Can You Control Your Brand, or Just Share It?

Joel Postman discusses social media implications to the corporate brand, including the definition of brand, and whether a visitor can control its brand, manage it, share it, or must requite information technology over to the whims of consumers.

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Perceptions about "control" of the make have acquired some companies hesitation when it comes to adopting social media. They fright that giving as well much control to outsiders will adversely affect the company'south brand. In a world of consolidation and globalization, where the physical production is simply a part of the company'south differentiation, make attributes have become increasingly important. Before, I mentioned that the CEO of Procter & Take chances suggested companies "let go" of their brands, withal this suggestion came from the chief executive of a company that created the position of make manager. Clearly there is disharmonize hither.

Simply these concerns come from both a misunderstanding of but what a brand is, and notions of whether a company actually tin can control its brand.

A visitor'due south make is not merely its logo and company proper name. Information technology'due south something far greater. Some companies, like Disney and Coca-Cola, do exert very strong control over certain elements of their brands, such every bit trademarks, images, logos, and production names. Many companies have fabricated major investments in these components and are rightly concerned nearly managing them to all-time reward.

Whatever discussion of social media implications to the corporate brand must begin with a definition of make, and some agreement as to just whether the company can command its make, manage it, share information technology, or must give information technology over to the whims of consumers.

Merriam Webster defines brand as

• "a class of appurtenances identified by proper noun as the product of a unmarried house or manufacturer."

True, but not very useful for this word.

David Ogilvy, often called the father of advertising, divers a make every bit

• "the intangible sum of a product's attributes: its proper noun, packaging, and price, its history, its reputation, and the fashion information technology's advertised."

I define a brand as the sum total of our experiences with a company, its products, services, and employees, and the fashion those experiences shape our perception of the company.

Under these broader, modern definitions, information technology becomes obvious that a company cannot own or control its brand. Information technology tin, nonetheless, manage its make, and, thanks to social media, participate more actively in discussions that touch its brand.

It's unlikely that at any time in history companies were truly able to command their brands. However, with each successive generation of communications tools, the thought that a company owns its make exclusively has grown increasingly harder to back up. Perchance one hundred years ago, when electronic communications was in its infancy, at that place were only a few channels through which the vocalization of consumers could be heard and amplified. Over the grade of media history, diverse developments, such as broadcast news, and subsequently on, the web, gave new voice to consumers.

With the advent of social media, consumer voices accept grown exponentially louder, and online conversations have begun more and more to shape a company's brand. Smart companies recognize this fact, and as part of their social media strategy, encompass information technology and take advantage of information technology.

Then just how much "control" is possible in the world of social media, and how much is desirable? And when is it advantageous for a company to loosen its perceived grip on the brand?

Corporate Identity in Social Media

I result that will come up upwards for nearly every large company is the ownership, use, and misuse, of the company'south corporate identity. This includes the company's name, logo, website URLs, product names, and other visual elements associated with the company'south brand.

Not only will the visitor want to properly apply its identity in its own social media initiatives, just there will be circumstances under which the company volition need to review unauthorized 3rd-party use of its identity and make decisions on what, if annihilation, to practice about information technology. In some cases information technology may really be desirable for the company to "look the other manner" when third parties use the company's proper noun without the company'south approval.

Let's brainstorm with some suggestions for securing elements of the visitor's brand, and then expect at situations in which, instead of policing the brand, the company might be better off "sharing" it with consumers.

"Managing" the Visitor's Message

Messaging is an important function of your communications strategy and is therefore important to your social media strategy. Equally I've mentioned elsewhere in the book, social media are merely a new set of communications tools, which will require learning and understanding, but to which the post-obit common sense, and tried and true communications practices still apply:

• Messaging is still important. In that location are key ideas yous would like to convey almost your company, whether through traditional channels or through social media, similar blogs.
• At that place are ways to stay on message authentically. Don't edit executive social media content like blog posts. Loosely necktie social media initiatives to marketing messages but don't parrot marketing buzzwords or taglines.
• Communications must be two-fashion. The corporation must participate in the chat.
• Communications alone can't prepare well-nigh things. True participatory communications and multi-dimensional word mean not simply does the visitor give people a ways of discussion, but that the company listens and responds to what's being said, and it empowers all of its people to do so every bit well.
• Negative buzz virtually your company is not something to be squelched just rather an opportunity to regain control of the agenda.
• With mutual sense, cognition of what works and what doesn't, and agreement of social media etiquette, preparation, and policies, nearly any company tin engage in low-risk, high-value social media. These are the keys to managing your social media programs in a manner that will build your brand and will actively involve customers and others in the process.

Many large companies take specialists or unabridged groups devoted to messaging. In social club to reach the company's business objectives, it is desirable to identify the specific audiences the visitor wishes to reach and the messages nearly advisable for each audience.

In that location are many ways to ensure that the company'due south letters are incorporated into your social media programs without compromising authenticity, credibility, and spontaneity. As in any other class of corporate communications, it'due south wise to guide the participants in your social media programs to aid them best support your overall communications strategy by providing them with messaging documents, editorial calendars/guidelines, briefings, and other tools that you ordinarily use for this purpose.

In terms of messaging, there are several major distinctions between social media and traditional communications channels. The processes that underlie your social media programs must be very subtle and must non interfere with authenticity, conversational tone, immediacy, and other characteristics that make social media so effective. The "output" of your social media programs will be field of study to fewer internal reviews, and in some cases to no review any.

An executive web log is 1 example of a social media program in which it is non that difficult to introduce some degree of messaging and thematic oversight. Many communicators are worried that the CEO and other executives will not be able to stay on topic, or they will wander far from the discussions that are important to the company's business goals. This is a state of affairs requiring careful consideration. Many would fence that any degree of influence over an executive blogger would result in a lack of authenticity or credibility, or worse, introduce likewise much marketing hype into the equation. You must remember, however, that all your communications vehicles belong to the company and take a job to practise. They tin can all be maintained in a manner that retains the virtues of actuality, credibility, transparency, and and then on, while nonetheless allowing you to use them to achieve business and communications results.

Although it is not adequate for marketing to write the CEO's blog posts, for example, it is both acceptable and smart for the CEO's communications team to provide some kind of input as to the topics, themes, and points of view they desire the CEO to project.

One way to communicate these key letters or themes to any of the company'south bloggers is to provide regular briefings on appropriate topics. A more formal arroyo is to utilise an editorial calendar that outlines well in accelerate fundamental events and milestones and the timing and themes for web log posts in support of these.

Another element of your blogging program should be blogging platforms. These are curt documents identifying a handful of fundamental themes that each blogger should focus on and key messages that the blogger needs to convey. I ever suggest a balance when guiding bloggers on what to write nearly. You should design messaging documents and platforms that guide the writing, but provide enough breadth to allow the blogger to write on any relevant and interesting topic.

The art of balancing the company's strategic communications objectives with spontaneous, engaging writing is what defines a skillful company web log. Information technology is only through feel, a businesslike arroyo, and abiding grade correction that your company's web log and other social media initiatives will achieve this balance.

Locking Upward Your Company's Social Network Identity

Social media, with its often loose standards regarding user identity, has opened upward a Pandora's Box of opportunities for confusion about who is, and isn't, an authorized visitor spokesperson.

Ane step yous can take to secure certain elements of your brand, and to avert such confusion, is to register the company's name on every bit many popular social networks and social media sites, like Twitter, MySpace, and Facebook, as possible. Unfortunately, nearly without exception, these sites will allow anyone to register whatsoever company name without hallmark. The user agreements for these sites, sometimes called the Terms of Service (TOS), often leave information technology to the owners of company names and brand names to police the names online.

Brandjacking

Lack of controls on many social media sites has resulted in numerous instances of brandjacking, the unauthorized utilize of a company'south make. Some of these are proficient humored, others can crusade bug for companies, and many are really quite positive and beneficial.

Although I previously made recommendations for controlling the company'southward brand identity online ahead of time, at that place are often situations in which corporate communicators, sometimes urged on by the company'southward legal section when trademark and copyright violations occur, must make judgments regarding unauthorized employ every bit information technology comes to the company's attention. These decisions should be made on the ground of the benefits versus the potential damage to the company presented past each case. Information technology is not always to the company'due south benefit to scissure downward on every unauthorized employ of its logo, product photography, name, and so on.

This is a hard concept for many companies to understand, afterward many years of very strict regulation of these things. Marketing 101 tells us that we should not allow unauthorized employ of the visitor's proper name, logo, and product photos. However, this is not Marketing 101—it'due south social media. Smart companies need to recognize that the rules have changed.

There are many occasions when a company'south brand is brandjacked for the better. A search on near whatever popular company or production on Facebook will reveal dozens of Facebook groups and pages devoted to the visitor, most of them not authorized by the company. For example, a search on Facebook groups for Blindside and Olufsen reveals over 50 groups devoted to the company and its products. Many of these feature the visitor's logo, official product photography, and links to the company's website. It is difficult to tell which are authorized past the company, and ironically, several claim to be "the only official Blindside and Olufsen Facebook folio." There are thousands of groups like these on Facebook, oftentimes using copyright logos and images.

There are over 500 Facebook groups devoted to Apple products, well-nigh all of which are non canonical by the company. Note that together, the 4 shown in Figure 4.ane business relationship for over 45,000 Apple enthusiasts (though there may be some overlap) and all are showing recent growth in membership.

Effigy four.one Facebook groups devoted to Apple products.

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Source: https://www.peachpit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=1314635

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