By Joe Bogardus
As always, consistency works best when managing your brand, especially with regard to new social media tools.
These new channels of communications do present some interesting challenges to brand stewards, because more departments are in the business of touching a company’s clients ranging from sales, marketing, communications, R&D, customer-care and more.
It is essential for the long-term well-being of the brand that people connecting with a company’s clients have an understanding and appreciation for the brand’s essence, its key messaging and the tone and manner in which these messages are to be consistently delivered.
More and more brands are looking to establish a set of social media policies that are readily available to all employees who come in contact with a company’s customers.
A popular management model being instituted is the formation of a social media stakeholder committee that consists of representatives from the various departments that use social media to manage various aspects of customer relationships. They are charged with working out how to position the brand effectively with their constituencies and making sure the brand voice is consistent across all platforms of communication.
Other brands are looking to a more centralized model with either a single person responsible or a decentralized approach making all employees responsible for communicating the brand message.
Whichever model your company chooses, it is critical that it be consistently employed and all the team members are fully aware of the roles they are expected to play.
Tags: brand, brand message, communications, Joe Bogardus, Mary Beth West Consulting, message, social media
