Public Relations & Social Marketing Insight

Consumers seem to have fairly clear ideas about brand personalities on social media, and the use of slang isn’t… woke. In a new study from Sprout Social, roughly 1,000 US social media users weighed in on brand personalities, with most feeling that it’s “cool” if brands talk about timely events, but not politics. (In related news, consumers aren’t that interested in brands taking public stances in on social issues.)

Meanwhile, respondents are most accepting of the use of video clips (83% seeing this as “cool” rather than “annoying”), though the exploding use of GIFs – which brands starting incorporating in their emails back in 2013 – isn’t met with quite as much fervor (58% approving as “cool”).

It stands to reason that most would be happy with brands responding to questions, although separate data from the report suggests that only about one-third of consumer messages on social media in Q1 that needed a response actually got one…

Behaviors that more social media users see as “annoying” than “cool” include:

Making fun of competitors (67% annoying) and customers (88%);

Using slang (69%);

and Talking politics (71%).

It’s not an earth-shattering insight that consumers are getting smarter and more skeptical of being sold to. But Wolff Olins and Flamingo’s report does offer some reasonable strategies for adjusting to today’s realities. If you’re still spending all your energy on thinking of ways to pitch and package, you’re in trouble. If you’re thinking of your brand as a static thing, set in stone, you’re behind the times.

The challenge for companies today is coming up with a fair exchange for consumers–one that could involve simple, honest utility, like Ikea, or a more altruistic mission, like Tom’s Shoes, or a broader engagement with the marketplace, like Faber and its academy. No matter what it looks like, if consumers think you’re being honest about the offer, they’ll come to you....

Consciously or not, many brands are now running a freemium model. They are giving away a lot more than they used to, particularly across social media, just to keep up with the changing competitive landscape. And they are hoping to recoup on that significant content investment when consumers do buy. So has any of this changed the fundamentals of brand economics, or has it merely altered the manner in which brands achieve visibility?

By way of a sanity check, I went back to this paper from some years back to assess what still holds true.

Brands continue to simplify recognition and selection, and to instill trust in a world bulging with options. They continue to offer a simple way for time-poor consumers to filter the choice set. Consumers still buy because they identify with what some brands stand for – although one could argue that the criteria themselves may be shifting, particularly with younger buyers, as ethics becomes an important judging point....

So you’ve got a business and you’re ready to push your branding efforts online. The first question you encounter is “How do I go about with branding?”

What I’ve noticed from my years of experience in online marketing is that you probably think branding involves the following:

● Logos, color schemes, and website design – What should my logo be? What colors represent my business best? How do I go about with my web design?

● Brand mentions, links, and social popularity – I have to be as visible online as possible, because this promotes brand recall

● SERPs visibility, ad campaigns, and other promotional efforts.

If you answered any of the above, then you’re looking at branding the wrong way. The items I mentioned are all marketing tools and strategies, and they only scratch the surface of branding....