Social Media Branding: How Important Is It ...Really?

Social Media Branding: How Important Is It…Really?

Is social media about social or branding?

It doesn’t matter what you sell… products, services, or even ideas …in today’s marketplace, if you don’t have a strong social media presence – and following – you don’t stand a chance. The online marketplace becomes more competitive every day. Even if your business isn’t an online venture, you still need to be savvy about social media branding and marketing if you want your local clientele to find you before they find your competition.

Think about it…what’s the first thing you do when you need to find a certain product, or a certain type of restaurant, or a hotel, or even information? You Google it, right? Well, so does everyone else. And that includes your potential customers, but they’ll only become your actual customers if they find you first when they do that Google search.

But this is only part of the equation. Yes, on one side your online success depends on your search engine marketing and SEO efforts, along with the help of location services.

But the real power of social media branding takes place long before a potential customer even realizes that your product, service, or idea is something that they might need or enjoy. The real power of social media branding plants that thought in their subconscious through a simple daily activity – like checking their Facebook. And once this seed is planted within enough subconscious minds, your business begins to rely less and less on search engine popularity, though both strategies are recommended for the most effective and far reaching social media branding.

So, how important is social media branding to your business?

To be frank, it is the single most determining factor in a business’s success or failure, and that applies not just to small businesses, but to large corporate entities, as well. In the initial phases of a business, social media branding is necessary to distribute knowledge of the business’s existence and information about its offerings. But it’s the long term benefits provided by social media branding that really make or break a business in today’s marketplace.

You see, the modern day consumer is a whole lot more savvy than in days-gone-by. It’s not that they are really any more particular about what they are buying, but rather they are much more conscious of from whom they are buying it. Social media branding gives business owners the opportunity to take the print ad a step – okay, several steps – further, from presenting a product or service to a semi-targeted demographic, to taking the exact requests of an acutely targeted demographic (your fan base/followers) and presenting a product or service specifically chosen (by you) to directly address those requests.

Before social media branding, there was no avenue for direct communication between business and customer; at least not on such a large scale. Today, however, this is what your customers – both current and future – are expecting. Address their needs and request with attentiveness and consistency, and you’ll win their loyalty as well as their recommendation to hundreds – or even thousands – of their own, personal friends and followers.

Question: Do you blend marketing, branding and social media for maximum results or do you find this strategy over-rated? Let me know in the comments below.

Comments

comments

Nancy Tierney

Love this post! It’s such a strong, clear and compelling statement about why social media is so important to any business, not just an online business. Thank you. I can’t wait to share this.
http://magneticlook.com Silvia Pencak

Thank you for your kind words, Nancy! I’m glad you love this post.
Debi

Everyone Googles and everyone Facebooks..this is a timely article with great info!
Lori Manns

This blog rings true in so many ways. I agree today’s customers expect for company’s to have a social media presence. It’s the world we live in.
Doreen Rainey

“It’s not that they are really any more particular about what they are
buying, but rather they are much more conscious of from whom they are
buying it.” That’s such an important statement to remember as you build your brand online. It’s the opportunity to show not just what you sell – but why people should do business with you. It shows “who you are” and how you treat your clients and customers. It gives people confidence they made the right decision in choosing you.
http://magneticlook.com Silvia Pencak

Thanks for a great insight Doreen! It’s always been about a mission statement. But these days it’s also about living up to your mission statement and making it a vital part of your business instead of some forgotten page on your website Businesses of any size or shape should realize that today more than anytime before it all boils down to fulfilling the promises they make.
http://magneticlook.com Silvia Pencak

Thanks for your feedback, Lori. Yes, you’re absolutely right. Customers want to connect with brands, become part of decision making process, but most importantly, they’re willing to help. Something even small business owners should take advantage of (hint-hint).
http://twitter.com/RomanticComedyG Romantic Comedy Girl

I couldn’t agree more! And so many independent contractors are resistant, thinking it’s a waste of time. They need to face the fact that social media is here to stay.
sheila wagner, PT, CN

Branding everything online seems to be the grease that creates a smooth and confident path for your followers to use right to you, the biz owner!
http://twitter.com/TiffanydeSilva Tiffany deSilva

Having a strong social media brand and online prescence is becoming more important everyday. People used to just go to google to check out a place, now they also hop on facebook, twitter, and other social media sites.
http://magneticlook.com Silvia Pencak

You’re absolutely right! Social media is still in its beginnings. Good for everyone who’s ready to jump aboard and be where customers are shopping.
http://magneticlook.com Silvia Pencak

It almost looks like the more online presence business has, the faster the growth. I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one who double checks every contractor online before hiring him/her for a job…
http://magneticlook.com Silvia Pencak

Online branding is extremely important. Still, it’s important to remember that it has to go hand-in-hand with excellent product/service delivery and customer service.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=617002825 Heidi Alexandra Pollard

Having a strong brand both online and offline is critical – even more when you realise as you say the subconscious planting of seeds that are occuring all the time. People need to see things 7 or more times before they remember and get it so it’s important those seeds are strong and frequent enough to add up!
Mitch Tublin

Twenty five years ago some companies thought the internet didn’t matter to their business growth. Just two years ago Oracle stated the cloud was a waste of time.
Social Media has just scratched the surface in relationship building and business growth.
Tara

sometimes I get overwhelmed with all the tools that are available to us to help grow our business and that know, like and trust factor. But it’s so important to look at social media as part of your business plan strategy just like revenue and marketing. Good article. Thanks!
Jennifer Bourn

Hmmm … I agree with much of what you say in this post, but I don’t think social media branding is “the single most determining factor in a business’s success or failure” … I was just having a conversation about this with some business owners who don’t really use social media at all … yet they have high 6-figure and 7 figure businesses. I don’t think social media is the end all, be all … I think its important, and you have to be there to engage and communicate … you have to be accessible. But single most determining factor … I don’t think so.
http://www.facebook.com/summerjalexander Summer Alexander

Great article Silvia! Like it or not social media is now interwoven into nearly every aspect of our lives – business and personal.
http://magneticlook.com Silvia Pencak

I 100% agree with you Mitch!
http://magneticlook.com Silvia Pencak

Thanks for stopping by, Jennifer! I agree with you that there are already successful businesses that make pretty good income without using social media. Still, you will probably agree as well, that most of those high 6 or 7 figure businesses have a potential to add additional zero (or two) to their profits once they add social media component to their marketing… Also, the question is how one understands the term “social media branding”. I see branding as something that goes beyond visual into positioning, message, personality and even further all the way to brand loyalty. In this frame, branding is the key to successful use of social media.
http://magneticlook.com Silvia Pencak

Technology overwhelm is actually very common among small business owners, Tara. But as you mentioned, in order to succeed on social media, one must first create a strong strategy (based on thorough research) and only then start searching for tools to make the implementation process flow. Thanks for stopping by!
Lori Nash Byron

I knew that social media was becoming more important to online success when I saw that Brendon Burchard, multimillion dollar online business owner, started using Facebook more frequently. It’s a key component to online businesses, for sure.
http://www.cherylcope.com/ Cheryl Cope

I knew it was important—at least the constant exposure on social media, hence my time spent there. Could you explain a little more what you mean by “branding” though? (Or point me to a previous post). Thanks!