Browsing Tag

Branding

Value Networks: Placing a personal or corporate brand

So I did a little work on understanding who is in my network on Twitter and what I found is that some members are more aligned to what I want to do and others are not. Essentially some relationships are more valuable for me than others. I currently use auto-follow capabilities and it continues to change the shape and scope of my network, not always in the positive but it makes for easier management. At this point, where I used to have to manually follow folks I now have to manually stop following. Not sure which is better, but with just a little more data and a little more context it might be easier to automate or to even manage manually. I’d fully manage Twitter manually if I have information to deliver higher value relationships on average.

Hit or Miss

Today with the available information on a profile there isn’t a whole lot of information to decision from. Right now from a manual perspective, I can look at how many followers and how many they follow, which to me is now an interesting metric I’m going to use as part of my manual unfollow process, but the only influence indicator is follower count. There is currently no set of information to know how folks appreciate being in a given network or their social capital. Ultimately trust and value become additional network dimensions which happen over time, but there could be information display to improve decision making.

So what could be exposed which might encourage following certain folks over others? I know there is grader, but grader is raw numbers and it effectively favors the “old” folks on the platform and personalities, who may not be adding the value today, which they used to add to a nascent platform. “Old” being those that showed up early on the platform, since network size appears to have some relationship to date registered on Twitter, no data, just an observation. According to Grader’s site here are some of the attributes:

The number of followers you have – (I suspect it is the biggest weight)

The power of this network of followers – (MAGIC?)

The pace of your updates – (second biggest attribute?)

The completeness of your profile

…a few others

Developing a Network Brand

What you do, how you react and how others engage ultimately is what develops a network. So what would give someone a view into these attributes which may indicate “trust” and “value” without having to follow them back and wait and see? How the network reacts to a given user is what might help. More visibility to how a given user is engaged or the perceived value of those which were/are in a user/brands network. I guess you can do this through the use of a couple of tools – Grader, search.twitter.com and a couple of others, but that takes a bunch of time.

Essentially each of us are building a brand community and your actions plus your network’s reactions are what helps develop a brand. So it might be good to have a feature from Twitter which will help, not so sure it is an existing API capability today or a reasonable extension for the future. Such an influence/noise metrics could be as follows:

It even stays with the “slim” UI capabilities which appears to a Twitter core value. Since Twitter, social networks and social media in general are quickly becoming a key channel to drive access, visibility and participation for corporate brands and personal brands. With this reality being at the right place and developing trust is imperative. This type of feature would help with social media placement, promotion and brand development. Of course a standard would be cool, but I know that’s not possible, so I’ll move on. This will ultimately provide a better way to find/participate in high value networks, discussions and channels for brands. So what would be the benefits for folks with this type feature on Twitter or any other platform?

Participate in high quality networks for areas of interest
Develop important relationships with folks like you
Provide you access to folks that can help with ideas and content and build your brand.
Help prioritize where you place your brand online since there isn’t infinite resource or capacity in this economy.

I know there is the obvious question to ask – wouldn’t groups help manage most of these? Not really, only helps indicate affinity, not necessarily value. So in the end, this type of a capability would provide additional metrics which enables folks to understand where to participate from a network perspective. Social media needs more metrics – metrics for business, users and brands.

The metrics could also be used for a given user to improve how he or she interacts with folks to ensure they are delivering value to their followers, I guess this knife cuts both ways. I guess these types of metrics would also be valuable for the development ecosystem too – another life that cuts both ways.

Oh if we could automate trust. I guess we can’t. Oh if we had a way to better understand social capital and how to effectively place a social brand. Now that’s a possibility.

December 2, 2008 by Jon Gatrell

While unexpected, I am appreciative – Alltop Branding Listing

YEEE HAW! Spatially Relevant recently was added to Alltop under the Branding Section, I think it may have something to do with the eBook, The Social Marketing Construct: Evolving brands and changing realities, but I really don’t know how. It could have been the Presidential Brand post, which I really liked writing with Sheryl’s help. Could be Sheryl’s Out Telling Stories piece? Sheryl is such a better brand person than I and completely saturated with work to the point she can’t blog, but only edit. Obviously she didn’t edit this one.

I really have no idea, I sorta was hoping it was my Social Brand Management Slideshare show, but that was so long ago, there is no way. Another no way it is possible piece is the Brand Extension of the 5th P, but since most folks haven’t read that again no way.

I did search my email and I did find a thread with Neenz, so perhaps that was the selection driver. At the end of the day, it is about value and value is different for every person and marketing is clearly about telling stories and developing a brand and that is about all I know, which apparently may be enough.

After reviewing the list SR is clearly with good company/in over our heads. I can’t inventory all of them, but here are a few of the cool kids, which SR now needs to try and keep up with:

The Big Kahuna – The brand identity guru, Scott White. Gosh I Hope that is how he wants his brand identity cited.
A Clear Eye – Tom Asacker’s blog, this guy does brand math and I’m always happy see people do math.
The Brand Strategy Blog – Not sure their green assertion in the article I linked to is right, since I know some REALLY old folk who are more green than most 23 yr old vegan’s I know.
Krishna De’s Blog – There is a little micro-casting going on over on Krishna’s blog with the Wicklow County piece, but heck it’s a community service and it is Ireland, so you should be able to drive most anywhere at anytime.
Dimbulb – “Brand on the Run” is just clever, no way I will ever be that clever. Added to my reader.
Branding Blog – I’m not sure I’m going to meet cool people and get them rich, so you may want to check out the branding blog, as you ain’t gettin that here team.
Personal Branding Blog – Any person that has a post on Italy and personal branding has to being adding some value, since Italy IS brand from an export perspective. I guess that is what you get with a “global team” of writers.
Dave Knox’s Hard Knox Life is an interesting play on words/name and he appears to have some interesting fact based research.
Brand Curve – The coolest brand blog name out there, IMHO
Whiplash – Any one with an Obama piece has to be OK.
The Engaging Brand Blog – Not sure what it is, but the site makes me dizzy, not so much via the feed though. Could be the far better content than I or something else.
Guy Richards – I like to blog about business travel too. Mainly how much I suck at it.
Greteman Group – I really like their logo, content is good too.
Orange Blog – Just got nominated for being a top advertising blog. Kudos.
The Brand Elastic – The second coolest name for a branding blog. Brand is definitely situational – people, location, age, activities, interactions and the name supports that, plus they are featuring National Geographic post right now.
Director Tom – Actually met him at a conference last year. Very cool to finally be close to his caliber, ok not really that close, but on the same list anyhow.
Expert in the Rough – Not sure, but I think he is using a geology metaphor, so I wonder what is the hardness of the Alltop list on Moh’s scale? Mica? Feldspar?
Brains on Fire – As a marketer, I clearly know hair on fire, I guess brains on fire is the equivalent of not noticing the fire for a while and it getting a little out of control. The thank you video is a good idea, might be better than a list.
ID-ology – Cool name and any blog with a category called brilliant thinking has to have some good content.
Tungsten – I just want to live in the mountains and brand, which is apparently what these folks do. Right on!

There are bunch more at branding.alltop.com, check them out and find what you like. I’m clearly over my head on this, but at least for the next day or so, I will use my listing as market focused validation that Spatially Relevant doesn’t suck, or at least the blog sucks less than I thought. Ultimately brand takes a village and so does Spatially Relevants staying in Alltop, so thanks to all you readers and those that come by way of Alltop.

Cheers!

~jon

November 29, 2008 by Jon Gatrell

A Presidential Brand: Effective Campaigning

So with all of the excitement over the last week with the presidential election over there has sure been a good deal of open interaction, discussion and apparent hope which the election brings. The most interesting theme in all of the discussion is that with the election over everyone, regardless of the vote they cast are optimistic about what lies ahead – even with a 6+% unemployment rate (rumored to go MUCH higher), compressed 401K’s and the risk of increased taxes for some. So a friend of mine John put it best “While I’m not sure how this will all work out, the fact that folks are focusing on the minor increase in taxes in my circle of friends is a little off the mark, they should be focusing on the 32% loss in their portfolio’s.” Interesting how the election reflections change when it’s over, since before the election John was MOST concerned about the incremental taxes he was going to pay. So why are things a little different now, then they were a month ago in folks’ eyes?

The Message is the Man

After a lengthy discussion with Sheryl, an alleged blogger here as well, but she is WAY overwhelmed with her marketing consulting workload of late, I think it is basically brand management by each candidate which determined the outcome. As an aside, for a down economy, consultants are getting a good deal of work and it makes sense, since it is always an interesting business proposition to turn fixed costs into variable costs and the marketing space is no different. Sheryl’s thoughts are along the lines that running a successful political campaign, at least in this year’s election, had a lot to do with effective application of key marketing and brand management principles. She thinks that staying on message was a key differentiator for Obama in the campaign. The story and vision portrayed by Obama never changed. Things suck and need to change, not sure I have all the answers, but let’s work this out together and things just might change. Yes, grossly oversimplified or is it?

Keep it Simple – Keep it Constant

For 21 months, the drum beat of the Obama campaign was consistent, constant and simple. That’s not the case with the McCain campaign. The McCain campaign struggled with the message, and it was evident with the multiple changes in staff, message and his change in addressing the populous. Back to John’s comments who definitely voted McCain “Man, at the end I had no idea who McCain was. His change in position and posture almost made me forget I was a Texan and vote Dem.” His position is very similar to my take on this as well, along with Sheryl’s – not so much the wife’s opinion, but at least a shared concept by more than a few of my friends and myself — The guy who won the republican nomination was NOT the same person who ultimately lost the election.

The core values of being a maverick, a person that can reach across the isle and drive change were left somewhere along the way in campaign staff changes, negative ads and quirky debate rhetoric and behavior. Think about if you were to do a negative marketing campaign – what do you think the results would be? I guess it all depends on how you define negative, but let’s say calling out a competitor for “X” and declaring “X” to be bad. Would it damage your brand? Would it add new attributes to the brand? Would it just move the brand? It could do all three, which ultimately could impact success in the marketplace, not unlike what we saw in the election.

Vision: Emotional Execution

Everyone wants to be the part of something good, something big and something innovative and this is what Obama created – a path forward for everyone to participate in. For many the message was not just an idea, but also an emotion – a positive vision forward. It may not be the right path, it may ultimately be a bumpy path, but the message was we will be doing this together which was ultimately embraced by the voters. Inclusiveness as a core attribute to Obama’s vision is another delta in the messaging platforms during the election. The initial McCain platform was about bringing together folks towards a common goal and then it changed – not sure what you do when you are down in the poll, but this may be an interesting case study for politicos to look back on. The McCain messaged moved from hope and security to fear and exclusion – not a very compelling or differentiated message and ultimately may have been a key driver to the loss.

Taking your brand to the marketplace requires consistency and dedication toward a single vision and if you are unable to sustain that it is typically just a little harder to get where you want to be, when you want to be there. I guess core branding principles could be as applicable to politics as it is to products.

November 13, 2008 by Jon Gatrell

The Social Marketing Construct: Evolving Brands and Emerging Realities

Download the Social Marketing Construct

Why we wrote it:

After sitting in a Pragmatic course taught by David Meerman Scott, I came up with the idea that I just might wanna write something a little more substantial than a blog post. David spent a good deal of effort in his New Rules of Marketing course on the value of an eBook, so I thought that might be a lofty pursuit. I clearly needed some help; so I engaged my personal advisory board for input and volleyed ideas. We centered on brand as a construct in the context of social media adoption, more or less.

Sheryl Altschuler was kind enough to offer her experience in launching brands online for this project. Sheryl was critical in simplifying the concepts in the eBook and developing the Social Marketing Contract. Chris Carfi was kind enough to write a foreword and to provide his thoughts on what would be helpful to marketers given the emerging business realities. Clearly interesting things are afoot in the evolving social marketplace. The social impact on brand management and equity represents an opportunity for marketers to re-align their focus against The Social Marketing Construct.

Many thanks to those who helped as well as those who take the time to download and take a look. If you find it particularly useful, feel free to let some folks know about it. The concepts in the book are a continuing area of interest for both Sheryl and me, so feedback appreciated.

Cheers!

~jon

September 16, 2008 by Jon Gatrell

Newer Posts