-
Traits That Distinguish Radio's Remarkable 'Social Brands' From Common Ones
April 2, 2013
-
Ben Sisario wrote a piece on the marketing force behind Justin Timberlake's new CD, "The 20/20 Experience" for The New York Times. Justin's campaign was dynamic - featuring owned, earned, paid and shared media. But as Sisario noted, it was Timberlake's approach to social media that really stood out:
"The master stroke was the personal touch that Mr. Timberlake brought to every aspect of the campaign, giving his fans the impression of direct contact and feeding them a steady stream of topics to amplify through social media."
The article was a reminder that while Timberlake (and a few other artists) have effectively tapped into the potential of social media via fan acknowledgment, the inability for so many other brands – products and people – to adapt to the core of social platforms is what prevents them from being remarkable, too.
What you are about to read is going to sound like common sense – but it's not common practice.
Never underestimate the power of the personal touch.
Too often, we see celebrities, companies (sometimes even radio stations and personalities) brushing off fans – as if we're entitled to pick and choose who we respond to – if we even bother to respond at all.
But understanding what it takes to build and sustain a social fan base is critical as this space grows and becomes an even bigger part of people's lives.
The memorable brands in this space have identified what it takes to go beyond the ordinary and create meaningful fan experiences. They know it's about looking further than their own needs and serving the fans first.
You'll also notice three common themes that run through an effective social brand's presence and behavior:
- Validation - Making people feel that they have been heard strengthens the trust and anticipation for the brand.
- Inspiration - When there's more care in your content selection than cat videos, and you create or curate content that correlates with what fans experience as the essence of your brand, you confirm their reality by sharing what it is they value.
- Information – Telling your fans something they don't already know – especially with breaking news or commonly shared stories– elevates your brand authority.
The amount of "Likes" or followers will never matter if your brand is not memorable. It's all about how your brand behaves socially.
That's because the world we live in is in a state of "permanent beta," a condition Paul Jacobs recently wrote about in our company blog:
"Permanent beta" in this case speaks to Facebook's CEO Mark Zuckerberg's "Hacker's Way" - always changing and adapting the platform to improve user experience or to monetize it. And even Twitter's CEO Dick Costello is also always "hacking" Twitter's ad platform, as well as working on their algorithm to eventually dictate what tweets you see by how many people are reacting to them.
Due to this "permanent beta" mentality, there may be no way we will ever master social sites or apps. Things will always be changing.
But if you get the fundamentals and the appropriate behavior down – like Timberlake has - future changes will have minimal effect on your overall strategy. That's because you will have the art of acknowledgment down.
And you don't have to take it from me. Take it from the fans that have been followed on Twitter by their favorite DJ or radio station or those that actually get a response on Facebook:
When we only look at our fans based on what they can do for us, we will come up short of being an effective social brand.
When we take the time to commit to acknowledging them, wonderful things happen.
Reach out to me anytime on Twitter @lorilewis.
Reach out to me anytime on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter.
Please enjoy MERGE archives here.