As posted in The Customer Collective
With the proliferation of social media the channels and rules have changed a bit. But, independent of what industry your brand is in, the four stages of the customer life cycle remain consistent.
Four elements include:
- Attraction
- Engagement
- Conversion, and
- Retention
Brand Image Consistency
And the biggest challenge brands have is maintaining an overall consistent brand identity. While it may be difficult to create matching brand profiles and identities on social media, trying to be as consistent as possible makes your brand recognizable across different social networks and channels. Giving your social media profiles the same look-and-feel goes a long way to resonate with your customers. The recent pro-brand product features of Facebook and Twitter, make it possible to be consistent with the use of colors, logos and messaging.
Consistent Branding Ensures Authenticity
Unfortunately, social media brings about with it myriad opportunities for tarnishing and misrepresentation of your brand. Being consistent with branding makes it harder for others to use your brand to misrepresent you. If someone is using your name negatively, your consistent branding and message, people will be able to identify that it’s not coming from you.
How Do You Maintain Your Brand Image?
- Establish your brand voice. Before even embarking into social media channels to promote your brand, decide what exactly your brand stands for.
- Know your audience. Sometimes this means soliciting feedback directly from those who follow you. Capture and act upon their sentiment to remain related.
- Invite outside commentary to promote your brand. It’s an authentic way to maintain dialogue with the target audience.
- Maintain relevance. Brands should stay on message when they can, but then divert from that message when it makes sense to remain topical. Always bring it back full circle.
- Be cohesive. Tell a story that gels together depending on where you are, the latest trending topics, and the target audience you’re addressing.
