Brand + Social Media = Brand Equity
Believe it or not, I have several friends that have not jumped on the social media bandwagon. They are anti-Myspace and Facebook. While I can understand why some feel social media websites are the anti-Christ, blaming it for failed marriages and shameless self-promotion, millions of people are virtually addicted to them.
Companies and brand managers are missing a huge opportunity if they don’t take advantage of this means of free advertising. Social Media sites offer companies the opportunity to connect with their customers, build brand relationships, and speak directly to their target market. By promoting your company’s image and values to the public and giving consumers the opportunity to post comments about your brand, you build brand equity. Consumers feel like they have a voice and that you are willing to listen to what they have to say. Just make sure you monitor comments before they are posted on your site. You don’t want anything negative floating around about your organization in cyberspace. However, the customer testimonials that will be written about you are priceless and customers will listen to word of mouth advertising over promotional advertising any day. People that you would never imagine being connected in the real-world are getting connected online. Furthermore, their new “friend’s” opinions matter. Hence the importance of building your brand through social media platforms.
Great post. Social media allows brands to actually connect with consumers. I’ve also learned that along the way, by using social media, my business can actually target customers a lot better than mass emails, blanket campaigns and traditional marketing revenues. To be honest, as a small business, I don’t have a huge budget, so I have to get the biggest bang for my buck. Social media definitely has allowed me to CONNECT with my targets, not just waste money.
A word of caution, however. Social media can get out of hand, and FAST. One must constantly update, post and monitor. Many ad agency’s have in-house coordinators simply monitoring their clients virtual space. If somebody posts something negative, you must be able to counter it, or delete it if totally crazy. If you are looking at using social media a lot, make sure you hire somebody with that virtual addiction. It’ll drive a normal person nuts!
Go get ‘em!