How do you control your brand?
Second only to “how much is this all going to cost?” the question of how to control their brand ranks high on our clients’ list of priorities.
The short answer? You can’t.
Just ask Nestle. (Source: Jeremiah Owyang, @jowyang)
Control seems to be at the fore of my awareness lately. Perhaps it’s something I need to hear; perhaps it’s something you need to hear. Regardless, I find that when I write about something, I learn more about the topic at hand through the act of distilling my thoughts and committing them to words.
Control of a brand has increasingly occupied the collective consciousness of companies and businesses everywhere with the advent of social media. Paramount on the list of concerns from our clients: “What if someone says something negative about me on my facebook page?”
Then they will.
The conversation is happening whether or not you are part of it. Better to understand what is being said and to engage based on where your public is than to remain on the dialogue sidelines. By addressing any comment in an authentic manner, your brand is strengthened and your effectiveness is heightened as a result.
Control always comes back to one thing: we cannot control that which goes on around us. We, as individuals, as brands, can only control that which is within. A common response from me in regards to controlling your brand? “The best defense is a good offense.”
More than just flooding the space with positive information about your brand, the “best offense” in this case is to be crystal clear about who you are as a brand. From the janitor to the CEO, your brand has to be saturated with “you-ness.” What do you stand for? If you were a person, who would you be? Can your brand identity be communicated clearly, concisely and with emotion?
The answers to these questions form the foundation of why people buy what you have to sell. They identify with you. They transfer their emotions to your product. Your essence is a representative component of who they are as an individual, to a certain extent.
If you, as a business, are secure about your brand, then detractors won’t have any power against it. Anything that shows up in the space that conflicts with what you’ve established your brand to be will fall on deaf ears. The power of social media is about the network. Your public will act as brand advocates against a naysayer.
The control of your brand is within your hands. Tend your own garden. Know thyself. Be secure enough to relinquish control and the power of that confidence transcends detractors. That’s how you control your brand.
Published in Business, Social Media, Strategy
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Molly - excellent!
Most brands have control over at least five things:
1. The price of their products.
2. Who buys their products.
3. How they treat their customers.
4. How they treat their employees.
5. How much value they create in their community.
What do you think?
Great article Molly. I’ve been reading and writing about this topic as well and how social media has changed everything. I also think, to John’s point, that a company can control how they treat their employees and customers. If you start internally and then move out to external service you can build quite a solid reputation. Thanks for sharing your perspective.
Thanks for stopping by. So many people and companies allocate their energies *externally* that they forget to look inward.
Great points, John & Jen!