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When working with our VP marketing clients on their online brand experience, a couple of times I’ve heard something scary from them: “We’d love to make that change, but marketing doesn’t control the website.”

What?

If your website is the front door to your brand experience, then the group that manages the brand must, if not control, then have substantial input to, the web experience.

These days, nothing kills your credibility more than a website that isn’t created from the point of view: how well does it deliver on our brand promise? If too many cooks are in the broth; if your home page is a jumble of different messages, functions and links, the place that everyone goes for a first impression will have no point of focus. 

Now, that doesn’t mean that marketing has to own the brand.  More and more, because brands have to be both strategically and operationally delivered, it’s not just marketing owning the brand, but a cross functional team, like Group Health’s brand governance team made up of people from HR, facilities, management and marketing.  If your organization’s brand is managed that way, then that is the same group that should oversee the web and online strategy.

Just sayin’, is all.

–Lynn Parker

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In my book, The Reluctant Entrepreneur, Chapter Four is about taking the long view in running a business. That helps in the middle of the economic slog we’re all going through—knowing that cycles always change (it will get better, honest) and reminding us to invest in actions that may be long-term winners but short-term losers. This long-view applies to branding, as well. Continuing to invest in your brand differential during a downturn will pay off, maybe not today, but once the recession is over. To quote from the book:

“It means understanding why customers buy from you, and increasing that unique differential by how you train, what new products and services you offer, how you market yourself, and how you deliver service. For example, people hire our firm for our thought leadership in brand development—so we have to continue to deliver thought leadership, through our blog, books, and in keeping abreast of trends in branding.”

We’re using this slower time to do just that: building our online brand experience division, integrating change management further into our service and skill mix, writing a book on internal branding. What are you doing to increase your brand’s differential?

-Lynn Parker

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Social media is a channel. While a social brand is a way to be. Think about it as a cultural shift in the way you live your brand online and offline–as a business strategy (how do we deliver our customer service? or how do we develop new products/services?), as a people strategy (how do we find great talent? how do we train them and empower them to live our brand?), and as a communications strategy (how do we find new customers or audiences, what are they saying and how do we engage with them online?).

The line between your offline and online brand may be well segmented in your business internally (between departments and roles), but from a customer’s point of view they are non-existent. You are your brand no matter where they find you or interact with you. So, in other words, be the same brand you are on your website or Twitter that you are on the phone and on your product packaging.

Check back often for more on how to build and manage a social brand.

–Jen Travis

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I just went through a naming process with a client and thought their learning during that session would be helpful for you (for a longer discussion on the naming process, check out chapter 12 of my book, The Reluctant Entrepreneur, available on Amazon).

Basically, their ah-ha boiled down to this: strong brand names are built not born. One might be tempted to look at a name like Google or Amazon and assume that there’s something inherent in the names that make them great. And that’s true, but only to a certain extent. Certain criteria like memorability and the way the name sounds when it rolls off the tongue are important. However, what becomes more important is the company’s ability to build in meaning over time, so that the name becomes associated with greatness. This is especially challenging when evaluating empty vessel names, or those that really don’t come with any meaning attached.

But I’m happy to report that our client was able to apply the criteria important to their business and choose a name that has all the potential of Starbucks or Apple.

-Lynn Parker

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Check out the video from Lynn’s speech at the Ordnance Survey at http://tinyurl.com/LynnParker!

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Sign up to attend PLP’s upcoming webcast on July 16th at 3:00 PM Pacific. Principal Briana Marrah will be hosting the webcast to discuss “Your brand booster: how to leverage every customer experience.”

Visit the BrightTalk website to sign up by clicking here.

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Mention Joe or Briana’s name when registering and receive 50% off your registration fee! To learn more about the conference and register, visit the official website.

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There’s a lot of talk around the need for a social media strategy, but why and how?  The reason is simple: if you’re not currently in control of your digital identity, the odds are pretty good that others are or soon will be. And if your organization dives into the social media world without a road map, then you could run the risk of appearing narcissistic, like you have ADHD, or even worse… inauthentic.  Creating a social media strategy is akin to creating a blueprint to help your organization hone in on the important stuff, such as figuring out what channels makes sense, how much time you should be spending, and who to engage. Social media should be a piece of your larger integrated branding strategy, because it’s essentially another touch point, or an opportunity to communicate and reinforce your brand promise.

-Bianca Abate

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American Airlines' current home page

Your web site says more about your brand than you think–as evidenced in this article about American Airlines.

–Jen Travis

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I thought this list to help companies determine if a social media consultant was any good was informative (and even made me second guess some of our approach to social media). So that’s how to do it wrong—so who’s doing it well? I like United Way’s recent foray, connecting with donors and volunteers. The Wilderness Society is engaging recreationalists, conservationists and wilderness-adjacent communities through its North Cascades initiative. And of course, there’s Obama, the social media savant, who is gathering up an army of connected activists through http://www.barackobama.com/, complete with listening tours, story collection, links to social media sites and more.

-Lynn Parker

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