Truthful Branding in Web 2.0 – it takes effort!
Lessons continue, that social media has accelerated communication to where if you don’t act true to your brand, you’ll be found out and trashed online far quicker than your firm can react. Firms are being forced to be truthful to their brand, and not advertise/market false or misleading messages.
A number of posts I’ve read lately, add a very important point to this discussion …
Truthful branding takes effort and work.
You can’t just sit back and expect to be truthful and people will believe and understand. Be a warrior! Champion your brand! Champion it’s truthfulness!
Brand Autopsy
… This belief that authenticity can be created is what gets companies in trouble. Authenticity comes from evolution, not from creation. No magic pill exists and no big bang will cause a company to become authentic …
… Imagine that – making something your customers will LOVE …
… ideas to get you beyond thinking differently but doing differently …
… 10 key principles that should guide brand strategy. They’ve become top-of-mind in my own brand situation, but they certainly apply to all. Sure, some are obvious, but too many are forgotten or omitted.
1. Transparency: To be honest and transparent is the only way to go. It builds a stronger brand foundation, and prevents awkward scenarios where new market forces inevitably expose hidden truths.
2. Authenticity: …
… I couldn’t help wondering if maybe there wasn’t something else at play here, something Wall Street never seems to take very seriously. Maybe, just maybe, taking care of customers is something worth doing when you are trying to create a lasting company. Maybe, in fact, it’s the best way to build a real business — even if it comes at the expense of short-term results …
… I was purposefully engaging in an ADRE -Act of Deliberate Relationship Enhancement. While I fully buy “If you aren’t sincere, it won’t work,” I nonetheless urge you to develop some similar ritual …
