Did you know branding strategies take on a whole new dimension when it comes to social media. The best methods vary depending on whether you are extending an existing corporate brand onto social media, or launching a new product or identity primarily via social media. But the core idea of social media branding stays the same no matter what. It has to do with personalization, and therefore personality.
The best thing to keep in mind as you plan your social media launch or expansion is this: you have to think of it at all times like a conversation work friends are having in a bar or at a cookout. Anything you put out via social media that wouldn’t fit into that kind of conversation will fall flat in the social media sphere as well.
This especially affects the profile image you should use. If there is one person who can be your brand, that’s better than a logo. If you have a mascot, that’s at least as good as a person. For example, Ronald McDonald from McDonald’s or Tony the Tiger from Frosted Flakes are better social media profile images than the golden arches or the Kellogg rooster. It seems more like followers are interacting with a person, which is a better addition to the conversation than just a billboard with a logo on it.
This also affects the kinds of things you should release via social media. Do’s include: special discounts, contests, open-ended single questions you ask your followers, requests to hear their stories or see their pictures relating to your product, and random friendly or funny banter that makes them enjoy following you.
Don’t include: sales pitches, lengthy surveys, commercials, messages that have been written to sound corporate, and anything that is a one-way message delivery and doesn’t allow for interaction.
Keep the conversation just that – a conversation seeming human – and you can take any brand into social media.