Be human – our social media brand guidelines
Most brands can’t keep their legs shut. Like us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter and Tumblr and Instagram and Google Plus. Pin us on Pinterest. They’re like the guy at the bar who will go home with any girl that has a pulse.
In the past ten years the number of media outlets has exploded. There are so many new channels for brands to communicate with people. And all these channels have specific cultures and rules and motivators. It becomes really easy to take your eye off the ball and forget what you’re really after: meaningful communication with your audience. Believe it or not, this is something that can’t be quantified in Likes, or followers or reblogs or Pins.
Everyone’s chasing quantity because it’s easy to know when you have it. I have 500, you have 600, you’re better. Pepsi has 17 million likes, Coke has 66 million. Winner. Quality gets lost in this equation because it elusive and subjective. But when you do find quality, it’ll beat quantity every. last. time.
“Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction and skillful execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives.” –William A. Foster
Here are a few social media brand guidelines to make sure your brand doesn’t get dragged through the mud:
1. Ditch the numbers game.
As I alluded to above, numbers only offer shallow gratification. Meaningful engagement is far more valuable to your brand. Unless you’re a social media consultant, no one should care how many likes or followers you have. Quality over quantity – 500 active and interested followers can tell you a lot. 10,000 drones say nothing.
2. It’s a two way street.
Don’t be that guy or girl who uses social media as a brand megaphone. If you’re just using your Facebook page to hawk your wares, you’re going to have a hard time getting people to interact with you. What would happen if you spent a first date talking about yourself and not asking any questions? No second date. People need a reason to care. Ask questions, try to understand where they’re coming from. This is especially important when you’re starting out. Listen for a while and learn the ropes – from there you’ll have a better idea of how you can contribute in a meaningful way. Don’t rush to get your voice out there.
3. Be selective.
Don’t be on every social network. It’s ok to play with them and see where you get the most traction but don’t spend all day cross-posting yourself to oblivion . Pick a few outlets that suit you and stick to them, learn their eccentricities, build relationships. It’s hard to build relationships if you’re trying to be everywhere at once. But what if someone wants to get ahold of you on Pinterest and you’re not on Pinterest?, I can hear you asking. Look, if someone wants to find you, they’ll find you. They’ll Google you. The type of person who would look for you on one social network, fail, and then give up doesn’t sound like the type of person you should be talking to. We chase that which recedes from us.
4. Speak English.
Just because Twitter has a character limit doesn’t mean you get to go all crazy with ‘C U l8r’ and ‘SMH’. Your brand needs to have a voice. You need to communicate in that voice regardless of the medium. Consistency – we admire it in people, we admire it in brands.
5. Mix it up
It’s ok to have diverse interests. In fact, it’s encouraged. If you’re a soda company and all you talk about is soda, why would people want to talk to you? Are you really targeting the .0001% of your audience who is so crazy about soda that it’s all they ever talk about? Show people what else you’re into. Maybe it’s something related to soda like burgers or coffee. Maybe it’s something totally different like classic planes or selvedge denim. Don’t go so far as to make people think it’s a personal account, but show them you have a personality for heavens sakes.
Take a look at our approach to branding over here: https://www.ahundredmonkeys.com/naming/
