Partner Article

Social Media and Branding - The Basics

In the current era, when social networks such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube rule creating a brand has become a challenging task. The truth is, everybody expected that the complete opposite would happen. Over a decade ago most business organizations and marketers alike were convinced that these new trends and technologies would actually bring a brighter future for branding.

This is why the leaders who knew the importance of mass social media use hired professionals and agencies to create brands using the digital world. This is how memes, buzz, viral, and similar terms became synonyms for branding. Nevertheless, even with all of these efforts the effects were very low.

The central point of these digital marketing strategies was the so-called “branded content”. They thought that social networks will give companies the ability to surpass and jump over traditional ideas, while at the same time creating direct relationships with their customers online. Companies thought that if they told great stories to their audience and tried to connect with people in real time, they would create a brand that would be attractive for consumers.

A lot of businesses went with this idea and together they invested billions to try and achieve this vision. Still, only a couple of brands were able to generate a substantial amount of consumer interest using social media in such a fashion. Furthermore, it seems as if social media was able to reduce the relevance of brands, and many ask, what exactly went wrong?

Crowd culture

Social media is a place where you can find various communities close together. In the past these communities were isolated geographically and this is why the ground is now much better for collaboration. In the modern era, these distanced communities are networked and their cultural influence has become substantial and direct. Now these cultures are called “crowd cultures” and there are two types: subcultures, which have new practices and ideologies, and art cultures that make new things in the world of entertainment.

In the past, all of these innovations came from the people that were on the margins of society, such as artistic circles or fringe groups. These people were the ones that challenged the norms of society, defied conventions and came up with new things. Business organizations and mass media alike took the role of intermediaries, finding these people and their ideas and pushing them into the mainstream market. However, things are not like this anymore and the branding strategies cannot be implemented on social media like it was with the traditional media.

Strong subcultures

In today’s social media you can find a big crowd culture that revolves around any topic. No matter if we are talking about coffee, comic books, anime, barbecue, football or any other combination for that matter. In the past, these subcultures were forced to gather in the real world and were very limited when it comes to collective communication.

The mass usage of social media was able to expand and create a better understanding between all of these subcultures. With just a couple of clicks, a person is able to get into a center of any of these subcultures and interact amongst each other without end on the web.

Together, all of these members are able to come to new conclusions, come up with ideas, practices, products or aesthetics while bypassing culture gatekeepers. With the sudden rise of crowd culture the innovators and people who adopt their ideas have almost become one and the same.

Art world

Creating an innovative form of popular entertainment requires a unique type of community and organization. Sociologist like to call this environment an art world. In these art worlds various artists such as writers, designers, filmmakers, musicians, painters etc. gather and collaborate together, share ideas, work on them, learn from each other and criticize each other. This collective effort of all the people involved usually results in major breakthroughs.

Before the social media environment became like this all of the mass culture industries such as television, fashion, film etc. were forced to thrive by repurposing their innovations time after time. Crowd culture was able to enhance all of the art world and increase the quality and speed of their collaboration, while at the same time giving the possibility for a much larger number of people who participate in them.

People are no longer forced to become a part of the “local scene” and they don’t need to depend on their local film distributor and try and get them to play along with their idea. Today there are millions of cultural innovators that come online and try to exchange ideas, improve their craft, and stay competitive to produce blockbusters.

Benefits of modern social media

All of the things said above have led to brands being squeezed out from most of the major social media hypes. This is why it is necessary to adjust your approach when trying to build a brand using social networks. Social media is a valuable resource that can do a lot for a business, but if you don’t know how to do it you will drown in the sea of “ruled out” content. The first quite obvious benefit of social media is its large market share.

All major social media websites have a large amount of connections and have a lot of attention from all of their users. Adding your presence in this sea of networks is a good way for establishing valuable connections, but it is also a good place to make yourself known to others.

Building transparent brands on social media

The first and most important thing when entering the social media region is to understand how to interact from your position. This goes to a much deeper level than just “making your logo look nice on Twitter”. In a huge crowd that consists of many individuals you must imagine how your brand will be accepted when it comes to social relevance. People’s opinions online have started to matter and this is why you should always look to check reviews when finding tools you will use for your branding efforts. You can find useful reviews of tools and services at CrowdReviews.com.

Will your brand be the “weird kid” or will it be the one that gets invited to the party first? You only get one chance. Well, not really, but if you start off badly and people perceive your brand as repulsing it can be quite hard to come back from it. It’s a sensitive issue and you need to understand the landscape before you act. You must stay updated at all times and on the same page with the community. Only after you understand how people react can you start making an impact on them.

Companies and other brands need to have a lot of diligence when it comes to conveying their intent, be honest, and not making promises they can’t keep. If you make a slip up in any of these things you can suffer terrible social consequences that can determine how your brand is perceived, and like I said before this is something that cannot be corrected easily.

The most important word you need to remember when it comes to social media branding is memorability. This applies for everything you do on your profiles. Make sure that you analyze your target audience properly and understand what will spark interest in their mind and make them remember you or your business.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tim Collins .