans they’ve collected. There’s no doubt we’re in the very early stages of this new media but it’s surprising how few are daring enough to experiment.
It’s also interesting to note that two forms of experimentation include the brand loyalty attributes “acts in my best interests” and “is honest and trustworthy.” Effective marketing is driven by customer service. I recommend Joseph Jaffe’s book, Flip the Funnel, for further reading on this topic.
For brands and companies that want to build lasting consumer loyalty, Malone offers the following guidelines:
- Use social networks to better personify your brand and put a human face on it. Nothing is more powerful than real people demonstrating genuine warmth and competence in real time.
- Focus on social networks as your preferred medium for delivering customer service to consumers whenever possible. Putting service-related honesty and selfless intentions on display for consumers to comment on and share with others will surprise, impress and inspire them.
- Rethink your customer-service policies and practices to focus on building trust, goodwill and loyalty, rather than on minimizing company risk, cost and involvement. For consumers, these are often the truest reflection of your honesty, trustworthiness and commitment to their interests, rather than your own.
I’d love to hear your strategy in the comments below.
