Tim Wiseman

Reboot.

I have decided my personal brand is in need of some serious attention. I made some tough decisions this week. I’m not moving to Houston, at least not today. I need to reboot.

4SQ: Lost Power of the Check-In

The Foursquare (FSQ) phenomenon is here. Matter of fact, I was recently asked to put together a webinar based on the phenomenon, that unfortunately – no one showed up for. Yes, embarrassing, but not altogether surprising.

First, it’s important to advertise such an event as much as you can. Second, some are underestimating the power of the check-in.

Ironically, I started putting this post together in my head on the way into what I call ‘the office’ this morning. By the time I got there, I received a response from 4SQ that I have been waiting for – for months. I am finally the owner of my location.

4SQ’s response times seem to be a little slow, impeding the progress of business owners, and their ability to advertise rewards through the 4SQ system. Hopefully 4SQ responds to the increasing challenge, and works to empower owners so they can make the most of the growing followers of this popular location-based service.

Sure, it’s easy to pick on 4SQ, but what about the local business owner, restauranteur?! Why aren’t they taking advantage of the power of the check-in? I’m sure that in MOST cases, it’s NOT because they haven’t heard back from the 4SQ biz team.

These business owners are either completely unaware, or too disinterested to get involved.

So what’s the lost value of keeping track of who’s checking-in?! Well, you are missing opportunities to communicate directly with those who actually come to your restaurant, and plan on telling all of their friends they are there. That’s a valued customer! Being the owner of a location gives you the privelege to message that person, and offer specials to mayors, or those who check-in frequently.

What it comes down to, as much of a fad you might think 4SQ or any other location based service is a fly by night fad, you are missing an opportunity that is proving itself to be effective right now. Guaranteed, it will continue to grow and morph into an even bigger and better opportunity to provide more exciting, and better experience for your customers.

(Source: timwiseman.com)

Social Media: Brand Management

It’s hard not to notice the popularity of Facebook, Twitter and other social media gathering spots. In each and every one of those places, brands are being discussed, passionately. Love or hate, real people are talking about recent experiences with brands large and small.

It could be how much they love a product they purchased, how great (or not so great) a recent meal was at a restaurant they went to with their friends. If they had a bad customer service experience, or how much they loved their waiter/waitress.

Regardless, they have become YOUR brand ambassadors to all of their friends and colleagues.

In the social media realm, it’s difficult to have complete control of your brand. Impossible, if you have decided not to participate in the conversation. Your presence allows you to reinforce your brand message, respond to customer service issues, and be the human being that people are looking for, someone who they can connect and ‘socialize’ with.

So if you aren’t controlling the conversation, yourself, or through a social media agency, then the quality and messaging of your brand is left to the whim of those who are talking about you.

Finally, it’s becoming expected more and more – that when people go looking for your brand on Facebook and Twitter, that you are there waiting for them. Just like having a phone number, and now even a website is expected – a social media presence has been added to that list.

My advice; make sure you are part of the conversation that is happening right now. Reach out, make yourself available, and ‘socialize’. People do business with those they like, and have an undying loyalty to brands they fall in love with.

Brand Messaging: Keep Your Story Straight.

Messaging plays a very important role, it’s the the glue that holds your brand together. This is where you state your benefits, claims, promises, and your mission. Sure your visual brand convinces them (hopefully!) that you are a quality brand that they want to partner with, but your messaging tells them if you are providing the services they need. This is where they find out if you are a good fit.

The first role is the core message you use in outbound communications; brochures, website, postcards, trade show material. This information needs to be clear, and concise. Of course, you should be sure that this message is coherent throughout, maintaining brand integrity. Your core message is most likely the same one your employees (sales force, CEO, CFO, whoever is answering your phone, running your cash register, and the guy who changes the light bulbs) should be using when talking to anyone about your brand. If you can achieve this goal, that everyone uses the same language when they are discussing your brand - you will simply (and effectively) be reinforcing the strategic message you have worked so hard to develop. The next role that messaging plays is in additional content; articles, white papers, blogs, tweets, FaceBook updates - you get the point. Accomplishing the goal of maintaining consistency in the tone you use, reinforcing core standards, and messaging - means a familiar voice, which helps with that warm fuzzy feeling we want when others think of our brand. Some tips when it comes to developing your brand messaging:

• How have you set yourself apart from your competitors?
• Is your message authentic, making realistic claims?
• Is your message clear and concise?
• What single benefit or tagline BEST communicates who you truly are?

You’ve heard it before (I said it here), that Content is King - and it’s true. Your content, copy, ‘text’ plays many roles when it comes to communicating your strategic message. Most likely, you need help to manage your messaging, including your social media campaign. We are here for you, let us know how we can help!

1st: We need to be great stewards of this amazing place we live. 2nd: I’m not confident that we’ve enough data to support today’s concept of global warming. 3rd: Regardless, see #1.

Stick to It! Visual Brand Consistency.

When you think about one of your favorite brands, you almost instantly get a mental picture (and that gut feeling we talked about here) of that brand.  With the big hitters it’s easy; Target, Starbucks, WalMart have spent countless dollars on making sure that when you see a communication vehicle with their name on it – you know instantly who is trying to get your attention.

When an email campaign, magazine ad, whatever – ends up in my line of sight, the situation might go something like this:

“Hi Tim, this is Starbucks, remember me? Of course you do, the warm and mellow greens and browns, the classy photography, – you can almost smell the coffee – you couldn’t forget me if you tried.  Well now that I have your attention, I have a message for you … “

And there you have it.  Since Starbucks knows that I have been programmed to look for brands that I recognize (and like) – they now can open up a direct line of communication much easier than ever before. Now, I may or may not (but probably will) act on their tricky marketing tactics.  But – at least they said “Hi, we are still here – for you.”

Important note: Statistics show that brand based decisions rank very high.  Usually, this means that even if your product is not the cheapest, it will most likely be the first choice, even against other products of equal price.  We call this brand loyalty.  This puts the proverbial ball back in your court.  Now YOU, the brand have to maintain that loyalty.

Back to maintaining your visual brand, it’s important that you try not to derail the work you have done to be sure your brand is recognized, that the message is consistent – and the person (yes, remember – we are reaching people!) knows it’s you, right away.

Quick tips on maintaining visual brand consistency:

• Make sure your logo, mark is always displayed in a like manner (ie: same place on a magazine ad, billboard, website, etc.)
• Maintain use of corporate colors, color schemes, graphic style
• Photographic style should be consistent, if at all possible – custom.
• Type style (fonts) should remain the same (tip: limit to two typefaces for your brand, one for your logo/headlines, second for copy)
• Your brand (colors, look/feel, photography) should be reflected in your office (at least the foyer), and especially in your store/retail establishment

The above list only scratches the surface of visual brand consistency, and of course this usually works out best if you have an agency (hint-hint) – helping you maintain your brand, on all levels.  If not, it’s important that someone is watching over it, maintaining your visual identity.

Branding, More Than a Logo

Branding, you may know what it is. Even scarier, you might think you know what it is, and you are wrong.

According to The Brand Gap, which I highly recommend reading, your brand is the gut feeling your customers have when they think about you. It’s not (only) your logo, corporate color scheme, the photography and copy you use in your brochures and website.  Your logo (or mark), and other assets are very important pieces of the puzzle when it comes to your branding strategy, but we will get into that more another time.

Some things your brand IS:

The way you answer the phone
The tone in your emails
The way you talk in a meeting
The way you dress
The level of service you provide (or don’t!)
The quality of your product
How you interact in a social media environment

Oh, and all of these characteristics apply to everyone who is employed by your company that has any contact with the outside world.

You want to know how your brand is doing? Listen. I recently heard David Bowman say, the conversation (about you or your business) is happening, whether you are there to participate or not.  Where is the conversation happening? Facebook, Twitter, blogs, reviews, etc.  If you aren’t out there searching, ‘Googling‘ your name on a daily basis – you could be missing out on what is right or wrong with your brand. (Again, the gut feeling people have about the way you do business.)

So, if you really want to find out how your brand is doing, take some time to listen, and respond – be a part of the conversation.  Correct the mistakes you are making, exploit and improve the things people love about you. Then, spend some time with your employees, and associates, because brand consistency doesn’t stop with your print materials or your website.

You can also read the article here.