The Social Media Identity of a Brand
by reblog
It has been almost a full year since I began running the social media output for Plum Clothing. For the most part, this has been a very interesting and instructive experience. When I first stepped in to the role, my boss and I talked a lot about what our over-arching strategy would be. I had a lot of ideas, and these were mostly based on what I wanted to see from any other brand’s social media presence. It should have entertaining and informational content, and not just be used as a tool to promote sales. Let’s face it, that’s boring.
I advocated for a more personal approach to social media; a kind of fun and entertaining brand management through a online persona with a name and a face . I envisioned building an online persona for “myself” that would reflect the values of the brand, but also seem more like a friend’s online presence, something a customer would actually be interested in. I use quotation marks around “myself” because it isn’t exactly my voice. Plum Rebekah is slightly more enthusiastic and seems to care more about fashion and trends than I actually do. However, I do use my real first name and there is a real photo of myself on the company blog.
The reason I’m meditating on this process again is because I am in the very early stages of a new social media project. I’m going to be helping draft social media strategy and policy for a very different organization, and I’m having some trouble envisioning exactly what this will look like. The degree of (almost, though I hesitate to use this word) flippancy I adopted for the clothing company, to seem fun and like the ‘every girl’ will certainly not be appropriate in this new capacity. However, I am still rather attached to the idea of social media output coming from a “real person” and not a nameless, faceless corporate entity. This is proving to be a narrow line to walk, but I am interested to see where it will end up. How does one retain likeability and familiarity while exuding a very high degree of professionalism?
This will continue to be an issue at the forefront of my mind, particularly as it relates to social media practices.
I realize you posted this several weeks ago – have you reached a decision yet? I’d be interested in knowing what ends up happening, if it’s something that you feel you can discuss with the class. I’m also pretty attached to the idea of social media coming from a real person. The interactions I have with my bank on Facebook are made that much nicer because I feel like there’s a real person behind it.
I think of it as equivalent to calling a company or business, and receiving either an automated “press 1 for xyz” message, or a real, live, friendly person. I think most of us would prefer the latter.
Thanks for this comment, Taryn. This is actually still an issue that I’m grappling with. I, like you, am attached to the idea of the real human behind the social media. I think that with the proliferation of online communication, it is all too easy to lose track of the fact that we are all still humans just trying to communicate with one another. So, I’m trying to balance this friendly type of persona with the sensitivity that this new project requires, and honestly…I’m no closer to figuring it out. More reflection and I think even some trial and error is necessary!
I hope you can reach some kind of balance! I agree that it’s too easy to lose track of the fact that there are actually people behind the computer.
Good luck!