Daring to Open your Brand to Consumers
I've a confession to make, when I first wrote this best practice in Social Media Marketing for Dummies (Chapter 14, page 247) I hedged my bets. I really wanted to say that your consumers control your brand and the sooner you accept that the better you will be for it. But then I felt that I may face a backlash and resorted to the more cautious tone of simply encouraging companies to open up their brands to their consumers. So here's how it turned out.
This is difficult for many marketers. You've probably spent money and time building your brand only to have someone telling you to let go of it. This may sound absurd. The truth is that the more you let your consumers internalize your brand, talk about it in their own language, and manifest your story in their own way, the more success you will have with your SIM efforts.Letting your consumers evolve your brand doesn't mean you're losing control of it completely. How you let consumers evolve your brand must be done in a fashion that is in sync with your company values, what your customers expect of you, the industry you operate in, and the appropriateness for your brand. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't let go at all. Brands that hold onto too much mystique run the risk of appearing cold, distant, and alienat- ing. Those risks are accentuated now with the social Web, so be careful, even if you're Chanel or Louis Vuitton.
Since the book came out, I've revised my opinion. I do believe that consumers are fundamentally shaping and reshaping brands through social influence marketing. The brands do not have a choice, the absolutely must allow consumers to shape their brands. The sooner they accept this and think about their marketing efforts through that lens, the better. Do you agree? And does this mantra apply to all brands in all industries?
Follow me on Twitter (@shivsingh) for more insights on digital strategy and social media.
Comments
