Branding

Social Media Risks – Real or Simply Managed

Posted by Constance Ward on April 22, 2013   |   No Comments

You’ve heard them all before – reasons why not to increase the scope and frequency of your company’s social media outreach.

crowd surfing and social media risks

Instead of sitting on the social media sidelines, ride with the crowd, manage the risk and reap the rewards.

The arguments usually include concerns that employees or consumers might abuse the channels and thereby put the company’s brand at risk. Other perceived threats are a loss of intellectual property as inappropriate news is posted in cyberspace or a drop in productivity among employees who are supposedly just checking the company’s social media sites.

Whether these are real or imagined risks, they can be simply managed by a robust, considered, enforceable social media strategy. Does your company have strong social media strategies and policies in place that manage these risks? Ask, assess, then act. We’re here to help!

Photo Credit: Photos by Mavis

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What’s Coloring Your Decisions? Color’s Critical Role in Branding

Posted by Constance Ward on January 21, 2013   |   No Comments

Last summer a series of blogs on this site focused on a color theme and looked at pink matters and gray matters and even the varied colors of the Olympic rings. But is there a color connected to thought leadership?

color increases brand recognition by up to 80%

Over the last few months, a new communications group I belong to has been considering that question as we put together our consultancy website. More about that in the future; but in the meantime, I invite you to review some of the interesting articles I’ve found on using color to market products…products like ”brand YOU.” Continue Reading…

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What’s your local-social strategy for client intimacy?

Posted by Constance Ward on May 27, 2012   |   No Comments

A recent article on ‘How Walmart Is Localizing Its Stores With Facebook’ by Clara Shih discussed how the big-box retailer is developing what’s called a ‘local-social’ strategy to make their stores more relevant to the communities they serve.

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A corporate-wide brand presence on social media sites is a given, the author says, but the more effective channels are being built around local stores. She explains the authentic feeling of belonging those types of sites can engender:

‘Having 20 million fans secures bragging rights for a brand, but from the perspective of the fan, it’s far more engaging and rewarding to be part of a smaller, more intimate community.’

Even large multi-national companies need to create an authentic local experience in order to engage clients in their brand. A tailored communication approach — whether through traditional or social media channels — can enlarge the number of loyal members within the community without losing the ‘local feel’ of the brand.

Are you using traditional or social media channels to enrich the experience of your customers and make it more intimate and authentic? Ask, assess, then act.

Photo Credit: Giulia Forsythe on Flickr 

Now THAT’S Client Centricity!

Posted by Constance Ward on January 14, 2012   |   No Comments

Client Centric Samoa

A funny thing happened in Samoa last month. They lost a day. If you’re an international traveler, you may have experienced losing a day as you flew across international datelines. But Samoans just sat still and lost a day on 29 December 2011.
Samoa used to sit on the east side of the International Date Line; but on that day, the small island nation in the South Pacific realigned itself on the west side of the line. Samoans went to sleep on their Thursday night, and they woke up on Saturday morning. That wasn’t necessarily a bad thing for someone, say, who turned 40 on that Friday!
It seems that the majority of commercial business in Samoa was conducted with trading partners on the west side of dateline, such as Australia and New Zealand, so it was more convenient for their customers to deal with them in the same day zone.
Are you that focused on your clients that you would — metaphorically, at least — give up your Friday to suit their schedules? Are you so flexible in adapting to client needs? Ask, assess then act. We’re here to help.