This document provides an overview of branding and social media strategies. It discusses defining a brand's core values, vision and mission. It also covers translating the brand identity visually and maintaining consistency across all branding elements. Regarding social media, the document analyzes popular platforms, appropriate channels for different brands, and developing an effective social media strategy with content creation, engagement, marketing and analytics. Maintaining consistency and developing strategic, planned approaches are emphasized for effective branding and social media.
2. TABLE OF CONTENTS
1.
Branding
• What is branding?
• Branding vs. Marketing
• Down to the Core
• Translating your Core to Physical Form
• Consistency is king
2.
Social Media
• Facts
• Which Channel is Right for Your Brand?
3.
Social Media Strategy
BRANDING & SOCIAL MEDIA
/ AGENDA
2
3. BRANDING & SOCIAL MEDIA
/ BRANDING
WHAT IS BRANDING?
Branding distills the essential truth and value of an organization, product
or service. It is the expression of attributes, values, characteristics that
clarify what the brand stands for and what it offers to the consumer.
3
4. BRANDING & SOCIAL MEDIA
/ BRANDING VS. MARKETING
BRANDING VS. MARKETING
Strategic, long term
Tactical, periodic
Creates loyal customers, brand
advocates
Activates buyers, generates
sales
Fundamental for any
marketing effort
Ineffective without solid
branding
4
5. BRANDING & SOCIAL MEDIA
/ DOWN TO THE CORE
VISION
MISSION
VALUES
What does the brand
aim to achieve? What is
the ultimate goal of its
existence?
What are the principles,
beliefs, philosophy that the
brand holds important?
How, in what way
does the brand go
about achieving its
vision?
5
12. BRANDING & SOCIAL MEDIA
/ TRANSLATING YOUR CORE BRAND INTO PHYSICAL FORM
Vision
Mission
Values
Tone of Voice
Product
Packaging
Customer
Service
Logo
Social Media
Typography
Color Scheme
Photography
CONCEPTUAL IDENTITY
VISUAL IDENTITY
The essential truth, values and
ideas driving the organization
and product existence.
The physical embodiment of the
conceptual identity, that translates
and captures the brands message
to the customer.
12
13. BRANDING & SOCIAL MEDIA
/ CONSISTENCY IS KING
The FIRST IMPRESSION your brand makes is usually visual — your
website, your social media, your business card, your packaging or your
brochure. Therefore, perfecting the look and feel of your online and real-
world presence are critical.
But every following impression is just as important as the first one,
because keeping a CONSISTENT visual identity means you are building a
RECOGNIZABLE BRAND. Consistency builds trust.
WITHOUT CONSISTENCY THERE IS NO BRAND!
13
14. BRANDING & SOCIAL MEDIA
/ SOCIAL MEDIA FACTS
THE SOCIAL MEDIA BOOM
In 2005 only 5% of Americans used social media sites. By 2011 half of the
nation ventured onto at least one social site, and today 69% of the US
population is a user of at least one social media site.
Source: PEW Research Center
14
15. BRANDING & SOCIAL MEDIA
/ SOCIAL MEDIA FACTS
There is no one size fits all solution for social media. Each platform
is unique and offers a different user experience. Instead of trying to
blast brand content on every social media channel and wasting
company resources, consider your customer persona and which
social media platforms this person will be most active on. Invest
time and money in one or two social platforms that represent your
brand’s personality and interests the most.
NO ONE SIZE FITS ALL
15
16. BRANDING & SOCIAL MEDIA
/ SOCIAL MEDIA FACTS
Source: PEW Research Center
16
17. BRANDING & SOCIAL MEDIA
/ WHICH SOCIAL CHANNEL IS RIGHT FOR YOUR BRAND?
FACEBOOK
With more than 1.59 billion users, Facebook comprises of the largest
blend of demographics of any social platform. It’s the easiest platform
for advertising with the best possible targeting results. If your brand
seeks to expand overseas, Facebook is the right platform to be on.
TWITTER
Twitter is the only platform where there is no gender discrepancy in the
user base. It is a platform that tends to be more popular with highly
educated individuals. Twitter users
ISNTAGRAM
1/3 of the US internet users are active on Instagram. It is a key platform
for younger audiences, most are between the ages of 18-29, with more
women users than men. Since the platform is owned by Facebook it is
consistently adding new functionality for marketers, making targeting
advertising simple and cost effective.
17
18. BRANDING & SOCIAL MEDIA
/ WHICH SOCIAL CHANNEL IS RIGHT FOR YOUR BRAND?
SNAPCHAT
71% of Snapchat users are under 34 years old, it has skewed the
youngest of all platforms. Snapchat’s popularity remained after the
introduction of IG stories because users use the app as a messaging tool
rather than just content viewing tool. From an advertising perspective
Snapchat requires work intensive content and targeting is not easy.
YOUTUBE
YouTube is owned by Google and it is the second largest search engine
on the internet. A YouTube channel will serve your business well in a
variety of ways. You can use it to inform and educate your audience and
YouTube videos receive prime placement in Google search results, which
will increase your web traffic
18
19. BRANDING & SOCIAL MEDIA
/ WHICH SOCIAL CHANNEL IS RIGHT FOR YOUR BRAND?
LINKEDIN
LinkedIn
is
most
popular
with
college
graduates
and
high
income
earners
who
live
in
urban
areas.
LinkedIn
is
great
for
companies
working
in
B2B
industries.
Joining
and
engaging
in
groups
is
a
perfect
way
of
finding
your
target
audiences
especially
since
LinkedIn
allows
you
to
target
them
by
industry,
job
Jtle,
etc.
PINTEREST
Women use Pinterest at much higher rates than men. Nearly half of
online women use the platform. Suburban Internet users are slightly
more likely than urban. If you have great images to share it has the
potential to be viewed by millions on Pinterest.
19
20. BRANDING & SOCIAL MEDIA
/ SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY
Doing social media right takes a lot of work and effort. Once you
got your brand established, you need to produce content constantly
and engage with your customer 24/7.
The only way to ensure that social media is not eating up your
budget and its effective is if you have a Social Media Strategy that
makes your social media activity consistent and predictable.
Your Social Media Strategy should address the following categories:
• Content Creation
• Engagement
• Marketing
• Analytics
CONSISTENT AND PREDICTABLE
20
21. BRANDING & SOCIAL MEDIA
/ CONTENT CREATION
Create Content Categories: set content categories for certain days will
make it easier and more predictable to plan social content. People like
consistency when it comes to brands, so they will find the recurring themes
appealing. For example: on Tuesdays post travel inspiration
#traveltuesdays, for Thursdays come up with inspirational quotes, etc.
Use Content Calendar: creating a social media content calendar is a must
for every business. Plan at least a month ahead with what you’ll be posting
every single day for each channel. Add captions and hashtags in advance
and schedule your post for the most optimal time. Make sure you are
prepared ahead of time for holidays with social content. Content calendar
will allow you to see your social feed ahead of time, so you can ensure it
looks pleasing and consistent.
CONTENT CREATION
21
24. BRANDING & SOCIAL MEDIA
/ ENGAGEMENT
Hashtags: it’s a way for people to find you but also for you to find your
audience. Use only relevant hashtags to your brand and don’t overcrowd your
feed with them.
Commenting: one of the most genuine way of engaging with followers is to
let them know you are there and interested in their content. Don’t just respond
to comments you receive, but actively comment on your audience’s photos.
Liking: Make sure you only like photos and content that you want your brand
associated with. People can see your activity so ensure there are no
questionable content likes.
Targeting: Find people who represent your brand’s audience through
hashtags, interest groups, and complimentary brands.
ENGAGEMENT
24
25. BRANDING & SOCIAL MEDIA
/ ENGAGEMENT
Influencer marketing: Influencer marketing is the result of the past few year’s
social media boom. It is based on authenticity and a personal relationship
with an influencer rather than a mass push sale. Its curated nature that makes
it so effective, but the influencer-brand relationship has to be carefully
selected.
Influencers work with brands in various ways: sponsored posts, commission
based models, gifting, giveaways.
Ads: One of the best features social media marketing has for businesses
today is its low barrier to entry. Gone are the days where a business is
required to spend thousands of dollars on advertising to reach its prospect.
You can now reach your audience spending as little as five dollars per week.
Facebook, Youtube and Instagram offer quite sophisticated advertising with
very specific targeting options. Don’t start with spending big bucks on
advertising but experiment slowly and see what gets you the most return.
MARKETING
25
26. BRANDING & SOCIAL MEDIA
/ ANALYTICS
Posting Time: pay close attention to when your audience is most
active and adjust your posting schedule to their daily routine. Your
posting time determines how many people see your content and
what your engagement rate will look like. Gone are the good days
when our social feeds were chronological.
Follower Base: Analyze your follower base and its growth. In what
gender, age group, location your following shows growth? If you see
certain gaps in the representation of your target audience, make
sure to address those.
ANALYTICS
26
30. BRANDING & SOCIAL MEDIA
/ CLOSING
CORE VALUES, PLANNING, CONSISTENCY
Truth to be told - Branding and Social Media are no easy tasks, but
they are also not impossible. Having a great product is obviously
necessary, but understanding why and how your product came to be
is just as important. The first step of branding is distilling your
message down to your core values.
With a little planning you can get your social media running
smoothly and efficiently (because we love efficiency, especially as
small brands). The key thing to remember is always staying
consistent with your branding!
30