It is clear that social media has changed the way consumers communicate and interact with brands. Anyone can express their opinion about a brand, product or service, on their personal blog, on Facebook or wherever they want; in the online space at any time there can be a “movement” for or against a brand, bringing together virtually thousands of people who feel and think the same way. When it comes to information to offer or find out, everything is much more transparent and at hand. Which prompts us to ask ourselves: Who controls brands online, companies or consumers?
In the online space, consumers say how they feel about a brand, the positive and negative aspects, interacting directly with brands every moment via smartphone, laptop or tablet. Companies can gain tremendous insights from these direct interactions. But doesn't this valuable information from a business perspective somehow affect the brand?
Let's start the debate (because this article is just the tip of an iceberg, a conversation starter to which you are invited) with some basic notions about the brand. Thus, a brand, through everything it communicates and does, lives up to a promise it made to its audience. If the brand does not clearly define this promise and, implicitly, fails to convey it properly, then it will become vulnerable and influential in this online environment, in which the consumer can also play the role of marketer.
This consumer-marketer/ambassador/evangelist, through the content he posts about a brand in front of his friends and thousands or millions of other people online, basically promotes that brand positively or negatively. What is even more interesting is that his “advertisement” is perceived as a recommendation or, on the contrary, as a warning and taken much more seriously than any traditional advertisement. Because, no, if you were to choose between buying a product/service recommended by a friend or a similar one seen in a TV commercial, the decision will most likely be in favor of the recommended product.
Conclusions
A clear, realistic and relevant promise, to be supported and felt first and foremost by everyone in the company - is an essential first component to building a strong online brand. A second component is keeping the promise and building every interaction, relationship or story online based on that promise. Consumers have all the tools to influence a brand's message, but a strong brand knows how to leverage these influences to increase its value and strengthen its positioning, along with all the other elements of the brand in which it reiterates its promise and values.