As the concept of Brand Networking continues to evolve, I have seen a new request coming from our clients. Many companies are interested in building an interactive network and strengthening the relationship with their customers, but there is a growing concern regarding critical commentary across the internet. The majority of feedback usually occurs outside of a brand's website and can surface in various forms across the internet: blogs, podcasts, forums, videos, etc. With so many different forms of communication and media delivered through the internet, brands are looking for efficient ways to actively scan the web for potentially damaging feedback. I've thrown out the term Brand Monitoring to encompass both automated and manual survelliance.
For the last few years, Brand Monitoring has become a growing practice for global brands and there is presently a good article in BusinessWeek about companies defending against China's blogs. Although, this practice of Brand Monitoring is primarily used in global markets, the principles can be successfully applied to a domestic audience. As part of our research for a client, we discovered over twenty recent blogs mentioning "poor customer service" at very specific locations. In addition, we discovered screenshots of incorrect signage, a deragatory video about a manager, and an attempted boycott by "green activists."
Brand Monitoring can be used to identify critical commentary on the internet against a brand, its employees, or its competitors. The reporting occurs in real time and quickly alerts internal teams (Marketing, Customer Service, PR, etc.) of potentially damaging attacks against the brand. When the situation is observed early enough an issue can be contained, resolved, or transformed into a positive marketing or sales experience.
Key Aspects of a Brand Monitoring platform:
-Automates surveillance across blogs, forums, websites, and online media
-Real time alerts, assessments, and reporting (text, email, paging, etc.)
-Validates the source of the criticism and assigns a threat score
We've just released a Brand Monitoring platform for a client and they are having great initial success. I will put together a case study over the next quarter and release the data. If anyone has any similar experiences or ideas, please send me an email.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Monday, June 9, 2008
Brand Networking
This is hardly a finalized version, but I wanted to put my thoughts down around the concept of "Brand Networking." I've been discussing this concept for the last six months and I realized I'd never really spent the time to refine my thoughts. I certainly welcome any feedback and hopefully this will become a collaborative effort to properly define Brand Networking. Cheers, -AJ "Brand Geek" Loiacono
What is Brand Networking?
Brand Networking is a way for a company or brand to interact socially with customers or potential customers through an online, interactive platform. For some companies Brand Networking could simply be a parent organization providing an interactive web portal to reach a local community through a franchise or branch office. For other companies Brand Networking could take the form of large social network of customers sharing content and engaging actively with the brand.
Why use Brand Networking?
As the internet converges with the television in the living room and the next generation of mobile devices, there is an opportunity for brands to provide content sharing, entertainment, and social interactivity with the consumer. The Brand Triangle (Internet, Television, and Mobile) of communication enable new ways for brands to successfully reach new customers, increase sales, and enhance brand loyalty.
How does Brand Networking work?
Social networking for the sake of social networking is pointless. I often compare being a member of multiple social networks with having multiple email addresses. After two or three email addresses it becomes useless to have another version of the same service. However, if a new email address provided an invaluable service that the others didn’t provide, would I use it? The answer is yes and the same is true for social networks.
Most people regularly use one or two social networks. However, if a social network provided unique services, content, or catered to a specific group of interests it would attract users. Add a successful brand to the mix and you would have millions of appreciative users.
For example, if Home Depot knew in 1994 that the Home and Garden TV (HGTV) channel was going to be successful, they could’ve made a small investment to own a direct link to their consumers. However, ten years ago most companies wouldn’t want the liability of a niche cable station on their books and hindsight does nothing unless a similar opportunity presents itself.
As an alternative, if Home Depot provided an online social network that enabled users to share gardening tips, upload videos of remodeling, post pictures of their vacation homes, provide customer feedback, etc. they are creating a media channel that is mush more valuable than a cable channel.
Who am I to talk about Brand Networking?
About a year ago I decided to develop a social network for video gamers (http://www.voig.com/) and it was received warmly and very quickly became a key destination for gamers. Specifically, gamers that previously utilized MySpace or Facebook have migrated to a more focused network around online gaming. However, we decided to build Voig modularly, with the understanding we could easily unpack and customize a social network around any brand. We understood the importance of monetizing the network and enabling brands to increase revenue by looking for new ways to interact with the customer.
After a few meetings with various agencies and corporations we realized there was a growing interest for brands to do “something” with social networking. After just three months we have added three Fortune 500 companies to our client list. Once the development is complete (30-60 days) I can talk more freely around the platform and offer specific case studies. For now I wanted to initiate the idea of “Brand Networking” and see what other people thought about the concept.
What is Brand Networking?
Brand Networking is a way for a company or brand to interact socially with customers or potential customers through an online, interactive platform. For some companies Brand Networking could simply be a parent organization providing an interactive web portal to reach a local community through a franchise or branch office. For other companies Brand Networking could take the form of large social network of customers sharing content and engaging actively with the brand.
Why use Brand Networking?
As the internet converges with the television in the living room and the next generation of mobile devices, there is an opportunity for brands to provide content sharing, entertainment, and social interactivity with the consumer. The Brand Triangle (Internet, Television, and Mobile) of communication enable new ways for brands to successfully reach new customers, increase sales, and enhance brand loyalty.
How does Brand Networking work?
Social networking for the sake of social networking is pointless. I often compare being a member of multiple social networks with having multiple email addresses. After two or three email addresses it becomes useless to have another version of the same service. However, if a new email address provided an invaluable service that the others didn’t provide, would I use it? The answer is yes and the same is true for social networks.
Most people regularly use one or two social networks. However, if a social network provided unique services, content, or catered to a specific group of interests it would attract users. Add a successful brand to the mix and you would have millions of appreciative users.
For example, if Home Depot knew in 1994 that the Home and Garden TV (HGTV) channel was going to be successful, they could’ve made a small investment to own a direct link to their consumers. However, ten years ago most companies wouldn’t want the liability of a niche cable station on their books and hindsight does nothing unless a similar opportunity presents itself.
As an alternative, if Home Depot provided an online social network that enabled users to share gardening tips, upload videos of remodeling, post pictures of their vacation homes, provide customer feedback, etc. they are creating a media channel that is mush more valuable than a cable channel.
Who am I to talk about Brand Networking?
About a year ago I decided to develop a social network for video gamers (http://www.voig.com/) and it was received warmly and very quickly became a key destination for gamers. Specifically, gamers that previously utilized MySpace or Facebook have migrated to a more focused network around online gaming. However, we decided to build Voig modularly, with the understanding we could easily unpack and customize a social network around any brand. We understood the importance of monetizing the network and enabling brands to increase revenue by looking for new ways to interact with the customer.
After a few meetings with various agencies and corporations we realized there was a growing interest for brands to do “something” with social networking. After just three months we have added three Fortune 500 companies to our client list. Once the development is complete (30-60 days) I can talk more freely around the platform and offer specific case studies. For now I wanted to initiate the idea of “Brand Networking” and see what other people thought about the concept.
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