How brand communication should be designed to adapt to the network it is being presented on
Often people confuse all of social media as one single entity and forget to tailor their brand communication to suit the values of the chosen platform. Think about it- do you talk to your friends in the bar the same way you talk to your parents? Would you be happy and jovial at a funeral or silent and mournful in a comedy club?
The answer is a definite “No” and the same rule applies to your brand. All brand communication must be designed to adapt to the network it is being presented on.
Responsibility
It is easy to forget that social media can often be viewed by anyone and messages have the potential to end up anywhere. Therefore, something that would cause a mild embarrassment for a brief minute at an office party, could end up being spread around the world in a few minutes, turning into big mistake on the part of your brand. Thus, there are a few things to be aware of.
The first is to think about the message your brand is sending out. While it is important to engage with people, negative engagement such as angry responses to critical comments will not be appreciated. Think of social media as a conversation- you need to adapt your speech to the people you are speaking to.
Adaptation
Different platforms require different voices. Platforms such as Facebook or Twitter are more informal. Here, the best way for the brand to communicate is to be like a reasonably chatty friend. This is a good opportunity to share videos, links and quotes. It lets people get to know the brand or of it, in a fun, informal way. In order to maintain this, it helps to give personal touches to your page and to give people a clear idea of your brand’s personality.
When it comes to a business based platform such as Linkedin, the communication style should be more formal. In this instance you are probably better off focusing on the more formal aspects of your business’ industry. You can still use videos, links and so forth on brand’s page, but it may not be appropriate to talk about the more fun aspects of your business; the idea is for the content you share to be more informative.
Research
New types of platform arrive all the time. The temptation for a lot of businesses is to be early adopters. There is always the fear of being behind the curve and thus, the competition.
However you must not let this fear of missing out drive your decisions, it is important to determine if the platform is appropriate for your business. You also need to consider whether your approach will be effective and it is important to keep an eye on how the platform develops over time.
Authenticity
Ultimately any brand persona you create can only be tailored so far. It is about being discerning and finding the parts of your company that are relevant to that particular audience. It is important to do this carefully as you do not want to be seen as someone naïve attempting to piggyback off the latest craze or attempting to impose yourself on a medium you do not understand.
It is also vital to remember that social media is very rarely about instant results. It is not purely about numbers- you want people who will actively engage with you and will eventually want to know more about your business and this will take time to establish. However if you are prepared to put the effort in you will be able to develop a persona that your potential demographic will want to engage with.
Need help with your social media communication strategy? Contact us!!