social media: using brand personality to grow your business

COMET BRANDING | HELLO |

Social MediaUsing Brand Personality to Grow Your Business

comet brandingbranding + public relations evolved

COMET BRANDING | OVERVIEW |

• Who is Comet?

• What is social media?

• Who is using social media?

• Why use brand personality in social media?

• Why use social media for business?

• How to get started.


COMET BRANDING | HELLO |


Sara Meaneypartner | left brain

14 years of client and agency side experience in

branding, marketing, PR and social media.

Al Kruegerfounder | partner | right brain

10 years of client and agency side experience in

branding, marketing, PR and social media.

Comet Branding helps clients use storytelling and personality to strengthen and evolve

brands to grow business through both traditional and social media platforms.

WHAT IS | SOCIAL MEDIA? |

Wikipedia definition:

• At its most basic, social media is a shift in how people discover, read and share news, information and content.

• It's a fusion of sociology and technology, transforming monologue (one to many) into dialogue (many to many) and is the democratization of information, transforming people from content readers into publishers.


SOCIAL MEDIA | EXAMPLES |


= people you already know; social/personal

= video sharing, podcasting

= social/personal, networking

= business networking

= micro-blog, business + personal networking

= blog platform

• Each site has its own demographic pattern and usage statistics.

• Data can be conflicting; trends are more important than numbers.

SOCIAL MEDIA | USER DEMOGRAPHICS |


SOCIAL MEDIA | USER TRENDS |


SOCIAL MEIDA | WHO USES FACEBOOK |


fastest growing user groups, doubling ~every 2 months.

(1strategylabs.com)

Estimated global users per month: 91 million

(compete.com)

SOCIAL MEDIA | WHO USES TWITTER |


US monthly visitors: 15 million

21%

31%

47%

18-3435-4950+

52% Age 35+

37%

46%

17%

Grad SchoolCollegeNo College

63% Higher Ed.

28%

25%27%

20%

$0-30k$30-60k$60-100k$100k +

Varied Income

source: Quantcast.com 3.09

SOCIAL MEDIA | WHO USES YOUTUBE? |


YouTube US monthly visitors: 79.3 million

source: Quantcast.com 3.09

SOCIAL MEDIA | WHY USE SOCIAL MEDIA |


• Social media is NOT the answer to every question. But...

• The game has changed completely. It’s time to decide if you want to be in the stands or on the field.

• Social media is a great channel for infusing personality and storytelling.

• It can be inexpensive to get started and relatively easy to adjust as you grow and change, unlike traditional media.

• Your competitors may already be doing it. Worth a look.

• Your audience is already online. Gallup reports that 48% of Americans use the Internet at least one hour per day. Get in the conversation.

SOCIAL MEDIA | HOW BRANDS USE SOCIAL MEDIA |


There are many relevant ways to to use social media platforms for YOUR brand.

• B2C

• B2B

• Non-profit

SOCIAL MEDIA | B2C CASE STUDY: DUNKIN’ DONUTS |


Success factors:• Voice consistent with brand• Uses calls to action, e.g. contests,

volunteer opportunities• Enables user-generated content• High activity level• Well-integrated across platforms

SOCIAL MEDIA | B2B CASE STUDY: INTEL |


Success factors:• Target-specific paths• Full integration and connection

across platforms• Innovative, interactive

engagement approach• True to the brand

17

SOCIAL MEDIA | NON-PROFIT CASE STUDY: 88.9 RADIO MILWAUKEE |


Success factors:• Fully integrated/connected

across platforms• Target-appropriate content • Call to action• Share feedback• Voice is personal• Adds value and offers interaction

with community

Events

Social Media Advertising

StrategicPR

Marketing

18

COMET BRANDING | MIND MAP |


Personality

Person

ality

PersonalityPersonality

Per

son

ality S

torytellingS

tory

telli

ng

Storytelling

Storytelling Story

tellin

g

BRAND

SOCIAL MEDIA | BRAND PERSONALITY |


Do you want to connect better with your customers?

Then do it.

The answer is pretty simple.

People like people.

Because of this, people like brands with personalities

...and people like brands that treat customers like real people.



“…whatever the reason, most companies are adept at removing any sense of individuality or human connection from how they communicate. We commonly describe these companies as faceless.”

Rohit Bhargava in “Personality not included: Why Companies Lose Their Authenticity – And How Great Brands Get it Back.”



“Personality is the key element behind your brand and what it stands for, and the story that your products tell to your customers. Every element of your business, from your interactions with your customers to the packaging of your products is an element of your brand personality, and these are elements that inspire delight or indifference among your customers. In short, personality matters.”

“Personality is the unique, authentic, and talkable soul of your brand that people can get passionate about.”

Rohit Bhargava in “Personality not included: Why Companies Lose Their Authenticity – And How Great Brands Get it Back.”

SOCIAL MEDIA | GETTING STARTED |


STEP ONE | DECIDE on your goals/intent. Awareness? Engagement? Online sales? Web traffic? Make a plan. Set expectations so you can measure, define and report against them.

STEP TWO | RESEARCH to determine the appropriate outlets and tactics for your efforts. Facebook custom app? Twitter dialogue? YouTube consumer contest?

STEP THREE | DETERMINE your brand’s personality and stories to communicate in social media outlets.

STEP FOUR | GATHER your assets. Social media comes alive with video, images, content. Consider new materials for new media. Compile and create content that dramatizes your brand story.

SOCIAL MEDIA | GETTING STARTED |


STEP FIVE | SET up accounts. Link them to each other whenever possible.

STEP SIX | SEARCH for people and topics using key words. Emulate those who do it well.

STEP SEVEN | LOCATE, gather and expand upon your community.

STEP EIGHT | ENGAGE with value-add commentary and opportunities to deepen their relationships with your brand.

STEP NINE | MEASURE and track your results regularly. Adjust your approach, as appropriate, to optimize your overall media mix.

SOCIAL MEDIA | THINGS TO STRIVE FOR |


• Be authentic. People can spot a fake from miles away.

• Be consistent. Commit the time and resources necessary to do it well.

• Listen and respond. This is a two-way conversation.

• Add value in relevant ways. Share stories and pics, link to blog posts of interest.

• Be patient. It takes time to build a network in person. Same thing applies in social media.

SOCIAL MEDIA | THINGS TO AVOID |


• Don’t be too salesy or self-serving. Would you push that hard at a dinner party with friends?

• Don’t spam. Make it relevant and engaging.

• Don’t say or do anything you wouldn’t want your boss or mother to see...

• Don’t forget why you’re there in the first place. Listen and respond to your audience.

• Don’t be afraid to offer some personal/non-work perspectives. People like to interact with people, not faceless brands.

SOCIAL MEDIA | TOOLS + RESOURCES TO CONSIDER |


• General‣ Namechk.com: Checks the availability of usernames across platforms.

• Twitter‣ Twellow: Powerful search tool for people, categories, key words, etc.

‣ BudURL: URL link minimizing tool that lets you track click-throughs.

‣ Tweetdeck: Desktop application that enables groupings, favorites, etc.

• Facebook‣ InsideFacebook.com: Offers tips and insights into optimizing FB for your brand,

e.g. downloadable Facebook Marketing Bible.

• YouTube‣ www.youtube.com/advertise: Offers insights into how the platform can be

customized and utilized by your brand.

• Blogging‣ WordPress: Blog platform that enables significant customization (moderate+)

‣ Blogger: Do-it-yourself blog platform offering templates (basic)

SOCIAL MEDIA | QUESTIONS? COMMENTS? |
