Brand Against the Machine: How to Build Your Brand, Cut Through the Marketing Noise, and Stand Out from the Competition

17

Welcome to the Social Parade

SOCIAL MEDIA HAS PROVIDED BRANDS with an opportunity to build relationships with their audiences like nothing we have seen before. Your ability to connect with new people and deepen existing relationships can have a large positive effect on your brand. Social media is about one thing and one thing only: engagement. The brands that engage the most win.

There is no questioning how powerful social media tools can be in the building of your brand. However, if your approach to social media is off base, it will severely damage your brand. Although I am a big proponent of social media and recommend it for all brands, it's important to note that it's only right for those who commit to it. It's like driving a car. I recommend everyone learn how to drive, but if you're gonna get drunk or wear a blindfold while driving, you're abusing what could have been a good thing and you should avoid it. You'll do more damage than good.

It works only for those who use it properly, and it destroys brands when not used properly. My goal here is not to frighten you but to give you a fair warning of what you're committing to when you decide to invest in making social media a component of your branding strategy. If you're not 100 percent committed to it, then don't use it.

Not being active in a medium with the word social doesn't make much sense, does it?

This should be a given but it's not. I have seen people go weeks without a single update and then complain about the lack ...