The Impact of Social on B2B Brand Personality

One of the things made noticeable through social media participation is the personality of a previously impersonal B2B brand. Whether or not the company has individuals participating on their behalf or flies under the avatar of a company logo, the audience has greater access to what makes the company tick. In other words, personality shines through.

So, what happens when your audience applies their filter to that experience?

We all have filters. Each of us makes split-second decisions about what or who we like or don't like. We determine our level of curiosity or disinterest and respond accordingly.

For example, when someone follows me on Twitter, I do the following:

• Click on the link in the email to view their Twitter page.
• Read their bio and look at the link they've added.
• Look at the ratio of followers to following.
• Scroll through the first page of their Tweets to see if anything interests me.

Then I decide if I want to follow them back. Yes, I do that every single time. It's amazing what I can learn. I bet you have your own process for determining who you follow. For me it's not about volume, but about discovering fresh voices that have something to say that interests me professionally.

One especially telling factor is if—after reading their thread of Tweets—I click through to their website and find a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde experience it's a sure sign that there's a disconnect in the company message. Therefore, unsure of what to believe, I choose not to engage further.

One thing people like is to be sure of their beliefs. If they find a bubbly, intelligent personality during a LinkedIn group discussion, but receive email messaging and content from your company that's dry as dirt, their interest in your company as a potential partner will diminish quickly.

We must remember that marketing is like a test drive of doing business with our companies. The overall experience counts.

I know social media is the new shiny object that has marketers' attention. However, if we're going to use it as a component in the B2B marketing mix, we need to think about how our participation will reflect back on the company. The story we tell our prospects and customers needs to be consistent across all channels - at the least in tone, quality and style. 

Here are a few things to think about:

• Listen to the types of people you want to attract and determine what type of participation you can engage in that will be relevant to them—and on which platform. (e.g., Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, blogs, YouTube, Slideshare, industry community portals, etc.)


• Determine what presence your company has on social networks right now, and what's being said to whom. I've worked with a number of companies that say they have no one using social media, only to find a number of employees already participating on their own or regional offices that have taken the initiative to set up company pages on social networks. Given what you learn, what's your plan for incorporating them into your efforts?


• Set goals. Do you want to build awareness, drive web traffic, get in conversations, provide customer support, build specific relationships...?


• What supporting content do you have to share that will help you meet those goals? And, do you have a plan to continuously and consistently fuel your efforts?


• Who else is out there that your audience is listening to? Is what they're saying complementary to your message or different? Should you steer clear or reach out?


• Given your goals and what you've learned, do your other web properties support the messages you'll share with social networks? If not, what will it take to change that?

Think about what kind of personality your company has and then design your social media program to enhance it. It's very important to consider the big-picture view that's created when a company's instances of online behavior become a connected whole.

Comments

[Talmadge Boyd]

Two things stuck out for me in your post.

1) "The overall experience counts."

- Such a good point. The walls are glass now aren't they? They require constant scrutiny, lest we get caught with our pants down.

2) "Determine what presence your company has on social networks right now..."

- Thanks for bringing this back to basics. With everything, we should establish a baseline, even if we didn't know we had one. I might add to be careful not to spook your employees with a witch hunt. What suggestions do you have for setting the right policy? Radio stations have done it for years without hiccups, how does B2B handle it?

[Ardath Albee]

Hi Talmadge,

Thanks for your comment and question.

First of all, there should never be a "witch hunt."

Next, you need to get a feel for what your folks are talking about. Is it personal stuff? Do they talk about the industry or your company? Is there anything negative?

Once you've evaluated, I suggest creating a guidance plan. Think of it as an editorial calendar - perhaps sent out weekly or monthly. Give them ideas on what they can add into their social postings that matches with your overall marketing strategy. Make sure they know about new content, blog posts, etc. Arm them with good information that they'll be excited to share. Maybe create some kind of rewards/recognition system that encourages adoption of the guidance.

Turn them into advocates by helping them learn what will really help the company and elevate their professional status at the same time. If they're only participating on a personal level, let them do that.

It goes without saying that any negativity should be resolved. That includes bashing competitors. How companies choose to do this is based upon organizational culture, but listening to your employees can also provide insights to organizational issues you may not hear about otherwise. Just saying...

[Marc Sokol]

Great post! I like to think of this as 'personna personified' or perhaps 'brand-in-action'. First blush impressions allow us to conveniently project what we want to see on the message. But it is through repeated interactions, and through multiple channels, such as you approach it, that allow us to decide if we really want to know the person or company behind the message.

[Ardath Albee]

Hi Marc,

Thanks for your comment. Thanks for bringing to light the "first blush impressions" tendency. This is critical as our assumptions can often be incorrect. The other thing I find is that marketers respond to a very thin slice of their audience's behavior, perhaps jumping the gun about what they should do in response. And that can affect the outcome of the entire campaign based on the actions of only a few.

And, getting to know them is how we create pipeline progression. You make a solid point about the need to improve our ability to prioritize who we get to know so we can pursue those most likely to purchase.

[Devremülk]

i like to read your posts. thanks for this one.