Social media has offered the business world a tremendous opportunity to boost a company’s personality. This opportunity can translate into greater visibility and recognizability, building trust, improving relationship management, profit maximization, etc.
Whereas previously word-of-mouth advertising was expressed in a very personal and physical way, in the social age it is now done via social media. The interaction is timeless, and written texts are always more powerful. The digital social age has therefore completely changed the context.
Social media can strongly influence the reputation of a brand or company. In other words, the readers of social media posts can make or break a brand. That this is an important topic needs no further explanation. After all, reputation is a matter for the stakeholders and customers. They determine the reputation of the brand or company. However, the company can influence its reputation through actions. Bear in mind that it is more important to clearly communicate what you do, the frequency of it, and with whom, than what you say.
Word-of-mouth advertising
In the days before social media existed, word-of-mouth advertising between individuals was direct. In a conversation, this could be fully explored and influenced. In the social age, influence can take place indirectly 24/7 via various social media platforms. And if someone has many followers, the impact is many times greater. Those followers can share this again as well. The interaction is spontaneous for both sides. Content is highly decisive, which is why interactions must be handled very consciously in the digital social age, with brand personality at the center. Content marketing now means writing stories.
What is the customer buying?
Customers buy products and services. That is the first thing that usually comes to mind for everyone. But is that always the case? While the product is indeed purchased, the consequence of it—the result—is even more important. That can be status, power, or ease of use. The product determines which of these aspects are decisive. This already indicates that one must cater to the attention and needs of the customer. And how a company acquires that attention and those needs is a result of involving customers, its own employees, influencers, bloggers, etc. They are the people who have an impact.
If CMOs initially focus on the people who have the most impact, this is a very powerful and credible tool. After all, digital social makes it feasible to influence large groups by interacting with a small number of people.
So the customer is buying a product, but actually a result.
Brand personality process
Nothing is permanent. The same applies to brand personality. It is time to start an evaluation process and give the brand personality a boost. Below is a step-by-step plan that broadly covers the evaluation process.
Evaluate the brand personality
Naturally, most brands already have a personality to a greater or lesser extent. Take this status as the starting point for the evaluation. From that evaluation, a number of questions arise, such as:
- What is the current status based on?
- What does the staff think?
- What do customers think of it?
- etc.
Such questions form the basis for further optimizing the process.
Analyze customers
That analysis is often carried out using segments and revenues. That is possible, but customer value is even more important. There is a certain sustainability factor attached to this, and it should not be neglected. They may well be the best customers, the ones who generate the profit, but they are also very keen on service, and not just during the warranty period. Service remains of great importance to them afterwards as well.
Define customer characteristics and identify online
Most brands conduct continuous market research. This is often done in an authentic manner. However, in the social media era, this has changed. Create an overview of key customers and influencers, leverage this, and repeat messages on social media to influence prospects and make the product attractive.
Behavioral study
Behavioral studies are related to customers, but now focus on their actions regarding the product. So look more at the emotional side of their actions. Because this emotional aspect reveals more about the factual results.
Example: You gather ten customers and let them discuss the product. The product itself is discussed briefly, after which they move on to its emotional value. What is the added value for the customer?
Look for keywords that align with the purchase and use of the product. You will notice that certain keywords resonate most strongly with your brand’s core competencies. This is the moment to take a closer look at the brand personality. Review the results with an open mind and do not be afraid to make changes to the policy.
Create a keyword base
A keyword base is created from all outcomes of tests, customer interactions, phone calls with customers, influencers, the service team, etc. The customer interactions, in particular, are of great value.
Use the keyword base
Select the most important customers and use their keyword base to combine it with the highest added value of the product. Communication with these key customers has the effect that the impact is greatest with the right social media. Therefore, communicate on social media with a high concentration of key customers.
Forming teams
Once the previous phase has been completed, the formation of teams follows. The teams will analyze the results of the keyword base and establish links to the core competencies and characteristics of the company, brand, and product. These are small teams. The advantage is that everyone in the teams has more opportunity to contribute. Furthermore, multiple insights will emerge from this process. This, in turn, has the benefit of enabling them to develop better insight into how to communicate with customers.
Using interactions
Now that all teams are familiar with all customer interactions and have extracted the valuable elements, it is time to share these with prospects. It is important that prospects can see how key customers were handled, which will build more confidence when they make purchases. The product becomes more attractive.
