Social Networking for Your Brand

That was the name of a panel I was eager to attend, as it seemed right up our corporate alley. Unfortunately, the Your Brand part was more applicable to the individual starting their own blog/web experience than to a global company with a gazillion employees.

Harumph.

There were some good points made, though, that are easily applicable to both the individual and the corporation.

1. A brand is the promise of an experience.
Think of Starbucks or McDonald's: you know exactly what you are going to get when you cross their thresholds. They deliver the promise of a consistent experience, whether you are in California, Russia, or Beijing.

What does our brand promise the individual? As a company we've talked about this many, many times. We promise to provide both classics and trends, so that the individual can express their personal style through our clothing.

Given how differently we market our brand throughout the various channels (online, in different store regions, internationally), do we follow through on this promise?

2. Let other people talk about your work--and listen to what they have to say.
You are only as good as your the experience your customers have when they use your product or engage with your brand online. Be open to honest criticism the same way you'd be open to praise, because the definition of building a community around your brand is not only letting them communicate with you, but letting them communicate with others about you.

Additional talking points were about Twitter (once again) being the ultimate social networking tool; podcasting as a broadcasting tool that helps to create repoire with your audience; and other social networking tools such as Pownce, Doppler, and Upcoming.

All in all, an interesting panel that was kinda hard to see from my seat: