Branding is the marketing term given to an identity and it is through your brand or identity that people associate your products, services, or just you as a person. With strong branding comes an association. A good example can be seen in fast food, soft drinks and motor vehicles. Talk about soft drinks, particularly cola, and people will automatically think of one or two brands.
You can achieve similar results within the social media community. You can build your business, your product, or even your name’s brand to a point where you can gain instant recognition. The blogging community has many examples ranging from reputation management (Marketing Pilgrim) through to professional blogging (ProBlogger). There are many more that sit between those two.
SEOMoz is another that has built a brand, this time in the field of SEO and social marketing. SEOmoz has published a good post on using your social media profile to build a brand. His opening paragraph sums up the need nicely:
…..building a social media strategy for your organization (or yourself, personally), you should be thinking about the branding created by the profiles you create. The profile name, the image you use as an icon or avatar, the webpage you link to and the words you use to describe yourself have a significant impact in how you’re perceived and how you’re remembered across the web.
Developing your profile is only the start. Other tips to developing your brand include:
Consistency with profiles: If you are developing profiles on a number of sites, be consistent with the information. Users generally frequent more than one site so you need to be consistent.
Following Through: If you make statements, particularly in areas like your profile, be sure to follow through. There are many individuals who include statements such as ‘always happy to provide assistance’ then never respond to requests – this is a reputation killer. Your brand will be identified as being unreliable.
Giving More Than You Receive: Or at least make it seem so. Statistics are revealing that people do want businesses to become in social media, not to sell or for hard marketing, but to provide a communication channel for help, feedback and advice. Use your presence in this way to develop your brand as a positive provider of help and advice – not a business that believes in the ‘sale at any cost’ process.
Developing a brand recognition is the single most important aspect of any social marketing campaign. Whilst it may not lead to sales today, the sales of next month and next year may rely on it.
