Your Brand: A Love Story

There are people who use a phone, and there are people who carry their phone like a badge of honor. There are people who drink coffee, and there are people whose coffee cup is an extension of their self. There are people who drive a car to get from point A to point B, and there are people for whom their hood ornament is crest they’re proud to bear.

What’s the difference? It all comes down to love.

The love story between the world’s most popular brands and their customers starts just like any other: it’s a story of people coming together over shared passions.

You see, today’s social media era has stripped away the barriers that once separated companies from their customers. Whereas yesterday’s traditional media outlets maintained tyrannical control over the flow of information and ideas, social media has paved the way for a genuine exchange of two-way communication.

In this new paradigm, the public has no affection for the face of corporate America. Instead, today’s customers expect the companies they do business with to be human and to exhibit all of the qualities inherent in human relationships – transparency, respect, conscientiousness, kindness, trust, generosity and the like.

As a result, to succeed in this brave new world of business, you must stop relating to your customers as a company and start relating to them on a human level.

Here are four key principals to humanize your company and build a brand your customers will fall in love with:

Open the dialog.

Social media is your means to bridge the gap between the market and the masses. But of course, it’s not enough just to be present on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and the like. You must be an active participant in the communities where your tribe lives, and you must mold your participation in ways that humanize your brand and break through the barriers to gaining trust.

You must put as much effort into listening and responding as you do into putting your own content out into the world. You must prove that you serve at the pleasure of your customers, not the other way around.

For example, on Twitter, it’s a good idea to allow trusted employees to have individual accounts that they can use to respond to customers on the company’s behalf, as opposed to maintaining a singular universal company brand account without a name or face attached to it.

Also, consider hosting chats, forums or webinar sessions where customers and colleagues in the industry can log in and connect with your company in real time, creating an environment of open communication and fostering feelings of trust and likability.

Commit and admit.

Nothing earns trust in human relationships more than sincerity and the willingness to admit when you’re wrong.

The relationship between your company and its customers is no different. To survive in today’s 24/7 world of accessibility and accountability, you must commit to 100 percent transparency.

That pledge is easy to uphold when times are good. When you’re proud of the things you and your employees are doing, it’s a pleasure to speak openly about them.

But you also must be willing to publicly accept responsibility when you fall short, make a mistake or fail to satisfy a customer. More importantly, you must take the initiative to make concrete changes that will set you apart from competitors that are content to languish in the status quo of corporatism.

Starbucks is a shining example of this customer-centered commitment to transparency. Whenever a customer is displeased, no matter the reason, they are either given a gift certificate for their next visit or their order is remade on the spot with no questions asked. By adopting this policy of open communication, Starbucks has created a strong sense of community and respect where customers feel their voices are heard and their business is appreciated – and, in turn, they reward the company with their undying loyalty and evangelism.

Pull back the curtain.

When it comes to relating to customers, company owners can no long play the role of the great and powerful Oz, tucked away safely behind the curtain of PR flacks who run interference to preserve some carefully polished (if somewhat phony) image.

By allowing greater accessibility, the company CEO can easily become the friendly face of the brand.

Perhaps the epitome of infusing personality into the promotion of products are the dynamic duo of Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield – the masterminds behind Ben & Jerry’s. The company’s about page relates the “long, strange dip” of two very real people from humble beginnings who became a worldwide ice cream success story. They’re hardly your typical buttoned-up, suit-and-tie-clad CEOs, but they are 100 percent authentic, and their customers recognize and reward their lack of pretense or posturing.

Surround yourself with a trustworthy (and trust-building) team.

The responsibility for putting a good face on the company isn’t relegated to the C-suite; it’s up to every employee to gain and maintain the trust of the customer.

When you can show that it’s not just the owner or the board of directors or the marketing department that toe the company line but that every single employee at every level of the company stands for the same set of core values, your customers will respond favorably and be inspired to become an advocate for your brand.

Many savvy companies that have embraced this new reality have adopted an open-door policy to using social media. Whole Foods Market is a great example of this community-minded, team-based approach. The entire company, along with its employees, take an active role in promoting environmental and humanitarian causes via social media networks. As a result, Whole Foods’ customers value not only the products they sell but the people behind the brand, and in turn, they do what they can to help promote a company with a conscience that puts people ahead of profits.

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The Timelines They Are a-Changin': 7 Tips for Making the Most of the New Facebook Pages

Like it or not, it’s here: the new timeline for Facebook business Pages. And much like any of the wide-sweeping changes that Facebook has introduced in the past, the faster you can get acclimated, the sooner you can start using these new features to your advantage to engage more effectively with your customers. So without further ado, let’s dive right in, shall we?

1. Put your best foot forward.

The first thing that you – and your fans – will notice is the new cover photo. This is your very own Facebook billboard, your opportunity to grab new visitors and entice them to delve deeper into your Page. This is prime real estate, so make sure you use it well. A great photo can make a memorable first impression that helps you attract and keep potential customers; a bad one can turn them away before they ever interact with the rest of your content. Get creative with this space. Feature one truly stunning image that captures the essence of your brand. Showcase your products or services. Give fans a peek behind the scenes of your company. No matter your approach, just make sure you play by the rules: No mention of prices, sales or discounts. No contact information, such as your phone number or website address. And no calls to action, whether it’s to like your Page or buy your product. You’ll also notice that your profile photo persists in the new format. This spot is best used for your logo icon, as it will also be the thumbnail image that appears alongside your posts in your fans’ news feeds.

2. Deliver a call to action.

So Facebook says you can’t include a call to action in your cover photo. You’ll also discover that you can no longer set a default landing tab for your Page. What’s going to here? And what are you to do about it? Relax. You still have plenty of opportunity to capture attention and motivate your fans to take action. Just below your cover photo, you’ll see four featured app slots. Photos will always take the first slot on the left, but you can customize the other three to your liking. These slots are the perfect place to feature a promotional video, link to your company blog or even a store (or donation) app. Much like the cover photo, these app slots will get a lot of eyeballs, so make sure you design them well.

3. Tell your story.

Once you get past your cover photo and apps, you’re into the timeline itself. In some ways, the timeline isn’t so revolutionary. Your most recent update appears at the top and the rest follow in reverse chronological order as you move down the Page, just as they always have. On the right side of the Page, you’ll see the timeline represented in years, starting with the year that your business was established. Here’s where you can really start to have some fun with the new format. Add important events – the date your company was founded, the launch of a new product, awards you’ve won – as milestones in your timeline to create a sense of stepping back in time. The more visually engaging you can make these milestone posts, the better. There are also new ways to filter what’s shown on the Page: Highlights, Friend Activity, Posts by Page and Post by Others. The trickiest part of these new filters is that posts by your fans aren’t as visible. So if interaction with your fans is important to you (and it should be), then you’ll need to be very intentional about engaging with them.

4. Get visual.

Another difference that will quickly become apparent the more you study the new timeline format is that photos and videos are given much greater prominence than any other type of content. Jumping on the bandwagon that has made platforms like Pinterest and Instagram so popular, the timeline focuses on visual storytelling. This is actually a plus, since as we’ve covered previously, one great photo truly can do the work of a thousand words in conveying what it is that your brand stands for. Data from Facebook supports this theory as well, indicating that “posts including a photo album or picture can generate 2X more engagement than other post types.” Use this new format to your favor by posting photo- and video-based content as often as possible.

5. Stick to it.

In order to help extend the longevity of your content, you now have the ability to pin a post to the top of your Page (it will appear just below your status update compose box). While this won’t affect how your update appears in your fans’ news feeds, it will keep this story at the top of your own Page for up to seven days. Pinning a post to the top of your Page is a great way to call attention to a special event, marketing offer or other especially fantastic content. Alternatively, you can also highlight a story so that it spans all the way across both columns of your timeline, making it easier to find as a user scrolls down.

6. Keep an eye on your inbox.

Another major change being introduced in this latest iteration is that Pages now have the ability to receive direct messages from fans. While these messages can only be initiated by a fan, this new feature serves a very useful purpose. Fans can now use Facebook as a way to ask a question or discuss a customer service issue in depth without doing so in the public forum. It’s a win-win for both you and your customers. Just be sure to keep a close watch on your inbox and respond to any messages you receive in a very timely manner. After all, if someone has reached out to you, you want to make sure they feel that their effort is both appreciated and taken seriously.

7. Don’t over-think it.

Finally, even though these changes are significant, there’s no need to feel overwhelmed or intimidated. The fact of the matter is that the majority of your fans will continue to consume the content you’re publishing in the same way they always have: via their personal news feeds. So while a well-designed Page timeline is important – particularly when it comes to winning over new fans – it’s not necessarily going to reinvent the wheel of the interactions you have day in and day out with your existing fans. In an ideal world, they would reward all the time and effort you put into your timeline by congregating on your Page and interacting with it directly. In reality, that’s probably not going happen on a consistent basis. The best approach is to strike a balance between the two. Be innovative in trying out new ideas and approaches on your timeline, but keep the content of your daily posts steady and strong, since you never know just when or where someone will come across it. After all, just as with most things in life, the more things change on Facebook, the more they stay the same.

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