Social is Brand Research and Brand Communication

Boost your personal branding with social media

Social media is definitely a way to pass time now.  In the past, people used to while away their time listening to the radio or watching TV. Now it seems that everything and everyone can be found on the web. And the word “social” has come to mean social networking sites and platforms where people and brands can engage and connect.

For brands, social has a different meaning, however. It’s about reaching out to consumers in the best way possible. It’s about engaging with them and connecting with them. It’s about understanding what consumers want and providing it.

Social media provides brands with two basic benefits: ability to do brand research and brand communication.

Brand Research

If you’re wondering where to start in your word of mouth marketing, then social media is the way to go. And one of the best things you can do within different social media platforms is to conduct brand research.

There are many insights to be gained from social media interactions. By researching your target audience in social media, you can understand their lifestyles, their behavioral patterns, and even what motivates them to buy and purchase products and services. You can gain a better picture of your target audience and how they engage and connect with brands online. This can really help you discover and learn the best way to connect with them and hopefully get sales in return.

Here are some ideas on conducting social brand research:

       • Monitor keyword “buzz” in the social world and see what products and services related to your brand are trending

       • Test out campaigns to see which ones are effective and which ones aren’t

       • Create polls and surveys for your target audience

       • Monitor your customers and see what compels them to interact and engage with a brand

       • Get on Google Alerts and Analytics, use Twitter search, check Facebook insights, and monitor opt in rates to see which social marketing campaigns are getting the most reactions and which ones are getting left in the dust

Social media can definitely help you learn more about your consumers and what they’re really after. By conducting brand research in different social media platforms, you can effectively create a social marketing campaign that will reach your audience and make them respond.

Brand Communication

Another thing that social media allows you to do is brand communication. In the past, advertising and marketing campaigns were all about the one-way broadcasting of their message (think TV and radio) in the hopes of convincing people to try their products or services. Social media has changed all of that by giving consumers a voice. Now the conversation is a two-way street, where consumers can react to what brands say and claim, and brands can respond. Social media has basically given the power to the consumers.

As a small business brand, you can’t expect to just blare out your message and hope that people will docilely agree and accept it willingly. Consumers are a lot smarter nowadays – they ask questions, they want answers, and they aren’t passively absorbing what you say anymore. They react, they respond, they complain, and they make suggestions. If you don’t satisfy them, you can be sure that you will hear about it in social media.

Through social media, brands can communicate with their audience effectively. They can engage with them through different types of content, respond to their questions, and offer customer support if there are problems that need to be addressed. Many people prefer interacting on a brand’s social media page, as this gets a lot faster response than a ticket submitted through the brand’s website. After all, in social media, it’s not just the two of you talking – the whole world can view your conversation.

Brand research and communication in social media

Social media has truly innovated the way people interact with brands. It’s not enough to provide a solution to a problem anymore. With the competition among brands today, you really have to offer your consumers something more valuable than that in order to be successful.

Utilize social media in brand research and communication so you’re able to understand what your audience wants and can communicate with them effectively. Don’t just be the brand who blends in with all the others. Make yourself stand out by really offering what the consumers want.

So always remember to do your research and regularly engage with your audience so that your brand isn’t far from their minds. Social media is here to stay, so make sure you utilize it wisely.

Author:

Maria Elena Duron, is managing editor of the Personal Branding Blog, CEO (chief engagement officer) of buzz2bucks.com – a word of mouth marketing firm.   She helps create conversation, connection, credibility, community and commerce around your brand.   Maria Duron is co-founder and moderator of #brandchat - a weekly Twitter chat focused on every aspect of branding that is recognized by Mashable as one the 15 Essential Twitter Chats for Social Media Marketers.