I read a very interesting blog post this morning entitled, “How to Kill a Brand with Social Media.” While I can’t say that I agree with the entire blog—particularly the part that says Twitter is not social media—I do think the author made a very valuable point when talking about the lack of brand alignment in social media.

While most Twitter users are aware of the amazing job that Frank Eliason has done for Comcast on Twitter, acting as a one person rescue squad for their customer service issues, the rest of the brand has not aligned with this new way of doing business . . . Why? Because having one or two people creating a good impression on one platform is not enough. If there is no brand alignment behind the philosophy of listening and responding then all of the social media efforts in the world will not turn a brand around.
–From the IncSlinger blog, posted on May 14, 2009

Although we have been discussing the immense value that social media offers organizations, we don’t believe that a brand can rely on Twitter or Facebook alone to strengthen its relationship with consumers. The brand must be delivered consistently in all customer touch points, not just those in the digital world. A certain computer company that I’ll call “Swell” (for the sake of anonymity) has a great social media strategy—from their blog, to their Facebook page and now their Tweets! Yet, when I call “Swell” to troubleshoot my computer issues, I’m left to navigate through a labyrinth-like phone tree before I reach a “technician” that has no idea how to fix my computer, let alone communicate without reading off a script.

A brand cannot hide behind the façade that it creates online. If you’re not living the brand that you’re projecting online, your customers will eventually find out and they won’t stick around—they might even de-friend you.

-Hiley Spaet

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