Simple Strategies That Will Move Your Brand!

“If you would not be forgotten as soon as you are dead, either write something worth reading or do things worth writing” - Benjamin Franklin

As communication consultants, we have been "prousting" that brands need to provide directed content to their clients that will provide an engagement experience versus the need for brands to get that Like.  I can't begin to tell you the amount of heated dialog this consultant and a few of my colleagues have had with clients surrounding the fact that "like's" don't  move your brand! And it's the interactions that are key to success. The need for brands to move from measuring follower counts to focusing on interactions is imperative. 

So how does this work? The good news is that getting more interactions is pretty straightforward: Post more (compelling content). The bad news: It takes a team of people to do this well and to drive and engage with your audience. 

A new study from social CRM provider Spredfast found that for each message that a brand posts on social media, it gets 400 interactions from consumers on average. The study looked at 154 companies with average social bases of 1.8 million it found that top-performing brands were now publishing 4,900 messages on average (per quarter), with an average engagement of 2 million interactions. 

These messages, or social content, each provides new opportunities for audiences to engage with social brands. While quantity, in this case, doesn’t equal quality, most social engagement measurement tools indicate that as brands increase contributors, groups, and activity, their external engagement rises disproportionally.”

So what does this mean?  Brands need to hire real social teams, not just a fresh-out-of-school kid to “do the Facebook and the Twitter.” In fact, top-performing brands, i.e., Nordstrom's, General Mills — based on social structure, configuration, and activity — have 21-30 people participating in social programs within the organization. Brands have had to move rapidly beyond the time when one social manager or even a small social media team is expected to own all social activity. Social Ambassador programs are becoming key to driving this throughout organizations and buy-in, and ownership is now becoming key to one's success. 

The big question is: How does one move to driving interactions? Content is KING and the use the right social media platform to drive that interaction is critical.  Knowing where your customers or clients live on social will influence that content.  One of our recent clients posted an average of 55 times per day on Twitter versus 18 times on Facebook. Facebook yielded 580 interactions per message compared to 50 per Tweet; knowing your data is critical. When we finished our brand review, our client was able to pivot to a more tailored and focused message.   Allowing the brand to measure a 50% increase in engagement, which converted coveted revenue growth, coupled with a lower cost of the customer acquisition.  

What is the takeaway? Think twice! Create a well-planned, well-managed program that allows for your brand and organization to connect internal resources with social customers.  Coordinate internally to ensure the right messages and brand guidelines are being distributed to the correct people and accounts and that all this can be pulled together in a meaningful way. Then be sure that all of those who touch your messaging are clearly aligned and working to achieve the goal of the brand or the specific interaction you are trying to drive.

We love a challenge and if you are interested in a Brand review we are here to engage. info@Look-solutions.com

Author: C. Kim Brechin 

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